Free Legal Clinic

A Second Chance, Inc., provides a no-cost legal clinic at its Homewood campus to help put individuals and families on a path to justice and equity.  

APPOINTMENTS REQUIRED  

Call the Family and Community Engagement Department at (412) 342-0600 and ask for Aquieda Lawson to schedule an appointment.  

*Please note: Having an appointment with the Legal Clinic does not assume legal representation. Our attorneys can provide a legal assessment of your case and may refer you to available resources or to attorney referral services as needed. 

About the Clinic 

When families served by ASCI who live in the community need legal referrals, information and services that would otherwise be out of reach financially, the legal clinic is a convenient and valuable resource.  

“As a longtime provider of kinship care services for children and families in Allegheny County, ASCI takes a family’s access to justice, fairness and the law seriously,” says Dr. McDaniel, who launched the legal clinic in June 2018. “Being a good neighbor in this community is also important to us. That is why we make needed programs and services like the legal clinic accessible and free to families in the community. We believe that when families are strong, communities are strong.”  

Retired Family Court Judge Cheryl Allen, the clinic’s lead pro bono attorney, adds, “The legal clinic has become a go-to resource for a growing number of caregivers looking for clarity on the process and access to experts in the law and kinship care.” More than 2.6 million children across the U.S. are raised in kinship care by grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, other extended family and close family friends, who step in to care for them when parents cannot.  

In addition to guardianship issues, the legal clinic also offers support with bankruptcy, child support, consumer/contracts, family law, landlord/tenant disputes, wills and estate planning, employment, tax matters and more.