Find Free Legal Help in Northwest Indiana
If you cannot afford a lawyer, you still have options. Here are the real legal-aid organizations that serve The Region.
Free and low-cost legal help is available in Northwest Indiana for people who qualify, usually based on household income. The organizations below are the established, legitimate providers, and they handle civil matters such as eviction and housing, family law, public benefits, consumer debt, and similar problems. Most do not handle criminal cases or personal-injury lawsuits, because injury cases are usually taken by private lawyers on contingency, meaning no upfront cost.
Legal-aid organizations serving The Region
| Organization | What they do |
|---|---|
| Indiana Legal Services – Merrillville | Nonprofit law firm offering free civil legal help to income-eligible residents of Lake, Porter, Jasper and Newton counties. Phone (844) 243-8570. |
| Indiana Legal Help | Statewide self-help forms, plain-language guides, and a legal-aid locator by county and problem type. |
| Indiana Free Legal Answers | Post a civil legal question online and a volunteer Indiana attorney answers it, free, for those who qualify. |
| Pro Bono Indiana | Coordinates Indiana's regional pro bono districts, which recruit volunteer attorneys for low-income clients. |
| Indiana Courts Self-Service Center | Official court forms and step-by-step guides for people handling a case without a lawyer. |
| Lake County Bar Association | Lawyer referral service and community legal resources for Lake County. |
Who qualifies
Most civil legal-aid programs use income limits tied to the federal poverty guidelines, often around 125 percent of the federal poverty level, with some flexibility for seniors and for certain case types. Each organization sets its own rules and priorities, so even if one cannot help, another may. Indiana Legal Services and the Indiana Legal Help locator are good first stops because they screen for eligibility and point you to the right place.
If your problem is an injury or accident
Legal-aid offices generally do not take car-accident or other personal-injury cases, but you usually do not need legal aid for those. Indiana injury attorneys typically offer a free consultation and work on a contingency fee, so you pay nothing unless they recover money for you. Our Personal Injury section explains how those cases work and how to choose a lawyer without being pressured.
If you are facing an emergency
If you have a court date in the next few days, an eviction, or a protective-order matter, act immediately and tell the organization your deadline. Courts in Lake and Porter counties also have self-help resources, and the statewide Self-Service Legal Center has the official forms.
If a listing here is out of date, please tell us at editor@nwivolunteerlawyers.org so we can keep this page accurate.