The Kentucky Legal Aid office blends in among buildings that line Second Street in downtown Owensboro.
But despite its inconspicuous location, David J. Farley, the field office’s managing attorney, said he and his two fellow attorneys — Nathan Moorhouse and Lauren Andrini — aren’t lacking for cases.
In 2021, the team of attorneys, which was four then, closed 690 civil cases.
“…We’re never hurting for business, but the more people who know about us the better,” said Farley, who’s been with KLA for nearly six years. “We seek to serve underserved populations.”
KLA is an independent, nonprofit organization that provides legal advice and representation at no charge to low-income, disabled and elderly people with civil legal problems.
According to KLA’s website, the free legal service has been around since 1977 — first as Cumberland Trace Legal Services, Inc. before absorbing its sister agency West Kentucky Legal Services to form KLA.
Owensboro is one of four Kentucky Legal Aid service offices, which also includes Paducah, Madisonville and Bowling Green. Hopkinsville has a satellite office staffed with one attorney. Combined, they serve 35 counties.
The Owensboro field office serves Daviess, Hancock, Ohio, McLean and Henderson counties.
Farley said Bowling Green is the main intake office that all inquiries are sent to before assigned to a field office.
“If they qualify, they will be given to a field office that’s dependent on where they’re living,” said Farley about how cases are divided up.
Kentucky Legal Aid only handles civil cases, which include health and public benefits, victim’s rights, divorce custody, housing, money and debts, elder law and work and school issues such as wage claims and challenging unfair school discipline.
Farley said the attorneys welcome anything within their scope of legal services, but there are types of cases they see more than others.
“The lion’s share of what we’re doing right now is domestic violence and divorce custody,” he said.
For more information about KLA, visit klaid.org or call the Bowling Green office at 270-782-5740.
Farley said some questions can be resolved with a phone call and others turn into cases that may take years to close.
“We are full service; we are experienced attorneys who try to improve people’s situations,” he said. “We understand that when people come to us it might be at the worst moment of their lives. We try to alleviate the collateral consequences of that and provide the best representation we can.”
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