Closing the Justice Gap through Medical-Legal Partnerships

Closing the Justice Gap through Medical-Legal Partnerships

Friday, May 14, 2021 from 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

Medical-Legal Partnerships are emerging across the country to reduce the Justice Gap for low-income families. A Justice Gap emerges where there is when there is a high need for civil legal aid, but not enough resources available. The Legal Services Corporation reported that only 20% of low-income Americans sought help for the civil legal problems they faced. Top reasons for not seeking professional legal help were, not knowing where to look for help or what resources might exist, and not being sure whether their problem is “legal”. Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLPs) address the Justice Gap by integrating the expertise of poverty lawyers into health care settings to train clinicians, case managers, and social workers on how to identify a civil legal issue while also providing legal aid on site. Hear from representatives from Maryland’s three unique Medical-Legal Partnerships that serve respectively the needs of people experiencing homelessness, children, and people living with HIV/AIDs. Get answers to questions like: How are health and law related? How do you establish an MLP? What legal issues should a Medical-Legal Partnership address? What obstacles emerge when launching an MLP?

Panelists:

  • Sara Gold, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law 
  • Mallory Legg, Project HEAL (Health Education Advocacy Law) at the Kennedy Krieger Institute
  • Gabriela Sevilla, Homeless Persons Representation Project

Moderator: