The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (CMBA) states thousands of modest-income earners earn too much to qualify for free legal aid but not enough to hire an attorney, which can lead to people not getting help or receiving inadequate assistance.

It’s why they’re helping to launch the Cleveland Legal Collaborative– a social justice legal incubator that will be housed at the CMBA.

“It will provide substantive training to our region’s next generation of legal professionals while helping those caught in the justice gap,” said Meredith Shoop, president of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation.

“This is designed to address the civil legal needs. So that could be an eviction (or) that could be a divorce,” she said. “There are all sorts of legal issues that arise that have nothing to do with criminal conduct and are issues for which folks of modest income have trouble finding representation.”

Shoop said it’s a critical time to expand access to justice community-wide.

“We know that three out of four low-income Americans had at least one civil legal problem last year, and 40% had five or more issues. Now, out of that group, 92% received inadequate or no legal help,” Shoop said. “Now, that’s not to downplay the tremendous impact of other partners for justice, such as legal aid. But many of these individuals who can’t get legal help have income above legal aid’s requirement of 200% of the poverty level, but they still can’t afford a lawyer at market rates. And it’s the gap that the Cleveland Legal Collaborative is designed to fill.”

More than 100 CMBA volunteers are involved in building the Cleveland Legal Collaborative.

“We have tremendous allies in the up-and-coming generation of new legal grads,” Shoop said. “And we are thrilled to give them this opportunity. And at the same time, give an opportunity for seasoned attorneys in our community to find additional meaning at the end of their careers and helping to bring up the next generation of attorneys and to bring this all to life.”

A fundraising campaign is working to raise $2 million to help support the collaborative. More information can be found online.