Indiana Legal Services, Inc.

ABOUT US

Indiana Legal Services, Inc. (ILS) is a not-for-profit law firm and the largest provider of free civil legal assistance to eligible low-income people in Indiana. ILS helps clients who are faced with legal problems that harm their ability to have such basics as food, shelter, income, medical care or personal safety. ILS handles are cases in areas including family law where there is domestic violence, housing, consumer law, access to health care, and access to government benefits. ILS does not handle any criminal matters.

WHO WE SERVE

ILS was established in 1966, and today we serve clients in every county in Indiana. (To see which of our offices serves the various counties, click here.) We have about 100 attorneys and many other staff members working in offices around the state in areas including family law, housing, comsumer law, expungements and driver's licenses. ILS has several specialized projects to address the needs of particular client communities, including the Senior Law Project, the Immigrants and Language Rights Center, the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, the Military Assistance Project, the Legal Assistance for Victimized Adults (LAVA) Project, and the LGBT Project, and the Worker's Rights & Protection Project (WRAPP) addressing the need of migrant farmworkers, other agricultural workers, and survivors of human trafficking. ILS is governed by a Board of Directors that includes private attorneys and low-income people who are eligible for services at ILS.

In 2022, ILS served over 15,000 low income people. Some of these cases were full representation cases, where an ILS attorney represented the client in a court or agency action. Others involved giving a client advice about his or her legal rights and what action the client could take.

WHY

More than 800,000 people in Indiana live with incomes below the poverty level. There are several agencies and programs around the state that try to meet the legal needs of the poor. ILS is the largest of these agencies in Indiana. ILS recognizes and supports other agencies around the state that provide legal assistance to the poor, such as legal aid societies and pro bono programs. We also partner with organizations outside of Indiana, such as the Mid-America Pension Rights Project. Even with all of these agencies working hard, it is difficult to meet the legal needs of the poor in Indiana.

 

ILS Mission  

Indiana Legal Services uses the law to fight poverty and racism, empower clients, and improve access to justice.

ILS Vision

Dignity, fairness, and equality for all people under the law.

ILS Diversity & Inclusion Statement

"To ensure that ILS policies and practices respect, value, appreciate and leverage the unique and varied attributes of ILS's clients, board, staff and stakeholders."

Support

ILS receives funds from many different sources including funding from Congress through , funding through , and other agencies around the state. However, you can  and help support the most vulnerable residents of Indiana.

Table of Contents

  1. Office Locations
  2. Eligibility & Case Acceptance Guidelines
  3. Governing Documents
  4. Annual Report
  5. Strategic Plan
  6. Board of Directors
  7. Join our team!

Office Locations

If you are not already a client, we will have to conduct an intake interview over the phone (or you can apply online). 

 

Regional Offices/Projects

Indiana Legal Services - Bloomington 

The Bloomington office serves Bartholomew, Brown, Clay, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Orange, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, and Vigo counties.

Indiana Legal Services - Evansville 

The Evansville office serves Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Martin, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties.

Indiana Legal Services - Ft. Wayne 

The Fort Wayne office serves Adams, Allen, Blackford, Dekalb, Grant, Huntington, Jay, Steuben, Wells, and Whitley counties.

Indiana Legal Services - Indianapolis 

The Indianapolis office serves Boone, Decatur, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Union, and Wayne counties.

Indiana Legal Services - Lafayette 

The Lafayette  office serves Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Howard, Miami, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Vermillion, Wabash, Warren, and White counties.

Indiana Legal Services - Merrillville 

The Merrillville office serves Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter counties.

Indiana Legal Services - New Albany 

The New Albany office serves Clark, Crawford, Dearborn, Floyd, Harrison, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, Scott, Switzerland, and Washington counties.

Indiana Legal Services - Senior Law Project 

The Indianapolis Senior Law Project serves Blackford, Boone, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Grant, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Jay, Johnson, Marion, Madison, Morgan, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Union, and Wayne counties.

Indiana Legal Services - South Bend 

The South Bend office serves Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, LaGrange, LaPorte, Marshall, Noble, Pulaski, Starke, and St. Joseph counties.

Statewide Projects

Indiana Legal Services - Consumer Law Center

Indiana Legal Services - Housing Law Center

Indiana Legal Services - Immigrants & Language Rights Center

Indiana Legal Services - Migrant Farm Worker Project

Indiana Legal Services - Low Income Taxpayer Clinic 

Indiana Legal Services - Legal Assistance for Victimized Adults (LAVA) Project

Indiana Legal Services - LGBT Victim Assistance Program

Staff Directory

 

Office Leaders

Administration Office: Jon Laramore, Executive Director

Bloomington Office: Carl Greci, Managing Attorney

Evansville Office: Carrie Lynn, Managing Attorney

Fort Wayne Office: Chris Baumgartner, Managing Attorney

Indianapolis Office: Tracy Pappas, Managing Attorney

Lafayette Office: Ann Ginda, Managing Attorney

Merrillville Office: Tracey Wetzstein, Managing Attorney

New Albany Office: Marianne Conrad, Managing Attorney

South Bend Office: Angie Hoogeveen, Managing Attorney

Eligibility & Case Acceptance Guidelines

Note: Some ILS projects, which recieve spealized funding, use different eligibility guidelines dictated by their funders. These projects may have less restrictive income and assest guidelines. 

In general, an applicant is financially eligible for legal assistance from Indiana Legal Services if that person's income is within 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. The chart below shows the 125% income level. (For general information about the Federal Poverty Guidelines, see Frequently Asked Questions). These guidelines were approved by the ILS Board of Directors.

In certain circumstances, an applicant can be financially eligible for assistance from Indiana Legal Services if the applicant is within 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. The Income Guideline PDF also lists these numbers. Eligibility under the 200% income guidelines depends on the applicant's expenses. There are other eligibility requirements in addition to income requirements. Some of these rules are:

  • To be eligible, an applicant must not have $8,000 or more in countable assests (excluding a primary residence, vehicle, and some other items).

  • Generally, ILS will not handle fee-generating cases unless no private attorneys will take the case.

  • ILS may represent only citizens, persons with established legal immigration status, or persons without legal status who are victims of crime or trafficking. 

  • ILS does not handle criminal cases or cases involving juvenile delinquency.

  • ILS may provide legal assistance to a group, corporation, association or other organization if the group is composed primarily of eligible persons and the group cannot afford to hire private counsel. The group's activities must fall within LSC regulations and ILS priorities.

 

Governing Documents

Indiana Legal Services (ILS) is governed by Articles of Incorporation, and its Bylaws, and its Addendum to the Bylaws. To read these documents, click on the links below:

Annual Report

Annual Report

 

Strategic Plan

Indiana Legal Services, Inc. operates under a strategic plan. The plan helps to make sure the organization achieves its vision and goals. ILS’ mission is to use the law to fight poverty and racism, empower clients, and improve access to justice. ILS' vision is to provide dignity, fairness, and equality for all people under the law.

There are four specific goals in the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan:

  • Ensure that all aspects of our work are grounded in racial equity. 
  • Uniformly deliever excellent representation to our clients. 
  • Advocate for clients and client communitites, especially marginalized populations, to ensure just outcomes. 
  • Attract and retain superior talent throughout the organization. 

Each strategic goal includes specific initiatives that will be implemented to make progress against each goal and the Strategic Plan as a whole. By working toward and achieving these goals, ILS will provide concrete help on the legal issues clients face while it also seeks to alter some of the fundamental underpinnings that support such conditions. 

The entire Strategic Plan can be viewed via the link below. 

Board of Directors

Current Indiana Legal Services Board Members 

Board Officers

President: Patty McKinnon

1st Vice President: LaDonna Sims

Secretary: LaShung Willis

Treasurer: Steve Palmquist

Assistant Secretary: Jon Laramore

 

Shirley Adams, Community Advocate - Indianapolis

Kristina Carlson, Attorney - West Lafayette

Vicki Carmichael, Attorney - Jeffersonville 

Phyllis Carr, Community Advocate - Indianapolis 

Kimberly Duell, Community Advocate - Jeffersonville 

Samantha Edwards, Community Advocate - Bloomfield 

Jerome Ezell, Attorney - Kouts 

Karen Gabbard, Community Advocate - Richmond 

Adedoyin Gomih, Attorney - Merrillville 

David Guerrettaz, Attorney - South Bend 

Heather James, Attorney - Indianapolis 

Harry Johnson, Community Advocate - Indianapolis 

Patricia McKinnon, Attorney - Indianapolis 

Karen Moses, Attorney - Fort Wayne 

Aviva Orenstein, Attorney - Bloomington 

Kathy Osborn, Attorney - Jeffersonville 

Ernesto Reyes, Community Advocate - South Bend 

Dana Rifai, Attorney - Crown Point 

Fred Shultz, Attorney - Bloomington 

Carol-Ann Seaton, Community Advocate - Gary 

Nellie Simbol, Attorney - Terre Haute 

LaDonna Sims, Community Advocate - Fort Wayne 

Cynthia Smith, Attorney - Lafayette 

Judy Stranton, Attorney - Chesteron 

Kristin Steckbeck, Attorney - Bluffton 

Jessica Szabo, Community Advocate - Portage 

Tabitha Villarrubia, Attorney - Indianapolis 

Kayla Welch, Attorney - Richmond 

Mildred Williams, Community Advocate - Indianapolis 

LaShung Willis, Community Advocate - Hammond 

Scott Wylie, Attorney - Evansville 

Amber Nicole Ying, Attorney - Indianapolis 

 

Join our team!

Passion for our mission. That's the common attribute of those that work for our organization. ILS employees are excited by the chance to level the playing field for low-income Hoosiers faced with eviction, family issues, unfair debt collection, or looking to improve their employment by obtaining driver's license or expungement. 

Indiana Legal Services, Inc. is a statewide, not-for-profit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income individuals. If you are interested in a career with Indiana Legal Services, browse our openings and submit your resume for consideration.

ILS offers an excellent fringe benefits package including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, Rx), disability insurance, life insurance, a 401k plan, a flex benefit plan, and generous vacation and sick leave.

If you are attracted to a mission driven organization committed to providing holistic civil legal assistance for low-income people, Indiana Legal Services is the place for you!

Current Open Positions

 

 

 

 

Mission Statement

Indiana Legal Services uses the law to fight poverty and racism, empower clients, and improve access to justice.

Support Us

Please consider donating to Indiana Legal Services. We are a nonprofit corporation, and your donations are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.

Donate

Seal of Transparency 2018 Gold GuideStarwwwuvrcsddeatzzxfceufsuvxsya

Twitter Feed