Legal Aid Timeline

1967    A group of Charlottesville attorneys and law students establishes the Charlottesville-Albemarle Legal Aid Society (CALAS) in response to the acute need for a program of civil legal assistance to those who could not pay for services. Staff and local pro bono attorneys provide free legal services with funding from the national Legal Services Program.

1970    First federal funding for Legal Aid from the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity.

1978    First outreach services to rural counties of Nelson, Greene, and Louisa.

1982    Legal Aid receives its first funding from the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County for provision of legal services to the poor.

1984    Volunteers from Boyle and Bain, a private law firm, provide advice to Legal Aid clients one afternoon per week, establishing the pro bono model still in use. 

1996    The U.S. Congress drastically reduces federal funding for legal aid providers nation-wide and imposes significant restrictions on the representation of low-income clients.  CALAS begins to examine its options to continue serving clients zealously while maintaining the existing federal revenues.

1998    CALAS spins off Piedmont Legal Services, a new corporation with an interlocking Board to receive all federal funds that can be used for cases that fit the new federal guidelines. The Board charges CALAS with responsibility to find new sources of revenue to continue operation to address issues that fall outside of the federal guidelines.  CALAS launches two programs, JustChildren and the Virginia Justice Center for Farm and Immigrant Workers, that become an integral part of its mission.

2001    Following a merger with Southside Virginia Legal Services, Inc. – a legal services program with a rich tradition and history in the Petersburg area – the Charlottesville-Albemarle Legal Aid Society becomes the Legal Aid Justice Center.

2001    Consistent with federal requests to consolidate services regionally, Piedmont Legal Services merges into Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, creating federally-funded sister offices in Charlottesville, Richmond and Petersburg, and expanding Legal Aid Justice Center services to the Richmond area.

2003    Legal Aid Justice Center conducts a capital campaign to purchase and renovate the Bruton Building at 1000 Preston Avenue in Charlottesville to serve as the headquarters office for the four offices in Central and Northern Virginia.

2006-07   The Legal Aid Justice Center dedicates the Charles B. Holt Rock House, restored with community support to serve as headquarters for a pro-bono project with the firm of Hunton & Williams, and installs a garden and walkway that commemorates Charles B. Holt and the era in which he lived.

2007  The Legal Aid Justice Center celebrates its 40th anniversary of providing legal services in Central Virginia.

2008  Two signature programs at the Legal Aid Justice Center -- the JustChildren Program and the Immigrant Advocacy Program (formerly, the Virginia Justice Center for Farm & Immigrant Workers) -- celebrate their tenth anniversary.