About Us
The Community Law Center is a nonprofit public interest law
firm which creates and implements innovative legal strategies to
improve conditions for our clients. Our clients are community
based organizations representing low-income urban communities.
We provide legal ‘tools’ to help our clients
overcome neighborhood fragmentation, disinvestment,
and crime.
We help clients identify
their priorities and resources,
understand their strengths and weaknesses, and develop
comprehensive plans to reach their goals. The
Law Center represents clients in litigation, corporate, and real
estate transactions, and in other relevant matters. We participate in the legislative process and on policymaking task
forces to change the law to promote the interests of our
clients.
After 20
years in operation, The Community Law Center (“CLC”), remains
Baltimore’s only legal services organization dedicated solely to
strengthening neighborhoods. The mission of the Community Law
Center is to provide legal services and technical assistance to
improve the quality of life and economic viability of
communities. We seek partnerships with many organizations,
professionals and agencies including, but not limited to,
community organizers, nonprofit housing developers, urban
planners, educators, and law enforcement agencies to realize
each client’s strategic goals.
The Law Center uses the law and legal interventions to assist
community-based organizations in their neighborhood improvement
efforts. We accomplish this through the operation of six
programs:
• The Pro Bono Project recruits and supports approximately 200
volunteer lawyers to serve community-based organizations and
nonprofits throughout Maryland.
• The Community Legal Services Project provides pro bono legal
assistance as general counsel for community-based organizations
in distressed Baltimore City neighborhoods to address quality of
life issues and improve public safety.
• The Project to End Predatory Real Estate Practices seeks to
prevent property flipping, unfair mortgage loan servicing and
predatory lending which leads to foreclosures, family tragedies,
and abandoned properties through research and policy change.
• The Real Estate Services Project works to transfer vacant
houses or houses in need of rehabilitation in Baltimore City and
put them back into productive use.
• The Environmental Justice Project provides pro bono legal
assistance and advocacy to give communities a voice in land use
decisions and address the environmental threats that are
hindering community revitalization efforts or endangering the
health of the neighborhoods.
• The Small Business Legal Services Project provides
reduced-rate, non-litigation, legal services to small businesses
in distressed communities and to low-moderate income individuals
and nonprofits engaged in creating business ventures.
Providing legal assistance to help people improve their
communities since 1986, the CLC has assisted with many legal
issues facing communities in Maryland, including: the formation
or organization of over 300 nonprofit groups and over 75 small
businesses; the transformation of over 300 vacant lots; the
transfer of over 500 vacant properties; the abatement of illegal
drug activity at over 1,100 properties; and the cleaning,
boarding and securing of over 1,700 abandoned buildings. We have
helped our clients make communities, safer, more attractive, and
more desirable places to live.
If you are unable to open links, e-mail
mail@communitylaw.org
To add your neighborhood to our links
page
click here:
The Community Law Center Website is
updated regularly. Please visit us often.
Last Updated:
February 13, 2008 ©
2008 Community Law Center, Inc. Baltimore, Maryland
|
The Community Law Center, Inc.
