Lyndale Legal Clinic

Cooper & Reid, LLC, a Minnesota law firm, and the Lyndale Neighborhood Association (LNA) located in South Minneapolis have teamed up to provide a new service to help the community – a free Legal Clinic. The attorneys at Cooper & Reid, LLC will offer free legal advice clinics to individuals and businesses in the Lyndale community. People who want to use the service will receive a 15-20 minute legal consultation with a licensed Minnesota attorney. There are no income guidelines and participants can ask any legal questions desired. Attorneys will answer the questions if they are familiar with the legal area or direct the person to other resources, including legal aid, if the attorney cannot provide an answer at the Legal Clinic.

Attorneys can also help participants to locate and fill out legal forms for court proceedings and other legal matters and review documents. Participants will be seen on a fi rst-come, fi rst-served basis and no prior reservation is needed. Attorneys will work with everyone who shows up until the clinic end-time. This collaboration has been in the works for months and the LNA Executive Director, Mark Hinds, and Managing Partner for Cooper & Reid, LLC, Emily Cooper, were finally able to put together a great plan that they both believe will be a wonderful resource for the community. “Cooper & Reid, LLC is dedicated to helping people of modest means to obtain necessary legal services,” stated Ms. Cooper. “We believe that neighborhood and community-focused legal clinics like the model we are creating with the LNA are essential to our mission and to assuring equal access to legal services for everyone.”

The Legal Clinic will be held the third Wednesday of every month from 3:30 pm until 5:30 pm at the Lyndale Neighborhood Community Center (3537 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408). The Clinic is not restricted to Lyndale residents although the focus of marketing for the Clinic will be within the Lyndale community. LNA will provide the space, internet access, and supplies for the Clinic – Cooper & Reid, LLC will provide the legal expertise. “Another wonderful aspect of this clinic is that we can serve people who do not speak English,” noted Mr. Hinds. “LNA has staff who speak both Spanish and Somali which means that LNA can provide translators to assist the attorneys if there are language barriers. Th e result is that legal access will be expanded even further through this Legal Clinic.”

People who need a translator are encouraged to call ahead to assure someone will be available. The phone number for LNA to request a translator is (612) 824-9402. In addition to providing legal services through the new Clinic, attorneys at Cooper & Reid, LLC will be authoring a new Legal Corner area in the Lyndale Neighborhood newspaper. Topics will focus on general legal issues relevant to neighborhood residents, legal issues related to current events in the community and answering questions posed by residents. If you have a legal question for the Cooper & Reid, LLC attorneys that you would like to see addressed, you are encouraged to submit it. Submissions and questions can be emailed to legal@lyndale.org. Cooper & Reid, LLC is a Minnesota law firm focusing on family law and social security disability matters for clients of modest means. Our community-focused practice brings many years of experience and high-quality legal representation to those who might not otherwise be able to afford it. We offer sliding scale fees to low-income clients and innovative representation arrangements for pro se litigants. Find out more about Cooper & Reid, LLC at www.cooperandreid.com.