Greater Boston Legal Services history

1964 Boston Legal Assistance Project (BLAP) founded as part of the War on Poverty under the United States Office of Economic Opportunity.

1971 Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services (CASLS) is established.

1974 Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is established by Congress to fund legal services programs and becomes our primary funder.

1976 Greater Boston Legal Services is formed by the merger of Boston Legal Aid Society and the Boston Legal Assistance Project.

1981 Major cuts are made to federal funding of legal services.

1994 Boston's legal community's support of its Capital Campaign enables GBLS to purchase 197 Friend Street as a permanent home.

1996 GBLS relinquishes $1,400,000 in federal funding due to major restrictions imposed by Congress. (Any of recipients’ funding from any source could not be used for class-action work, representing immigrants, or advocacy with state and federal agencies.)

2000 GBLS celebrates its Centennial Anniversary and pledges 100 more years of providing quality legal services to poor people in the greater Boston area.

2001 GBLS donors contribute $2,000,000 to the Access to Justice Endowment Campaign to permanently endow attorney positions at GBLS.

2006 GBLS settles a major class action suit against the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (T) that will greatly improve access to public transportation for the 200,000 people with disabilities who live in the T’s service area.

GBLS on behalf of three individuals with disabilities filed the federal class action lawsuit in 2007.