With need for access to justice at an all-time high and the Rule of Law in the news every day, it is gratifying to be among 32 deserving nonprofits across the Commonwealth whose work addresses these areas. The work with Virginia Law Center completely aligns with the Virginia Law Foundation mission to promote the Rule […]

The Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled that Hanover County residents can sue over the Wegman’s Distribution Center slated to open near their property. A Hanover Coumty Circuit Court judge threw the case out earlier, sayng the residents didn’t have legal standing to sue the Hanover Board of Supervisors for their approval of rezoning and […]

By Pat Levy-Lavelle, Legal Aid Justice Center and Flannery O’Rourke, Virginia Poverty Law Center The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) currently has a backlog of more than 96,000 first level appeals of unemployment decisions. The persistence of this backlog directly harms workers and employers, who (on average) must wait a whole year for an appeal hearing. […]

More than 500 attorneys and staff members from Virginia’s legal aid community joined with pro bono attorneys and our community partners to attend the 42nd Annual Statewide Conference, hosted by Virginia Poverty Law Center. The hybrid conference offered both in-person attendance in Virginia Beach, as well as online-only sessions.  It’s four very busy days, jam-packed with […]

VPLC is the recipient of a $32,500 grant from the Virginia Law Foundation. Funds will be used to host the 2022 Annual Statewide Legal Aid Conference. The education and training event is known as one of the best civil poverty-law conferences in the U.S. VLF grants awarded to two dozen organizations increase access to legal […]

After three years of extensive litigation, the settlement will provide relief to approximately 555,000 consumers who were subject to illegal practices by internet payday lenders. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 12, 2022   Richmond, VA – The federal court in Richmond today gave preliminary approval of a class action settlement that will provide $489 million of relief to […]

This was a busy week at the General Assembly for VPLC advocates. We often must try and follow bills being heard in two or even three committees that meet at the same time! Please encourage your legislators to do the right thing and publicly praise them when they do. Below, an update on some of our issues […]

The 2022 General Assembly is off and running, with 1,938 House and Senate bills filed — and more expected to come. Our advocates are dealing with a lot of change this year: a new Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, members in the House of Delegates, and committee chairs. But among the change, one thing remains […]

When the General Assembly convened for a special 2021 session, we urged lawmakers to prioritize Virginians hit hardest by the pandemic with a budget focused on equity. Not all of our priorities were funded, but we will continue to push for these in the state’s next budget. Below, here’s how our recommended budget priorities fared […]

The Virginia General Assembly will convene in Richmond on Monday, August 2 for a special legislative session to allocate more than $4.3 billion in federal relief funding and fill judicial vacancies. The remaining $4.3 billion comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, which has provided essential relief to millions of American workers – many of […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 1, 2021 The suite of new laws will protect tenants, help families with food assistance, expand health coverage, protect consumers, and more. Richmond, VA – Effective today, several new laws in the Commonwealth will benefit hundreds of thousands of low-income Virginians. The new laws include better protections for tenants, expansion of […]

Judge Orders Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) to End Unemployment Insurance Backlog and Fix Issues at the Agency    Legal Aid groups and their Pro Bono Partners will monitor the VEC’s progress to ensure Virginians who have been struggling, often for months, get access to the relief they are owed    Richmond, VA – Today, Judge Henry […]

With another General Assembly session behind us and the dust settled after this month’s veto session, here is a review of what occurred during the 2019 legislative session. This year brought several wins—foster care reform, fairer laws for tenants in the wake of a report detailing Virginia’s high eviction rates, and the end of driver’s […]

We are inviting you this year to the lively city of Norfolk, Virginia for the 2018 Annual Statewide Legal Aid Conference! This educational conference is hosted by Virginia Poverty Law Center and Virginia’s legal aid programs. This year’s event has plenty of CLE offerings for attorneys and other legal aid professionals, including non-CLE sessions for […]

We are honored that the Boleman Law Firm, PC is partnering with us as our 40th Anniversary presenting sponsor. The Boleman Law Firm makes this support in recognition of VPLC’s 40 years of advocacy on behalf of low-income Virginians and in honor of all of those working for equal justice at Virginia’s legal aid programs. Thank you Boleman […]

The Affordable Clean Energy Project (ACEP) of Virginia Poverty Law Center has a new interactive map that provides a visual representation of Virginia’s households electricity burden, further dispelling the myth of Virginia’s “rate utopia.” On average Virginia households experience an already higher than average electricity burden of 3.1%, compared to a national average of 2.7%. “Electricity […]

Following on the heels of National Foster Care Month, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has declared June to be Family Reunification Month. This is important, because Virginia’s rate of reunification after a child has been removed from a family and placed in foster care is only 30%: considerably lower than the national average of 50%. While […]

Occasionally, parents find themselves unable to take care of their children–often temporarily– while they cope with problems with health, employment, housing, addiction, or other life issues. Parents may rely on kinship care: grandparents or other relatives who take in and care for their children. According to the Annie E Casey foundation, 71,000 kids in Virginia […]

Tired of candidates discussing issues that are not really important to our day-to-day lives? What could be more important than making sure there is enough housing for everyone across income levels?  Yet the issue of  housing affordability has rarely been a key issue in electoral politics in Virginia and elsewhere in the nation. With the […]

Every year at the Virginia General Assembly, VPLC supports, opposes and/or works to amend legislative initiatives that affect domestic and sexual violence victims. This year is no exception. As we approach Crossover (the point at which each chamber—the House of Delegates and the Senate—must finish hearing its own bills), we’ve highlighted some of the bills […]