603 Legal Aid helps seniors recover $27,000 from scammers 603 Legal Aid’s limited resources mean that even if someone is eligible for legal aid, we can’t always provide them our full scope of services. Often, people come to us because they don’t know where else to turn.  When this occurs, our staff find creative ways to promote equal access to justice so the playing field is level. Karen and Wayne are two such individuals—seniors, who thought they were buying a time-share in a warmer state, only to learn that the scheme was a scam and they were out $27,000. Devastated, they came straight ..read more

Executive Director chosen for state-wide legal aid call center and pro bono program CONCORD, NH – The Board of Directors of 603 Legal Aid has chosen Ariel Rothstein Clemmer for the role of executive director. Clemmer is expected to start on November 20, 2023. 603 Legal Aid operates a state-wide call center for people with low income who are facing civil (non-criminal) legal crises, such as eviction, foreclosure, divorce, bankruptcy and more. In addition to providing advice and referrals over the phone, the program also recruits and trains private attorneys to take cases pro bono. Clemmer most ..read more

Three new intake specialists have joined 603 Legal Aid’s centralized call center to help process the growing number of applications for legal services. Sofia Asymianaki, Heather McKenna, and Jennifer Bedard each bring high levels of expertise and compassion to this important role often seen as the first point of contact for people looking for help.   Jennifer worked as a mortgage processor for 20 years, reviewing credit scores for clients, handling income documents, and locking in rates. She was always interested in the law, but not enough to pursue a degree in the subject. In taking on ..read more

Learn more about your rights as a tenant in NH In this inaugural episode of the Granite Justice podcast, Shane Cooper, an Associate Dean at UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law talks with Steve McGilvary, a paralegal at 603 Legal Aid about the 540-A petition which is used to provide protection for tenants against unjust actions from landlords. They go over how to begin the petition, major aspects to keep an eye out for, and what repercussions can come from this petition. Listen here https://granitejustice.podbean.com/e/unlawful-landlord-what-can-tenants-do-to-protect-themselves ..read more

603 Legal Aid is excited to welcome Angelique Leis as its new Accountant and Grants Manager. Accounting is Angelique’s forte. She obtained her bachelor's and master’s degrees in accounting from Plymouth State University. Before joining 603 Legal Aid, she was on the accounting team for a luxury flooring business for four years, eventually rising to the level of senior accountant. She is still working there part time until her replacement arrives. Angelique had been interested in switching to a career in the nonprofit field for quite some time when she found the job opening with 603 Legal Aid ..read more

Are you having a hard time searching for legal information for your case? We are glad to inform you that thanks to the New Hampshire Law Library new project, you can now have free remote access to Westlaw, an extensive online data base for legal reference materials that is widely used by attorneys to research state and federal laws, regulations, and court cases. This is a great opportunity to have access to accurate and reliable legal information as opposed to spending a long time navigating to different websites in your internet browser and getting lost with so many different references. Acc ..read more

By: Steve McGilvary “Cindy” was a 31-year-old Mom living with her husband and their 3 little children in an apartment building near the seacoast. Cindy called 603 Legal Aid just a few days before she had to appear at eviction court. She said her landlord didn’t like her dog, Milo, and had falsely alleged in his eviction notice that Milo had attacked people. Cindy was intimidated by her landlord and feared she would not be able to successfully tell her side of the story. 603LA emailed Cindy a copy of the court’s motion form. 603LA then helped the nervous Mom turn the form into a motion to dismi ..read more

  By: Jeff Goodrich Contract Attorney, 603 Legal Aid Howard is a 73 year old man living alone in Central New Hampshire. When he fell behind with his rental payments his landlord served him with a demand for rent and an eviction notice. Not knowing what to do, Howard contacted 603 Legal Aid and spoke to a housing advocate. The housing advocate learned that Howard had applied for and was accepted for rental assistance through his local community action program (CAP). Because his relationship with the landlord had deteriorated, the landlord refused to accept the offer of rent made by his CA ..read more

By: Barbara Heggie Supervising Attorney, Low-Income Taxpayer Project Joe’s tax liability arose from unpaid federal income tax for the years 2017, 2018, and 2019. During those years, he was romantically involved with a woman, eventually moving in with her. She offered to take care of his finances and paperwork, and he gratefully accepted, conceding his cognitive challenges and lifelong difficulties with such matters. Over time, his trust in her proved to be misplaced, and his guileless generosity mixed badly with his limitations. He agreed to open a joint checking account with her, and then he ..read more

Housing, Tenants Rights, Eviction Process and Courts- 603 Legal Aid is on the case! By: Marta A. Hurgin Staff Attorney - 603 Legal Aid Since the fall of 2021, 603 Legal Aid, along with New Hampshire Legal Assistance, has been providing legal advice and representation through courthouse sponsored eviction clinics. New Hampshire received $200 million in CARES Act funds (named the Emergency Rental Assistance Program) to help New Hampshire tenants pay their rent and utilities. 603 Legal Aid and NHLA were tapped to assists resident in applying for rental assistance as well as defending nonpayment e ..read more