Legal Assistance Society recordsRG.32.211Arthur J. Morris Law Library Special Collections

Arthur J. Morris Law Library580 Massie RoadUniversity of VirginiaCharlottesville, Virginia 22903archives@law.virginia.eduURL:

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-05-02 00:24:19 +0000.Description is written in: English, Latin script.Describing Archives: A Content Standard Arthur J. Morris Law Library Special Collections Legal Assistance Society records RG.32.211 Archival Resource Key Previous Archival Resource Key /repositories/4/resources/874 7.5 Cubic Feet 19 archival boxes 1970-2000 English Biographical / Historical

The Legal Assistance Society at the University of Virginia School of Law was conceived in 1967 in respond to a question that Justice William J. Brennan had asked the year before during oral arguments heard at the Law School in March of 1966:

"Might it not be possible to expose a much larger percentage of the student body, at some time during the three years of law school to the realities of the attorney-client relationship?" (VLW, v. xix, no. 14, Feb. 9, 1967, p.2).

The Virginia Law Weekly announced the soon to be established new organization: "Beginning June 1, an office will be opened....by the Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association to provide free civil legal aid to any person who shows to be indigent and in genuine need of a lawyer's help. Students of the law school will be needed to staff the office and to assist the lawyers in research, drawing up documents or anything else the lawyer assigned to the case would like him to do." (VLW, v. xix, no. 24, May 4, 1967). The program began in the Fall of 1967.

The director of the newly formed Legal Aid Society was Myron P. Simmons, the assistant director was Peter W. Windrem and the faculty advisor was Professor Peter C. Mason. (VLW, v. xx, no. 2, p. 2, Thursday September 28, 1967.) The organization was directly affiliated (and still is) with the Charlottesville-Albemarle Legal Aid Society, Inc. The membership was limited to forty students.

RG 32/211-84 Records of the Legal Assistance SocietyArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853093.7 Cubic Feet9 archival boxes1970-1981This collection is stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections before your visit to ensure your papers are available.Scope and Contents

The files of the Legal Assistance Society consist of general organizational files, including finances, correspondence, case files and information on various legal aid projects. Case files are accessible only with permission of the archivist and the Legal Aid Society.

Constitution, memoranda, projects, officers and project directorsArchival Resource KeyPrevious Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853131970-1973Box 1Annual report, press release, some memorandaArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853151973Box 1Neighborhood Legal Aid Society Intra-Office MemoArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853171974Box 1Correspondence (5 folders)Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853191970-1979Box 1Charlottesville – Albemarle Legal Aid Society (CALAS) Board of Directors: Minutes, agendas, reports, some correspondence (4 folders)Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853201977-1981Box 1Law School MemorandaArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853221975Box 2Legal Assistant Society [LAS] NewslettersArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853241974-1977Box 2Membership lists and some memoranda (6 folders)Archival Resource KeyPrevious Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853251974-1980Box 2Memoranda and Bulletin Board Materials (7 folders)Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853271975-1980Box 2Orientation Manual (4 folders)Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853281976-1980Box 2Project descriptions and 1970 Annual ReportArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853311970-1972Box 3Project Descriptions ( 2 folders)Archival Resource KeyPrevious Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853331976-1977Box 3Project Membership listsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853341976Box 3Public Relations. Articles in the Virginia Law Weekly: 5-2-1975; Notice in "Community in the Academical Village", p. 11Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853361975Box 3Research Projects. Request forms ; signed-up sheets, some memorandaArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853381976Box 3Signed-up sheets. (2 folders)Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853391975-1978Box 3Virginia Legal Aid Association (VLAA) – Newsletter and CorrespondenceArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853411976-1980Box 3Proposals for a Nursing Home. Ombudsman and Research Service under Title III of the Older Americans Act, Submitted to the Office on Aging, 8-22-1975; Proposal for Legal Assistance to Virginia's Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Under Section 303, Title III, C.E. T. A.; Proposal for Statewide Legal Aid Services for Inclusion in the Virginia Title XX Plan, submitted to the Department of Welfare and The Commission for Visually Handicapped, Aug. 15, 1975Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853421975Box 3VLAA – Correspondence, directoriesArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853441975-1978Box 3Law School Foundation – Alumni fundrisingArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853451977-1978Box 3Alumni Fundrising letter, undatedArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185346Box 3Budget and University of Virginia Student Council Appropriations Committee AllocationsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853471978-1980Box 3Expenditures VouchersArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853481978-1979Box 3LAS CorrespondenceArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853491974Box 3ABA – LAS GrantsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853501976-1979Box 3LAS - Financial ReportsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853511976-1979Box 4LAS Memoranda for Project Directors. General Activities and Resources Materials; Organization of Death Penalty Conference 3-21-1980; some financial issuesArchival Resource KeyPrevious Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853521979-1980Box 4Public Service AnnouncementsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853531979Box 4LAS – Social DuesArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853541976-1977Box 4LAS – Student Activities FundsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853551976-1977Box 4University of Virginia Student Council Regulations, Instructions, Allocations, MemorandaArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853561973-1975Box 4University of Virginia Student Council – LAS Allocations; Budget ProposalsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853571973-1975Box 4University of Virginia Student Council Activities. Guidelines, correspondence, budget; appeal of LAS , Summary of ActivitiesArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853581976-1977Box 4Blank forms used by LASArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185359Box 4Center on Social Welfare Policy and Law. Memoranda, (3 folders)Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853601976-1980Box 4Center for Law and Social Policy – ExternshipsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853611979-1980Box 5Circuit Riders Expansion. [Correspondence re: legal assistance in Buckingham County, VA; creation of an "Information and Referral Service for Low Income Residents"]. Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853621974-1976Box 5Circuit Riders Project. [Students assistance to attorneys from the Charlottesville – Albemarle Legal Aid Society Office, providing legal services to clients living in the counties of Fluvanna, Green, Louisa and Nelson].Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853631979-1980Box 5Downtown Office Project. Sign-up sheets, report, orientationArchival Resource KeyPrevious Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853641976Box 5Expanding Legal Services ProjectArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853651975Box 5Externship ProgramsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853661972Box 5Food Law in VirginiaArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853671978Box 5Juvenile Court Project. [Papers presented as application to the Legal Assistance Society]Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853681970Box 5Labor Symposium PacketsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853691978-03Box 5Legal Assistance Society - Murphy Amendment. Petition against the Murphy Amendment that restricted legal services work in the federal antipoverty programs]. Correspondence, clippingsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853701969Box 5Legal Assistance to Vietnamese RefugeesArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853711975Box 5Legal Services Corporation [Private, non-profit corporation to provide financial legal assistance to the poor]. Policies, reportsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853721977-1979Box 5P-CAP [Post Conviction Assistance Program] Presentation Cards, undatedArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185373Box 5Mental Health Conference: "Implementing the Rights of Mental Patients". ProposalArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853741977-11-02Box 5Robinson v. Bergland (Food Stamp Case). Legal documents, some correspondence [Restricted]Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853751980Box 5Rural Law Project: Rural America [Newspaper Clippings]Archival Resource KeyPrevious Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853761979-1980Box 6Rural Law Project ProposalArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853771979-1980Box 6Southern Regional Education Board – ExternshipsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853781969Box 6Undergraduate InternArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853791976-1977Box 6Virginia Department of Corrections Ombudsman Office cards and Offender Aid Restoration [OAR] member list, undatedArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185380Box 6Virginia Law Women – "Women, Health and the Law Conference". BrochureArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853811978-03Box 6Waynesboro Project Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853821978-1980Box 6Waynesboro Project - McCarthy v. McCarthyArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853831978-1979Box 6Waynesboro Project – Price v. Price [Restrictions Apply]Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853841979Box 6Welfare Rights – comments on a case [Restrictions Apply]Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853851978Box 6Inmates' Assistance Project [IAP] [Restrictions Apply]Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853861981Box 6IAP – Attorneys listArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853871981Box 6AIP CorrespondenceArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853881979Box 6AIP – Divorces. Correspondence, forms [Restrictions Apply]Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853891980-1981Box 6AIP Membership lists and formsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853901980Box 6AIP – MemorandaArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853911980Box 6AIP Memorandum re: Need of a Committee in Prisoner – Plaintiff Divorce [Restrictions Apply]Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853921980Box 6AIP Questionnaires, undatedArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185393Box 6AIP - Statewide Meeting.Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853951979Box 6AIP – Case Files A –Z (2 folders) [Restricted]Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853961979-1981Box 7Women's Prison Project [WPP] – General. Correspondence, research materials (3 folders)Archival Resource KeyPrevious Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1853981979-1980Box 7WPP – Aid to Dependent Children, undated [Restrictions Apply]Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185399Box 7WPP Booklet DraftArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854011978Box 7Memo to Women's Prison Project Participants; divorce forms, interview forms, release forms, sample forms, undatedArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185405Box 7WPP – Goochland ClassArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854061976-1978Box 7WPP – Correspondence, memoranda, some administrative filesArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854081977-1979Box 7Goochland Investigation [Restrictions Apply]Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854091977Box 7WPP – LAS Alderson Legal Assistance Program with Washington and Lee University (2 folders)Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854101977Box 7WPP Mimeo Masters, undatedArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185411Box 8WPP Parole ClassArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854121977Box 8WPP Research MaterialsArchival Resource KeyPrevious Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854141978-1979Box 8WPP Case Files A – Z (4 folders) [Restricted]Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854151978-1981Box 8Western State Hospital Project – LAS Grant ApplicationArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854161978Box 9Western State Hospital – Mental Health Legal Aspects, undated [Restrictions Apply]Archival Resource KeyPrevious Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185431Box 9Western State Hospital – Case Files A – Z (3 folders) [Restricted]Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854331979-1982Box 9RG 32/211-07 Records of the Legal Assistance SocietyArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854354 Cubic Feet10 archival boxes1974-1998Scope and Contents

The Legal Assistance Society (LAS) Records (1974-1998) were transferred to Special Collections by Executive Director Erika Alonso in December of 2007.

The records were organized in general administrative papers and project files. Special Collections kept the original organization of the files.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These records were transferred to Special Collections by Executive Director Erika Alonso in December of 2007.

Processing Information

These files were organized in two:

1. General Administrative Files: memoranda and correspondence between the different members of the organization, handbooks, manuals, by-laws, etc.

2. Project files: Labor Project, Native American Law Project and Western State Hospital Project are of most importance. There is also documentation on the Migrant Farmworker Program and the Low Income Housing Project.

Conditions Governing Use

Case files are available with permission from the archivist and LAS.

Administrative FilesArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185436LAS Articles of Incorporation of The Legal Assistance Society Incorporated. A Virginia Non-stock Corporation; Proposal, Constitution, By-Laws.Archival Resource KeyPrevious Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854371989-199110LAS Banquet. [Award to Professor Jan M. Levine]Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854381989-199010LAS - Board Meetings; memberships listsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854391988-198910LAS - Budget and funding. 1986-87 Budget Breakdown; Spring 1989 Appropriations Process; 1989-90 Administrative Expenses; Procedures for Spending FundsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854401986-199010LAS - By-Laws and List of Project DirectorsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185441199010LAS - CALAS [Charlottesville - Albemarle Legal Aid Society]. Memorandum of Agreement; Workforce Analysis Sheets; Analysis of Restrictions in HR 3019 Omnibus Continuing Education; Compliance Policies; Minutes of Board of Directors of 1997-01-14.Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854421996-199710LAS Constitution, undatedArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/18544310LAS - ExpensesArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854441999-200010LAS - Forma Pauperis [forms], undatedArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/18544510LAS - InsuranceArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185446198810LAS - Liability Issues; MemorandaArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185447198810LAS - Memoranda to/from Dean's Office re Liability, FundsArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185448198810LAS - Memoranda, Summary of Activities, Appropriations Process, Petition for Qualification as a Contracted Independent Organization; some notesArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854491995-199610LAS - Newspaper and magazine articles re LAS, 1990, 1999Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/18545010LAS - State Corporation Papers, 1996-1997; 1997-2000Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/18545110LAS - Student Council Forms and contracts for Student Organizations, 1988-1989; 1998-2000Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/18545210LAS - Summary of Activities, Appropriations ProcessArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854531992-199310LAS - Training Manual, Fall 1977Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/18545410LAS - Training Manual. Memorandum re LAS Manual, 1980, 1982Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/18545510University of Virginia Agreements for a Contracted Independent OrganizationArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/1854561994-199610Virginia Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Documents: Confidentiality of Patient and Resident Records (1978); Policy of Abuse of Patients and Residents (1980); Patient/Resident Abuse Investigations (1982); Rules and Regulations to Assure the Rights of Residents: DMM26 (1983); Patient Self-Determination Act (1991); "Your Right to Decide" Pamphlet, 1978-1983, 1991Archival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/18545710LAS - PILR [Public Interest Law Roundtable] NewsletterArchival Resource Key/repositories/4/archival_objects/185458199010