Legal aid in the United States is delivered through Legal Services Corporation (LSC)-funded nonprofits, law school clinics, pro bono panels, and court self-help centers. Most programs serve women at or below 125–200% of the Federal Poverty Level and handle family law, housing, public benefits, immigration, and protective orders. The American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession and the National Women's Law Center supplement local services. For women, the most common legal aid needs are custody, divorce, child support, VAWA-based immigration relief, and DV protective orders — all areas LSC grantees regularly handle. This directory aggregates state legal aid offices, women's legal clinics, and bar referral panels.
Maine district courts handle most family matters; superior courts handle more complex cases and appeals. The Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery operates under DHHS. Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, and Auburn are the largest cities. Pine Tree Legal Assistance and the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence support women, with strong online self-help resources for custody and support.
VLP at 124 State St in Augusta matches low-income Maine mothers with private attorneys volunteering pro bono on divorce, parental rights, and protection-from-abuse cases. Intake is by phone screening; income must generally be at or under 200% of federal poverty. Call 207-622-3150 with your county, your issue, and whether you have a hearing date pending.
207-622-3150 · Augusta, ME 04330 · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm · Visit Website
Maine Law's in-house clinic at 246 Deering Ave in Portland, where supervised second- and third-year law students represent low-income clients in family, immigration, and prisoner-assistance matters. Caseload is set each semester, so timing matters. Call 207-780-4370 early in the fall or spring term for the best chance at placement.
207-780-4370 · 246 Deering Ave, Portland, ME 04102 · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm (semester) · Visit Website
ABA-run platform where Maine attorneys answer civil legal questions submitted by qualifying low-income users — useful for one-off questions about wage garnishment, MaineCare denials, or pro se filings when you cannot get a callback from a legal-aid intake line. Free, confidential, and anonymous; no walk-in office.
Online Service · Online 24/7 · Visit Website
Maine's federally designated Protection & Advocacy agency at 24 Stone St in Augusta, handling free legal advocacy for women with disabilities — including SSDI denials, MaineCare service-cut appeals, and discrimination cases. Call 800-452-1948 statewide; intake staff will ask about your disability, your income, and the specific decision you want to challenge.
800-452-1948 · 24 Stone St Suite 204, Augusta, ME 04330 · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm · Visit Website
MEJ at 126 Sewall St in Augusta is the state's leading legal advocacy group for women on TANF, ASPIRE, SNAP, MaineCare, and housing-voucher issues. Staff attorneys handle benefits denials and policy litigation. Call 207-626-7058 if DHHS has cut your case off, miscalculated TANF, or sanctioned you out of ASPIRE.
207-626-7058 · 126 Sewall St, Augusta, ME 04330 · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm · Visit Website
ILAP at 309 Cumberland Ave in Portland is the only nonprofit providing free and low-cost immigration legal services across Maine, including U-visa, VAWA self-petition, asylum, and family-based filings. Call 207-780-1593 to request screening; phone lines fill fast, but messages are returned in order. Translation support is available for French, Portuguese, Arabic, and several African languages.
207-780-1593 · 309 Cumberland Ave Suite 201, Portland, ME 04101 · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm · Visit Website
LSC is the largest federal funder of civil legal aid in the country and funds Pine Tree Legal Assistance, which is Maine's main provider. Their site has a 'Find Legal Aid' map confirming which Pine Tree office covers your zip code and what income eligibility rules apply.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
National portal that links to Maine-specific resources at helpmelaw.org and ptla.org — including Maine District Court forms, plain-language guides on protection from abuse, and a self-help library on family law, housing, and public benefits curated by Pine Tree Legal Assistance.
Nationwide · Online
American Bar Association directory of free and reduced-fee legal programs nationwide, with Maine entries for Maine Law's Cumberland Clinic, the Volunteer Lawyers Project, and county-bar referral lines. A good fallback when Pine Tree has conflicted out or is at capacity.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
National pro-bono coordination platform whose Maine partners include the Volunteer Lawyers Project and Pine Tree Legal Assistance. Public-facing tools include curated form libraries useful for Maine mothers preparing pro se filings in District Court.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
Justia's free directory of Maine legal-aid offices, lawyer referral services, and pro-bono programs, indexed by county and practice area. Useful when one program has already turned you away and you need the next-closest option in York, Cumberland, Penobscot, or Aroostook.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
Specifically for women dealing with abuse, stalking, or contested custody, WomensLaw maintains a vetted Maine referral list of attorneys and DV advocates trained in coercive-control dynamics. The site has a one-click quick-exit safety feature and Maine-specific protection-from-abuse pages.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
NCADV's get-help portal explains Maine's Protection from Abuse process under Title 19-A § 4006, civil tort remedies for abuse, and how the federal Violence Against Women Act overlays Maine state law. Useful as background reading before meeting with a Pine Tree or VLP attorney.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
Legal-aid portal for veteran and military families, useful for Maine women veterans living near NAS Brunswick (former), the Bangor Air National Guard base, or the Togus VA. Covers SCRA protections, custody during deployment, and VA benefits appeals.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website
DOJ EOIR's recognized list of immigration legal-aid providers searchable by state. The Maine section includes ILAP and several DOJ-recognized representatives at parishes and resettlement agencies in Portland and Lewiston who handle low-cost filings.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website