JACKSON, Miss.- The Mississippi Access to Justice Commission will discuss at a quarterly meeting a new website that offers free legal assistance to impoverished individuals and families. Through the website Volunteer Mississippi attorneys answer civil legal questions through a website. The meeting will determine the positive and negative impact of the service.
The meeting is set for 12:00 pm on September 6 at the Gartin Justice Building in Jackson.
A presentation will be shown on the data gathered from the website by LeKesha L. Perry, founder of Key Concepts, LLC. The data will then be evaluated by the commission and others present in an effort to asses the impact of the work.
Right now, the service answers civil law questions through a website forum. Those topics cover divorce, custody, child support, visitation, guardianship, emancipation, adoption, name change, and birth certificate correction as well as domestic violence bankruptcy, consumer issues, education, employment, housing, workers compensation, and wills and estate planning. They do not deal with criminal law questions.
The service is only accessible if you are at least 18 years of age, have less than $5,000 in total assets with a household income below 200 percent of Federal Poverty Guidelines, which is $23,760 for an individual, or $47,520 for a family of four.
Users do not speak directly to an attorney. They sign up for an account and then post a question privately and will be responded to via email. Attorneys do not write letters, make phone calls or file documents for users, and will not represent them in court.
