Greater Boston Legal Services

05/25/2026

Greater Boston Legal Services is closed on Monday, May 25, in observance of Memorial Day. We re-open Tuesday morning. If you need help with a legal matter, after the holiday please call (617) 371-1234 between 9:30am and 12:30pm, Monday through Friday.

05/21/2026

Need help with a name change? GBLS and Justice Resource Institute can help! Please register at the link below for our June 5 clinic, starting at 2:00pm, at the Court Service Center in Boston. We look forward to seeing you there! https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=APSS2st_vUiHq5X9Mxts10v-QB7V-SRAvlJig0fYdLBURTRZVjhITk5FOTZIMzUyT0hIVEU3R1NNOS4u&route=shorturl

05/18/2026

05/15/2026

Take action to support legal aid in MA!

Contact your legislator today and advocate for MA civil legal aid funding! With the EJC's easy-to-use form, it only takes a few minutes—and it has a big impact.

05/15/2026

"[GBLS Senior Attorney Todd] Kaplan said this forced broker’s fee — typically equal to a month’s rent — is exactly the kind of practice the law was intended to prevent. He said any arrangement with a landlord to bring prospective tenants to a property functions as a contract, and it’s the landlord who must pay the fee. 'The landlord is giving the broker information, which is valuable to the broker, in exchange for the landlord agreeing to consider applications that that broker brings to them,' Kaplan said. 'That's the contract. That's the understanding.' "

In each of the complaints, landlords or brokers appear to be skirting the spirit of the law, which is aimed at requiring landlords to shoulder the cost of renting out their properties.

05/14/2026

Do you or some-one you know need help sealing a CORI? Come to a free walk-in CORI sealing clinic May 19 or June 16 at 30 Dimock Street in Roxbury, from 10:00am to 1:00pm. If you can't make these, please call GBLS' intake line 617-371-1234 per the hours below.

05/14/2026

Congratulations are due to all the Massachusetts Bar Association 2026 Access to Justice awardees! Kristen Bor-Zale, GBLS Consumer Rights Unit Senior Attorney, has been selected for a Rising Star Award; and Mithra Merryman, GBLS Family Law Unit Senior Attorney, was selected for a Legal Services Award. The Access to Justice Awards Celebration will be on June 2, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the MBA, 20 West St., Boston.

The Massachusetts Bar Association is excited to announce it will host the Access to Justice Awards Celebration on Tuesday, June 2, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the MBA, 20 West St., Boston.Join us as we present the following Access to Justice Awards:

05/13/2026

Hope you can join us for the inaugural Embrace Honors Harry Hom Dow event May 21, at Freedom Plaza at the Embrace Monument in Boston, to celebrate AANHPI leadership and legacy in Boston. RSVP: https://tr.ee/embracehonorsharryhomdow

05/13/2026

"During the Monday appointment [with ICE], Mariola was informed that she will receive a 'Reasonable Fear Interview,' [her GBLS attorney Alec] Peters Larson said. This interview...is used to determine if there is a 'significant possibility' that an individual can establish eligibility for asylum or other fear-based relief... 'Mariola welcomes this opportunity to tell her story of why she fled Guatemala, where she and her family are subjected to systemic violence and abuse simply because they’re indigenous, and why she fears returning,' Peters Larson said."

A Lynn mother and educator who was facing deportation received word that she will be permitted to remain in the U.S. for the time being.

05/12/2026

We're so excited to welcome Jenny Pigge to GBLS' housing team this fall as part of the Equal Justice Works 2026 Class of Fellows!

05/06/2026

"[A GBLS paralegal] said her nonprofit hosted dozens of eviction clinics around the city and helped nearly 500 people file petitions in housing courts in the region.

'With these cases removed (from) their records, they have been able to leave shelters, secure accessible housing for themselves and their disabled children and become eligible for subsidies,' she said."

A new state law allowing some renters to seal their eviction records has spurred thousands of petitions and approvals in Massachusetts housing courts over the last year, lawmakers and housing advocates said Tuesday.