History, LANC-Pittsboro Office
959 East Street, Suite A&B, Pittsboro, NC
27312-8836 ;919-542-0475
The Legal Aid of North Carolina – Pittsboro Office began as Orange
County Legal Services in January 1976. It was founded by Richard M.
Taylor, Jr., who is now Executive Director of the North Carolina Academy of
Trial Lawyers, with the active cooperation of Joint Orange-Chatham Community
Action (JOCCA). The program was first funded with a small appropriation
from Orange County and matching Title XX federal funds.
In May of 1976, the organization was formally incorporated as Orange-Chatham
Legal Services. Offices were maintained in Hillsborough, Pittsboro and in
the Chapel Hill Multi-Purpose Center.
In 1977, the program was invited to become part of the confederation of
programs known as Legal Services of North Carolina which served North Carolina
along with three independent programs. The name was changed to North State
Legal Services, Inc. Three new counties were added to the service area,
Alamance, Caswell and Moore and branch offices were opened in Chapel Hill,
Pittsboro and Graham.
In 1982, North Sate Legal Services, Inc. began an area-wide Private Attorney
Involvement (PAI) initiative for domestic violence clients. Also in 1982,
North State Legal Services sponsored the establishment of the Civil Legal
Assistance Clinic at the UNC School of Law. (Although LANC is no longer a
sponsor of the Clinic, the Pittsboro Office continues to refer appropriate
cases to the Clinic each year).
In 1984, two new counties were added to the program service area, Anson and
Richmond. Over the years, branch offices were closed and staff
consolidated in the Hillsborough office.
In 2002, North State Legal Services became a part of
Legal Aid of North
Carolina, Inc. (LANC) in a statewide merger of legal aid offices across
North Carolina. The name was changed to "Legal Aid of North Carolina –
Hillsborough Office."
In 2003, a decision was made to relocate the Hillsborough office so that it
would be more centrally located to our service area. As a result, the
office moved to Pittsboro on January 24, 2004, and the name was changed to "Legal Aid of North Carolina-Pittsboro Office." Lee County joined our
service area in 2004.
The LANC-Pittsboro Office
offers free legal services in civil matters to eligible residents in
Alamance, Chatham, Lee, Moore, Orange and Richmond counties, and has a satellite
office in Sanford, NC.
Disclaimer
The materials contained on this website are for information and educational
purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Please contact your
Legal Aid of North Carolina office or a private attorney if you need to speak to
an attorney regarding your particular situation. See our complete
disclaimer.
Mission Statement
Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that
provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in
order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers
to economic opportunity.