Welcome to the Legal Services Center

The Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School originated in 1979 with a commitment to combine education and service in the study of law.  Its primary purposes were, and are,  to educate law students for practice and professional service in a fully functioning law office; to harness the energies and efforts of those law students to meet the legal needs of a diverse, urban clientele; to experiment with approaches to increase access to legal services; and to study and understand the public policies and institutions that most directly affect lower income individuals and families.