As Arkansans have embraced social distancing to protect our friends and families from the spread of COVID-19, working families are feeling tremendous economic stress. Many workers from waiters to hair stylists have seen their wages completely evaporate in a matter of days. While Congress is working to soften the blow of the pandemic, many of our fellow Arkansans are going to have pressing legal needs in the coming days and weeks. Arkansans will have questions about unemployment benefits, SNAP (food stamps), eviction, foreclosure, custody and visitation, and domestic abuse, among many others.

Arkansas attorneys consistently step up to help their neighbors in need. Each year, attorneys volunteer at dozens of legal clinics. They prepare estate planning documents at Wills for Heroes, they help clients get a fresh start at expungement clinics, and they provide guidance to pro se litigants lost in the system at Court Help programs. With social distancing many programs like these are no longer possible.

So, how can you help? By providing pro bono legal advice online! Arkansas Access to Justice has partnered with the American Bar Association, the Arkansas Bar Association, and the Arkansas Bar Foundation to provide legal advice to low-income Arkansans through a secure online chatroom called AR Free Legal Answers. Here’s how it works:

• Sign up using the form below;
• We’ll send monthly emails with the questions we receive from low-income Arkansans (We may send emails more frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic.);
• Read through the questions and pick the ones you want to help with;
• Type an answer to the client’s question;
• The client can follow up with additional information or follow-up questions; and
• When your done helping the client, click “Close Question” or let it close automatically after two weeks of inactivity.

Do you have questions? Check out our FAQ section below or contact us.

Thanks for providing hope for those in need!