Southwest Georgia Legal Self Help Center

About Us

About Us
In 2017, Georgia’s Justice for All Working Group identified a critical need: making civil legal services more accessible. This led to the creation of a Strategic Action Plan focused on bridging gaps for legal consumers across geography, institutions, and income levels. A major goal of the plan was to establish Law Libraries as Self-Help Resource Centers, giving individuals essential legal tools and resources.

In 2018, Dougherty County became the first pilot site, launching the Southwest Georgia Legal Self-Help Center. The Center provides civil litigants with support for self-representation, as well as referrals for legal aid, limited-scope attorney services, or pro bono assistance—all through a lawyer-supervised referral network.

Since opening, the Center has helped over 38,000 individuals across Georgia and beyond. It has become a statewide model for legal access, inspiring similar projects throughout Georgia and nationwide.

The Southwest Georgia Legal Self-Help Center is committed to expanding access to justice by providing legal information, resources, and support to individuals navigating civil legal matters without representation in Southwest Georgia and beyond.

As the model project for Georgia, our vision is to expand Access to Justice by working alongside legal and community partners to eliminate barriers to self-sufficiency, ensuring that every individual—regardless of race, creed, color, sexual orientation, or disability—can access the legal support needed to build thriving, healthy communities.