Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Inc.
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Mission Statement
PTLA is a statewide, non-profit organization committed to providing high quality, free, civil legal assistance to low-income people in Maine. Our mission is to ensure that state and federal laws affecting poor people are enforced while also addressing the systemic barriers to justice that low-income Mainers face. We are committed to ensuring that all Mainers have access to justice.
About This Cause
Pine Tree Legal Assistance was established as a statewide nonprofit corporation in 1966 by local attorneys concerned about the lack of coordinated legal services for low-income individuals in Maine. Over the past 45 years, Pine Tree has become a recognized part of the justice system in Maine, providing help to over 400,000 Maine people since its doors first opened. Today, Pine Tree is the oldest and largest statewide legal aid provider in Maine, providing free civil legal assistance in thousands of cases every year where it can make a difference in meeting basic human needs or in enforcing basic rights, including access to housing, food, income, safety, education, and healthcare. With six neighborhood offices strategically located throughout Maine, services are accessible to Mainers throughout the state. Offices located in Augusta, Bangor, Lewiston, Machias, Portland, and Presque Isle are accessible to clients via walk-in and telephone. Pine Tree’s structure assures that its staff and advocates can reach any court in the State within roughly an hour’s drive, and stay attuned to local needs and resources. In addition to general field offices that handle a wide range of legal needs, Pine Tree has developed specialty units to address the unique needs of specific populations or to handle specific legal issues. These include: • The Employment/Farmworker Unit is based in Bangor but operates statewide to provide legal assistance to individuals with legal issues related to wages or the workplace, including migrant farmworkers; • The Native American Unit is based in Machias but operates statewide to provide legal assistance to Native Americans who are members of Maine’s four federally recognized tribes, as well as off-reservation tribal members; • KIDS LEGAL is based in Portland but provides services statewide; it provides legal assistance focused on the special needs of low-income children; Legal services range from simple advice and brief service to negotiations and include full representation in the most serious cases. In an effort to make the legal system more accessible to all Mainers, Pine Tree has developed hundreds of user-friendly explanations of laws and self-help tools, written in plain English at an 8th grade reading level, which are available online at its program websites (including www.ptla.org, www.kidslegal.org, www.helpmelaw.org, and www.statesidelega.org, Pine Tree’s newest website that addresses the legal needs of veteran and military service members.) These websites reflect Pine Tree’s national reputation for high quality web-based resources. Pine Tree is a valuable community resource in the state, providing community education and outreach and working with other stakeholder groups that serve low income people, including social service providers, members of the private bar, and the court system. Pine Tree’s general services are structured to respond to the areas of highest need for assistance and the lack of other available resources in the local community to meet those needs. Program wide priorities are established by a 26-member Board of Directors that includes lawyers and low-income representatives from around the State. Pine Tree staff also actively participate in statewide and local initiatives designed to address systemic justice concerns, serve as trainers for social service agencies, the Courts and the private bar, and work closely with other members of the legal service community. Pine Tree does not discriminate based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, creed, national origin, age, religion, political affiliation or belief, or disability. The intake process routinely includes questions about household income and assets, as well as citizenship status, all of which are documented on the computerized case management system. No fees are charged for services but clients are asked to pay for the costs of litigation where feasible. Because Pine Tree has been in continuous operation since 1967, it has developed a unique place in the State’s justice system. It is recognized nationally as one of the country’s best legal service providers -- a reputation that reflects the impressive list of legal victories secured in Maine through Pine Tree advocacy AND its ability to attract, support and retain high quality staff. Pine Tree’s diverse staff includes several attorneys with 15 – 30 years of experience as legal service advocates as well as recent judicial clerks and other attorneys with 1- 7 years experience with the program. (The average Pine Tree staff attorney has 14 years of legal experience.) Pine Tree is committed to strong support and mentoring of its entire staff, and relies on its existing managers in local offices, as well as its Director of Training and Litigation, to provide this support. The program offers ongoing in-house training and access to formal CLE programs on a regular basis. Pine Tree advocates are encouraged to develop effective working relations with community organizations and client groups in their service areas and to pursue issues of special interest that will strengthen their ability to serve our clients.