To provide equal access to justice for persons not able to pay for legal and other essentials.

History:
During the 1920's, the American Bar Association acknowledged the need for special assistance to the poor by creating a committee on legal aid. State and local bar associations worked over the following decades to promote legal aid societies to provide free legal services to the poor. Early legal services supporters recognized the pledge of "Equal Justice under the Law" cannot be realized as long as people with limited resources do not have access to the justice system.

In the mid-1990's, legal aid societies were formed in Topeka, Wichita and Kansas City. From the 1960's until 1974, the three Kansas legal aid societies, with the support of local bar associations, operated under the authority of the Office of Economic Opportunity, Office of Legal Services. Authority for the legal services program then transferred from the Community Services Administration (successor to the Office of Economic Opportunity) to the newly formed Legal Services Corporation during 1975. Through all of these changes in administrative authority and funding, the Kansas legal aid societies continued to provide free legal services to the poor in Kansas.
In 1977, the Kansas City, Topeka and Wichita legal aid societies merged to form Kansas Legal Services, Inc. Kansas Legal Services now has twelve legal services, two mediation and seven employment training offices located across the state, and maintains an extensive retainer contract system with cooperating members of the Kansas Bar Association.
Today, the KLS Topeka office provides legal and other services to clients in a five county area. Many of these services are free to qualifying applicants, the balance are served on a reduced-fee basis. Areas of concentration include domestic, social security disability, bankruptcy, seniors and children's advocacy. There are seven attorneys and a number of support staff in the Topeka office.

Contact person: Janice Watkins, Program Coordinator, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: 785-233-2096

Address:

712 S. Kansas Ave., Suite 201 Topeka, KS 66603 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.kansaslegalservices.org

Directions:

Kansas Avenue to 7th street. KLS sits on the East side of the street. There is an anchor waterfall in the front of our building.