Legal aid refers to professional legal services available to those who cannot afford them. Broadly speaking, the term encompasses public and charitable means of providing services to economically disadvantaged individuals who require an attorney. In its narrowest sense, legal aid refers to charitable assistance provided by lawyers who work for a non-profit, private, or partially government-funded entity such as the Legal Aid Society in New York. The term “legal aid” may be used less technically to include counsel by a public defender, legal assistance from pro bono attorneys, legal resource centers, law school clinics, and minimally compensated court-appointed counsel from the bar.
[Last updated in July of 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team]