Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services

TALS is a statewide non-profit organization that seeks to build partnerships to support the delivery of effective civil legal services for low-income and elderly Tennesseans. TALS is committed to increasing equal access to justice across Tennessee. TALS is an alliance of the federally-funded legal aid programs, independent providers of civil legal services, and supporting agencies in Tennessee.

TALS seeks the following through its various programs:

• increase financial support for Tennessee’s legal services programs;
• provide high-quality training for civil legal advocates;
• grow and broaden pro bono participation in Tennessee;
• utilize technology to better assist low-income Tennesseans;
• support Supreme Court efforts to expand access to justice.

Facts about Tennesseans with low-income who are served by legal aid programs:

• 70% had a civil legal problem in 2003
• 43% had more than three civil legal problems
• Those with jobs have more legal problems than the non-working poor
• Single-parent households with children have significantly more legal problems than two-parent households