The center — a free resource hub where self-represented litigants can access online tools, get help filling out forms and receive referrals for attorneys and other services — builds on its success with NC IOLTA-funded upgrades to their website and translation of materials into additional languages.
“A Frontline Resource to People in Need”: Wake County Legal Support Center
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“The process of representing yourself can be very intimidating and overwhelming,” Jared Graham*, a Wake County pro se litigant, said of his experiences in civil court.
While many North Carolinians navigate such legal matters on their own — often because they can’t afford an attorney’s help — the prospect can indeed be daunting. At every step, whether it’s a divorce or child custody agreement, a pending eviction or foreclosure, a contract dispute or another civil matter, the stakes are high.
That’s why the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission, charged with identifying and implementing strategies to increase access to justice across the state, has made it a priority to develop materials and resources that support residents as they address problems through legal processes.
One innovative program resulting from the commission’s work is the Wake County Legal Support Center, which opened in January 2023 with funding support from NC IOLTA.
A Resource for Pro Se Litigants in Wake County
Housed in the Wake County Courthouse in downtown Raleigh, the center is a free, walk-in resource hub where pro se litigants can access online tools, get help filling out forms, learn more about how their cases will be adjudicated and receive referrals for attorneys and other services. Trained volunteers also assist visitors in using Odyssey, the state’s new e-filing system.
While there is no income restriction on assistance from the center, visitor data collected in 2023 and 2024 suggests that 56% of households with children earned under $35,000 annually.
In its first two years, the center served more than 22,000 visitors — underscoring both how many Wake County residents represent themselves in legal matters and how eager many are for help in understanding the processes involved in their cases. The demand has been so great that, earlier this year, the center expanded its hours of operation.
In its first two years, the center served more than 22,000 visitors — underscoring both how many Wake County residents represent themselves in legal matters and how eager many are for help in understanding the processes involved in their cases.
Jared Graham, a repeat visitor, has made good use of the center’s information and assistance, which is provided by non-attorney staff and volunteers at no charge.
“The center is bustling,” said its director, attorney Anh LyJordan. “We’re now open from 8:30 to 5, aligned with courthouse hours, and we’re seeing an average of 70 visitors a day. Those numbers really drive home just how many Wake County residents are facing serious legal problems without the means to hire a lawyer.”
Graham, a repeat visitor, has made good use of the available information and assistance, which is provided by non-attorney staff and volunteers at no charge. The center also offers free access to attorneys during its twice-monthly Attorney of the Day program.
“The folks at the Legal Support Center have been instrumental in my learnings and how I have proceeded since I began representing myself,” he said. “The employees have been both extremely helpful and knowledgeable but, more importantly, they genuinely care that everyone they help is provided with the materials and knowledge they require.”
Wake County Legal Support Center Director Anh LyJordan, at center, stands with center staff Faith Reeves and Julissa Corporan. “They genuinely care that everyone they help is provided with the materials and knowledge they require,” Graham said of his experiences at the center.
Community outreach programming makes these resources available to even more county residents. Staff work with volunteer attorneys from the Wake County Bar Association and students from nearby Campbell Law School to host clinics in family law, which makes up nearly 70% of the cases that bring visitors to the center. The bimonthly drop-in program Lawyers in Your Library, also staffed by pro bono attorneys, provides another layer of convenient support throughout the county.
“We’re a frontline resource to people in need,” LyJordan noted. “We can put them in touch with community partners who can provide further support across a range of services — direct referrals to Legal Aid of NC but also Wake County organizations providing housing support and domestic violence resources, for example.”
New and Expanded Services
The center’s success has led to new and expanded services.
In June, LyJordan and team rolled out the Legal Hand Call-In Center, a first-of-its-kind resource in the state offering free legal information, live assistance and referrals via phone, text or email to people living anywhere in the state. The resource provides a critical service at a time when nearly half of NC’s counties, most of them rural, are experiencing a shortage of attorneys.
“In the first six months, we had 721 calls from 48 different counties, and that’s with no real advertising,” LyJordan said. “The statewide reach of the call center has helped us understand the issues facing access to justice across North Carolina.”
The call-in center is also a boon for Wake County residents for whom transportation, parking and accessibility are concerns.
“Coming to the courthouse is a barrier for so many people,” LyJordan said. “Even people who’ve been to the Wake County Legal Support Center [before] can use the call center to avoid having to return downtown.”
Volunteer attorney Clare Posten of Tharrington Smith law firm, at left, speaks with staff member Antoine Marshall between consultations with visitors during an Attorney of the Day program in December.
As 2026 approaches, staff continue to expand the center’s offerings to improve access to justice for self-represented litigants in Wake County and beyond — including projects funded in part by a 2025 Administration of Justice grant from NC IOLTA.
“As demand grows, our responsibility to meet people where they are becomes even more urgent. Every step is about ensuring that rising need is met with real, practical access to justice.”
“As demand grows, our responsibility to meet people where they are becomes even more urgent,” LyJordan said. “We’re expanding Lawyers in Your Library to a monthly schedule so more residents can connect with volunteer attorneys in their own communities.
“We’re also using IOLTA-supported resources to upgrade our website and translate key materials into additional languages, making it easier for people to get reliable legal information from home. Every step is about ensuring that rising need is met with real, practical access to justice.”
One metric that stands out as a testament to the success of this model, LyJordan noted, is the number of repeat visitors, many of whom are dealing with complex, ongoing civil legal matters and benefit from the center’s support at every step.
Count Graham among that group’s most appreciative members.
“This team has made this experience for me, as it relates to representing [myself], a manageable one,” he said. “I have been fortunate to lead a handful of teams during my 25+ years of working in the corporate world, and the team here is outstanding. … I cannot say enough good things about them.”
Learn more about the Wake County Legal Support Center’s founding in the 2023 story Wake County Legal Support Center: A Model for Helping Pro Se Litigants. Explore the center’s services and resources at https://wakelsc.org/.
*Visitor’s identity is protected through use of a pseudonym and a stock photo.
Legislation passed by the North Carolina General Assembly on July 9, 2025, bars NC IOLTA from grantmaking from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. Consistent with the legislation, our 2026 funding cycle has not been opened.
NC State Bar Executive Director Peter Bolac provided an update to members of the Bar on Nov. 6, 2025. Details are available here. The NC State Bar and NC IOLTA continue to seek a resolution to preserve funding for civil legal aid, which plays a critical role in building a legal system that works for everyone, breaking down barriers and creating strong communities across North Carolina.