Every legislative session in Virginia culminates in a brief “Reconvene” or “Veto” session where the General Assembly considers any vetoes or amendments from the Governor. On April 27th, legislators gathered to act on approximately 100 bills that Gov. Youngkin proposed amending, as well as 26 bills that he vetoed. Several of…

Virginia has received national attention in recent years for shifting its approach to juvenile justice from a punitive, carceral system to a more rehabilitative, restorative, and community-based model. The bipartisan passage of HB 1197 continues this trajectory by establishing a stakeholder workgroup to initiate the transfer of the Department of…

Outstanding bills for medical treatment are one of the leading causes of debt and bankruptcy, and medical debt is one of the most common debts for which Virginians are sued. Governor Youngkin’s vetoes of Del. Clark’s HB573 and Sen. Deeds’ SB297 have derailed critical, popular, and thoughtfully crafted bipartisan consumer…

In the past few months we have been joined by a number of fantastic new staff members! Meet the staff who have started with us since October 2021: Hannah Flamm (she/her) – Attorney, Immigrant Advocacy Program Hannah Flamm joined the Legal Aid Justice Center’s Immigrant Advocacy Program as an immigration…

Today, 109 organizations, coalitions, and law firms from Virginia and around the country, including LAJC, joined together to demand that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas close the privatized ICE detention center in Farmville, Virginia and release every detained immigrant. You can read the letter here. For over a decade, Farmville has been a site of well-documented abuse, mistreatment, and medical…

We are incredibly excited to announce Danielle Taylor as our new Deputy Director of Operations! This brand new role will design, build, and oversee systems and infrastructure to promote a healthy working environment and to support our advocates in achieving LAJC’s mission. Danielle Taylor is a global development strategist and human rights activist…

Today the Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) filed a Housing Discrimination and Rental Assistance Demonstration Program complaint against The Michaels Organization, the current owners of the Fulton and Randolph/Idlewood affordable housing complexes, on behalf of two families. The complaint details how, when residents notified the property managers about serious health…

Legal Aid Justice Center Plans Expansion of Services and Other Community-led Efforts Thanks to an Historic Unrestricted Gift.     Charlottesville/Richmond/Falls Church VA – The Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) today announced that a long-time donor to the organization, Philanthropist Sonjia Smith, has given LAJC a one-time gift of $10,000,000. This historic show of support for LAJC’s efforts towards…

As we grow our work, we have also been growing our team! Welcome to our new staff members who have started work with us in the past three months – you can read more about them here:  Kendra Hudson (she/her) – Attorney – Petersburg Kendra joined Legal Aid Justice Center in…

Anna worked for over a decade as a Public Defender at the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, Office of the Public Defender. There, she represented low-income people charged with felonies in jury trials and appeals. She used the participatory defense model to partner with her clients and their communities to shift the…

The Legal Aid Justice Center greatly appreciates Charlottesville City Council’s commitment to housing justice in Charlottesville, and we applaud their recent vote to approve funding for an eviction prevention program. We also want to express our gratitude to the very courageous and incredibly effective advocacy by our partners and allies…

As we grow our work, we have also been growing our team! Welcome to our new staff members who have started work with us so far in 2021 – you can read more about them here:  Chris Florez (he/him) – Technology Manager – Charlottesville Chris joined Legal Aid Justice Center…

On Friday, July 2nd, the Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) and the Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC) submitted joint public comment on the Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority (RRHA) Annual Agency Plan opposing significant aspects of the plan. Our key concern is that the plan will decrease the amount of deeply…

Download PDF version here IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA Richmond Division ASHLEY COX, et al.,             Plaintiffs, v. ELLEN MARIE HESS, in her official capacity as Commissioner of the Virginia Employment Commission,             Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )…

Today we at Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) and The Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC) sent a letter to Governor Ralph Northam urging him to extend State of Emergency protections for tenants via executive order. Currently all of Virginia’s State of Emergency tenant protections are set to expire on June…

Judge Orders Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) to End Unemployment Insurance Backlog and Fix Issues at the Agency    Legal Aid groups and their Pro Bono Partners will monitor the VEC’s progress to ensure Virginians who have been struggling, often for months, get access to the relief they are owed   …

  The Virginia Employment Commission Responds to Lawsuit About Delays in Unemployment Payments with…a Request to Delay.  Despite having been fully informed about the issues detailed in the lawsuit more than six months ago, the VEC moves to put the case on hold for an extra month. Richmond VA –…

In solidarity with Richmond youth and as part of our multi-year effort to end school pushout and the school-to-prison pipeline, today the Legal Aid Justice Center sent a letter to the City of Richmond School Board and the Richmond Public Schools administration asking that Richmond divest from its School Resource…

Today LAJC sent a letter to the Alexandria (Va) City Council in support of student demands for a police-free Alexandria City Public School system. Youth advocates at our longtime partner organization, Tenants and Workers United, have petitioned the City Council for a budget amendment that would divest nearly $800,000 from Alexandria’s…

Learn more about the lawsuit and how you can take action here   ­­­­Class Action Lawsuit Filed to Fix Historic Failures by Virginia’s Unemployment Insurance System Legal Aid groups and pro bono partners charge the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) with violating the rights of Virginians who have been cut off…