Legal Services Corporation

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a publicly funded, 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established by the United States Congress. It seeks to ensure equal access to justice under the law for all Americans by funding organizations providing civil legal aid to those who otherwise would be unable to afford it. LSC was created in 1974 with bipartisan congressional sponsorship and the support of the Nixon administration and is funded through the congressional appropriations process. LSC has a board of eleven directors, appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate, that set LSC policy. By law, the board is bipartisan; no more than six members can come from the same party. LSC has a president and other officers who implement policies and oversee the corporation's operations. By law, LSC's headquarters are located in Washington, D.C. In the 1970s and 1980s, LSC also had regional offices. LSC currently has one office in Washington, D.C. that administers all of LSC's work. LSC is the largest single funder of civil legal aid in the country, distributing more than 90 percent of its total funding to 132 independent nonprofit legal aid programs. For Fiscal Year 2023, Congress appropriated $560 million to LSC to fund civil legal aid.