Accessibility

Legal Assistance Request

What issues and types of cases does SPLC handle?

The SPLC’s current legal work is focused on civil rights impact litigation in the Deep South in these areas: Immigrant Justice, Children’s Rights, LGBT Rights, Economic Justice, Criminal Justice Reform and cases against hate groups. Please refer to our website links for detailed information on the work of these practice areas:

We do not handle any other matters at this time.

What is SPLC unable to assist with?

Because SPLC is not a general legal services or legal aid organization, we generally do not accept individual legal cases. We do not have the legal staff to investigate, handle legal research, or provide advice or representation regarding individual legal cases.

SPLC does not handle matters regarding the following:

  • Criminal cases
  • Complaints about a person's attorney
  • Criminal sentencing or post-conviction appeals
  • Domestic matters (domestic violence, divorce, child custody, visitation, wills, family law cases)
  • Denial of benefits, such as workers' compensation, unemployment or social security benefits
  • Landlord/tenant or housing disputes (except if LGBT discrimination is involved)
  • Heirs property, inheritance, or tax matters
  • Medical malpractice, elder abuse
  • Employment disputes and wrongful termination matters (except if LGBT discrimination is involved)

What if there are legal deadlines or statute of limitation deadlines for a case?

Legal claims usually have time deadlines. Legal deadlines may be different depending on the nature of the legal claim, the persons or entities who may have violated your rights, and which particular rights were violated. For some kinds of violations, you may need to file a notice or pursue other administrative remedies with a government agency before you can file suit in court. These administrative procedures also have their own time deadlines. If you do not comply with the applicable time deadlines, you could be legally barred from pursuing your claim in court. If you are concerned about whether the time for bringing your complaint is about to pass or you are facing an upcoming court date or similar deadline, you should contact a local attorney immediately. Contacting SPLC is not a substitute for following administrative procedures or providing notice when required. You should NOT rely on submitting a request for assistance to SPLC to protect you. You should continue to seek legal assistance elsewhere.

How long will it take to hear from SPLC?

We will review your request for assistance but, due to the large volume of requests we receive, the legal staff will NOT be able to respond personally to every request received.

We will contact you with specific questions if we need additional information or are able to assist you; otherwise, please assume that, unfortunately, we will not be able to provide you with assistance.

If SPLC can't help me, how can I locate an attorney?

SPLC is not an attorney referral service. The organizations listed below are provided as possible resources to help you locate an attorney to consult with. None of these organizations are guaranteed to help, and their appearance on this list is not a pledge to provide such assistance.

While we do not know if they will be able to help, we strongly suggest that you reach out to your state bar association or state legal services or legal aid organization, if appropriate, to locate an attorney to provide the assistance you are seeking. Depending on your legal problem, you may be able to find help by contacting one of the resources below.

Prison Issues:

Disability Issues:

Employment issues:

Housing Issues:

Education issues:

Discrimination Issues:

If you believe that your legal problem falls within the work of one of our practice areas, please submit your request by clicking the button below.

Submit a request