North Mississippi Rural Legal Services (NMRLS) was born amidst the landscape of the 1960's push for social reform. It was organized in 1966 as a training program for law students at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) School of Law. The funding agency was the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO). Under the first funding grant, services were provided to citizens in Lafayette, Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Marshall, Tippah and Union Counties.
        Originally called Lafayette County Legal Services, NMRLS was thought of by its organizers as a combination legal services and teaching program. The first director and his staff lawyers were members of the faculty and worked part-time in each capacity. The goal was to develop a law school curriculum with a focus on legal problems of the poor.
        NMRLS opened its first office in Oxford, Mississippi on August 11, 1966. A second office was opened in June 1967 in Holly Springs. Three new branch offices were opened in 1969 which were located in Batesville, West Point, and Greenwood. The Tupelo and Cleveland branch offices were opened in 1977. The Greenville, Clarksdale, Lexington and Grenada branch offices were opened in 1978. The last office to open was in Tunica in 1986.
        NMRLS' ties with the Ole Miss Law School were severed in July, 1968. After this break, NMRLS joined several other poverty programs as part of the Community Extension Program of Mary Holmes Junior College. Mary Holmes is a small predominately Black junior college located in rural West Point, Mississippi. The program's operating focus then shifted from being a training tool for law students to a program committed only to providing quality legal assistance to the poor. By 1972 the program boasted impressive gains. It had an operating budget of $448,000, five branch offices -- Oxford, Holly Springs, Batesville, West Point and Greenwood, and over 37 employees.
        The program's connection to local communities during the early days was maintained through social and community workers. The community workers were non-professionals who worked with program attorneys. They played a key role in organizing the poor, working on individual client problems and educating the poor around welfare and consumer issues. They offered essential outreach services to the community. Presently, an effective paralegal program has taken the place of the social and community workers.
        Public Law 93-355 was signed into law in 1974 as one of the final acts of then president, Richard Nixon, prior to his resignation, which created the national Legal Services Corporation (LSC). On February 11, 1976, NMRLS was incorporated as an independent non-profit corporation receiving funds from the Legal Services Corporation. Its express purpose being to provide legal services, education and advocacy for people in poverty, in conformity with the LSC Act and Amendments thereto.
        At its height, NMRLS had a budget of over 3 million dollars and a total staff of 118 employees, including 32 lawyers, 34 paralegals/community workers, 4 legal assistants, and 48 support personnel. It offered services through an administrative office and 12 branch offices to about 372,000 potential clients in 39 north Mississippi counties. Of this number almost 75,000 were elderly residents with only minimal income.
        In 1996 the United States Congress cut funding for civil legal services to the poor by one-third (l/3) and added severe restrictions upon the types of legal services a grantee could provide. Accordingly NMRLS (as did most other programs throughout the country) had no choice but to lay off staff and close offices.
        NMRLS currently services its 276,362 eligible poverty population (1990 Census) in its 39-county service area with an administrative office and five (5) branch offices located in Oxford, Tupelo, West Point, Clarksdale and Greenville. Its staff consists of approximately 50 persons with a staffing pattern of three (3) attorneys, two (2) paralegals and three (3) support staff in each branch office, plus the administrative staff.
NOTE: NMRLS' history was originally prepared by Joseph Delaney, a former employee. Supplements to Mr. Delaney's original work has been added to cover the most recent years.