#298 How the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic Provides Access to Justice and Serves Community Needs with Erin Hall

The Good Citizen Podcast

In Micah 6:8, Scripture commands us to do justice and to love mercy. But what exactly does that mean? How should we practically work out these commands? In this episode, Attorney Erin Hall explains how the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic is practically and powerfully doing the command to do justice by providing access to legal resources and services and serving community needs.

The Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic is a 501(c)(3) organization that provides free legal services to those who can’t afford them, believing everyone deserves access to justice regardless of income. As a faith-based organization, NCLC serves and empowers all clients, regardless of their background, reflecting God’s heart for justice. The clinic’s goal is to free clients from legal burdens that may be holding them back from their full potential.

Erin Hall received her J.D. from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. Before joining the Clinic as Executive Director, she served the state of Indiana for 17 years—most recently as Director of Policy and Legal Operations with the Indiana Department of Transportation, where she implemented agency-wide policy, managed compliance with state and federal regulations, and oversaw legal operations. She has served as an ADA Indiana Board Member and has served two terms on Indiana’s Statewide Independent Living Council. Erin lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with her daughter.

Key Takeaways:

• Approximately 96% of legal issues that low-income Hoosiers face receive no legal counsel or representation. In addition, 1-in-5 low-income Hoosiers will face a legal problem this year. Similar legal issues are affecting low-income families across the country as well.
• How a single sermon at a local church inspired the launch of NCLC.
• How NCLC serves clients through its re-entry justice program, including a remarkable expungement program (allowing individuals with criminal records a fresh start if they meet certain statutory requirements) housed in the local justice center. This programs handles more than 50% of all expungement cases in Marion County (Indianapolis area) with a 96% success rate once the expungement petition is filed. Note: This is a correction from the statement in the episode that NCLC handles 90% of expungement cases in Marion County.
• How the clinic serves clients in the area of housing.
• How the clinic serves veterans.
• How the clinic serves immigrants.
• How churches and Christian attorneys can get involved.

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