2018-2020 Strategic Plan

The Legal Assistance Center works to empower the people of our community to face and resolve legal challenges, to assure access to justice and to thereby enhance individual, family, and community stability and prosperity.

Introduction

The Legal Assistance Center exists to advance the goal of access to justice for all by serving as a single site resource for all those who need legal help.  Having served for 15 years as a personal service, legal self-help center, the LAC now seeks to define and create the next generation legal resource center, a single source to meet the current and future legal needs of our community.

We do not presume to know now the full scope of such a commitment but do pledge to set a course in that direction, to ask and seek answers to essential questions, and to experiment on a path to success.  With this 2018 to 2020 Strategic Plan, we seek to begin a conversation about access to justice and our role in truly meeting the legal needs of our community that will energize and inspire our organization and all of those who work in it, care for it, and support it.

LAC Manifesto

We believe in justice for all.
We believe in fairness.
We believe that the justice system must work for everyone.
We believe that justice and fairness require access.
We believe everyone is entitled to use the courts.
We believe that limited resources should not impair justice, fairness, or access.

We believe in empowering people to solve problems.
We believe that serving people directly has deep value.
We believe that everyone is entitled to our respect and compassion.
We believe that our services and resources must work for the people who use them.
We believe that solving problems improves lives and families.
We believe that improving lives and families makes our community a better place.

LAC Vision 2020

The Legal Assistance Center is widely recognized as the place where everyone in our community can find the legal help they need to manage the legal issues that affect their lives, their children, and their families.  In a warm and welcoming environment, highly skilled LAC staff and volunteers are ready to engage, inform, equip, and empower people to be their own best advocate when using the court or solving legal challenges.  The services and resources provided by the LAC are current, useful, effective, and easily-understood by all.  Everyone who comes to the LAC receives direct assistance and, when needed, a connection to legal, community, or other resources and services that will assure them a meaningful path forward.

2018 – 2020 Strategic Goals

• Serve More People
  Meet the legal needs of more people.
• Assure Excellent Core Services
  Provide consistent, exceptional, accessible, and empowering legal self-help                                 services and resources.
• Expand Service Capacity
  Ensure the capacity to provide excellent legal service at all times.
• Develop Paths to Legal Services
  Provide meaningful access to legal advice and legal services.
• Increase Funding
  Ensure the funding capacity to sustain and grow powerful LAC services.