Linje Rivers - The Legal Aid Foundation: Helping Tallahassee

The Tallahassee Bar Association founded the Legal Aid Foundation in 1970 to help local low-income families and individuals solve their legal problems. Today, the foundation offers many services to low-income denizens of Tallahassee who need legal assistance but can't afford it. The Legal Aid Foundation's Pro Bono Program matches volunteer lawyers with exceptional skill with clients needing assistance in civil matters. Almost 60% of these clients need help with representation in family law cases, some of the most complicated. In 2012 alone, volunteers for the Legal Aid Foundation's Pro Bono Program donated 4226 hours of their time and provided over $950,000 in free legal work for their clients. Lawyers with the Pro Bono Program also closed 548 cases that year.

The Legal Aid Foundation also provides low-income individuals embroiled in family law cases with help representing themselves. Tallahassee Bar Association staff members provide family law form assistance in the Legal Aid Foundation's Pro Se Program. Last year, this program served over 360 clients.

The Legal Aid Foundation's mission is to provide recourse to who have no other options for their legal needs. Low-income individuals and families are the most vulnerable in Florida's family law system, and the volunteers and staff members of the Legal Aid Foundation believe it is their duty to help them navigate the complex system.

Linje Rivers is the Treasurer of the Legal Aid Foundation and proud to work with people within his community. He is a Senior Attorney for the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and worked as a Senior Attorney for the Florida Department of Financial Services.