We believe that collaborative, community-based legal services promote equity, health, and well-being.
Our Mission
The Legal Clinic for the Disabled (LCD) promotes inclusion, independence, and justice for low-income people with disabilities and the deaf and hard of hearing in the Philadelphia region.
To achieve our mission, LCD:
- Provides direct representation
- Offers counsel and advice
- Makes referrals to social and legal services
- Informs the community about their legal rights
- Educates a range of providers and parties about the needs of our clients
- Advocates for change

Since 1987, LCD has helped thousands of Pennsylvanians with disabilities by providing a variety of free civil legal services. As part of our work, we assist victims of domestic violence obtain legal protection from their abusers. We represent victims of identity theft and consumer fraud. We help parents and caregivers access health care for their children. We help families facing habitability issues or eviction. We write wills, powers of attorney, and advance directives. Most of our clients have physical or mental health conditions that affect their daily activities, and many have experienced catastrophic injuries or illnesses like stroke, spinal cord or brain injury, multiple sclerosis, cancer, advanced diabetes, glaucoma, AIDS, amputation or epilepsy. Our services help clients and their families overcome legal barriers that impact their ability to live safely and independently in their communities.
LCD is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
Our Values
Through community-based programming, we work proactively and holistically to address the needs of people with disabilities and the deaf and hard of hearing. Our core values are:
Access to justice
Making legal aid accessible to people with disabilities who experience barriers to obtaining justice.
Client-centricity
Delivering legal services in a way that recognizes the autonomy and strengths of each individual we serve and amplifies the voices and priorities of the disability community.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion
Incorporating community voices and representation of people with disabilities, people of color, women, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community on our staff and Board, and continuously building our cultural competency to understand and address the intersecting systemic forces that affect race, ability, and poverty.
Commitment
Steadily and reliably advocating for the nuanced needs of the disability community and enhancing collaborations with the communities of our client base.
Integrity
Maintaining a high level of transparency and professionalism in all of our operations and interactions.
The Need in Our Community
LCD recognizes the compounding issues of disability and poverty. Philadelphia is the poorest big city in the nation, as well as the city with the highest rate of disability. There is a significant correlation between poverty and disability: 25% of people with disabilities live in poverty as compared to 11% of the overall population. Roughly 17% of Philadelphia residents have a disability. More broadly, nearly 14% of Pennsylvanians live with at a least one disability, and more than 26% of those individuals live in poverty. While we address a wide range of civil legal issues, we do so in a way that recognizes the nuanced needs of the disability community.

Now hiring!
LCD is excited to announce our current open career opportunities! Director of Development Legal Director Paralegal...