Legal aid and legal services are legal assistance offered by public agencies and private organizations for people who cannot afford a lawyer and are available for free or at low cost.

Most of them handle civil cases (with the exception of divorce, bankruptcy, personal injuries etc.) and do not take criminal cases. In general, they often deal with tenancy, consumer rights, welfare, and other common problems lower income people face. As already mentioned, divorce cases are usually exempt from these services, but there are some organizations that do take divorce cases. Attorneys will take cases from both plaintiffs and defendants.

Pro bono is a Latin phrase for “for the public good”. The term generally refers to services provided by professionals for free or at a lower cost. All lawyers are encouraged to provide a certain amount of time working for people who have difficulty accessing legal services as pro bono work. You can find legal aid or pro bono lawyers online by typing your state or city name with “legal service” or “pro bono” in your search engine. Access any websites you find run by those services and follow the instructions, which usually ask you to enter information or make a phone call.

Alternatively, you can search the Pro Bono Resource Directory, contact your local state bar association, or even law schools. You can also try contacting your local court or religious organizations that provide pro bono services.
(Reference: https://www.probono.net/oppsguide/)

Here are some voices from people who were able to find legal aid or pro bono in the past:

• Some family courts provide a designated counter for free advice on domestic violence and divorce for certain hours. If you make an appointment during this time, a lawyer will be available to help you, and may even take on simple divorce cases (custody, asset division, protection orders) for low income people for free.

• It may take an hour or more for your calls to be received when calling eglal aid or pro bono services. Do not give up and keep calling.

• When applying online, provide as much information as possible.

• If you are told that they are fully booked and cannot take your appointment, ask for information on other organizations/attorneys you can refer to instead. If you have no luck finding an organization/lawyer even after contacting everybody, try again next week or a few weeks later. You will eventually find an organization or lawyer who can help you as long as you keep reaching out. Sometimes you may hear from them after you’ve forgotten about them.

• If your income is higher than the specified amount, however, there is a good chance that your application will be rejected no matter how many times you ask them. Try applying to other pro bono organizations in that case.

• You won’t be able to search for pro bono lawyers if you already have a lawyer with you; terminate your contract with them first.

• You may be assigned pro bono attorneys who specialize in completely different fields of law.

• In some cases, they may even litigate your case for free.

Pro Bono Associations

Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association (617) 423-0648
Greater Boston Legal Services (617) 603-2700
Community Legal Services and Counseling Center (617) 661-1010
Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (617) 495-4408
The WilmerHale Legal Services Center (617) 522-3003
https://www.justia.com/lawyers/family-law/massachusetts/legal-aid-and-pro-bono-services

Maximum annual income allowed to be able to use services from a pro bono lawyer
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_services/flh-home/flh-faq/