BANGOR – Forty years after it was founded, the core mission of Pine Tree Legal Assistance remains the same: to provide free civil law services to Maine’s low-income residents.

“Our core mission is as important today as it was in 1967,” Nan Heald, executive director, said Thursday. “It’s just that the cases are different. Forty years ago, we weren’t thinking about domestic violence and housing discrimination, which make more than half our caseload today. Then, we were working mostly with low-income tenants over issues of unsafe housing and helping clients access public benefits.”

PTLA will mark its anniversary today in Portland. Events include meetings with the national board of directors of the Legal Services Corp. that helps fund the six regional offices in Maine and an awards dinner.

Lawyers in private practice who have provided “extraordinary” free legal services to be honored include William Devoe of Bangor and Sarah LeClaire of Presque Isle.

PTLA and the Volunteer Lawyers Project work with hundreds of lawyers in private practices around the state to meet the legal needs of the poor. When PTLA staff cannot take a case because of limited resources, lawyers in local communities accept them for free or pro bono.

Lawyers in private practice in Maine provide more hours of pro bono work than in any other state except Maryland. The Maine State Bar Association recently called on the state’s lawyers to do more free legal work.

Funding for PTLA has fluctuated dramatically over the years. This year’s $4.4 million budget includes income from 24 different funding sources, according to Heald. That includes federal and state grants as well as donations from lawyers and organizations such as the United Way.

Funded entirely with federal funds, PTLA began 40 years ago with a staff of 10 lawyers who “rode circuit” to grange halls and local meeting spots throughout their service areas from eight regional offices. The lawyers in those early years were generalists and handled many different kinds of cases, Heald said.

Today, a staff of 55 works in six field offices on general legal work and five special projects. PTLA has nine lawyers on staff who handle a wide variety of cases and another 20 who are focused on either a specific client population such as farm workers or children.

Bonnie Steeves has worked as paralegal in the Presque Isle office since 1974. Usually, she is the first person people talk with when they call or stop by the office. She has seen client needs change dramatically over the years.

“Years ago, when we dealt with people that were homeless or had housing issues, they most likely had alcohol problems,” she said. “We’ve had a huge increase in the number of clients with mental health issues.”

A Maine native, Steeves said that the difficult economic times that have dogged Aroostook County for years have gotten worse recently.

“We’re seeing clients that would be considered the working poor who in the past have managed to scrape by, but can’t now. They’re living too close to the edge because of the economy … and their lives slip over the edge and into a crisis on a regular basis,” she said.

The demand for services has increased with an estimated 50,000 individuals a year seeking help from PTLA, according to Heald. It has the resources and staff to help 20 percent of those. Income guidelines limit service to individuals whose household income after certain deductions is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.

Although men make up 44 percent of its clients, according to Heald, PTLA’s typical client in 2006 was a woman in her mid-30s with at least one young child with household income from employment and public benefits averaging $12,835. The number of clients with disabilities also has increased with 39 percent of all client households including at least one person with a disability.

The way figures have been compiled over the years, Heald said, makes comparisons before 1975 to recent years difficult. Since that year, however, the number of cases handled each year by PTLA has nearly doubled.

The number of family law matters still represent a large percentage of the annual caseload. From 1975 to 2006, that percentage dropped just one percent from 37 percent to 36 percent.

The number of housing cases has increased threefold from just 11 percent of the 1975 caseload to 37 percent of the cases handled in 2006. Cases around administrative matters and income maintenance, such as access to social security and other benefits, has decreased significantly from 25 percent of the cases handled in 1975 in just 7 percent of the cases handled in 2006.

Heald and many of her colleagues could make more money in private practice or as prosecutors but have chosen to devote themselves to legal services for the poor. More than a third of the staff has been with the organization for more than 20 years, according to Heald.

She began her career at PTLA as a staff lawyer in 1985.

“It’s tremendously satisfying to do what we do for clients,” Heald said Thursday of her career. “It changes every day. It’s intellectually challenging, and the people I work with are fabulous role models. It’s a tremendous thing to be working in a place where you admire and respect the people you work with. It makes you want to live up to their standards.”

Pine Tree Legal, through the years

1975 2006 (with Volunteer Lawyers Project)

Total cases 5,476 10,388

Family law 2,034 3,780

Income-admin 1,316 725

Consumer 876 1,080

Housing 587 3,878

Other 663 925

Source: Pine Tree Legal Assistance

Pine Tree Legal offices around the state

Presque Isle: PTLA is the only legal aid provider in Maine with two full-time lawyers working in Aroostook County. In 2006, their average client was significantly poorer than the statewide average for clients with an average household income of $9,924. A staff of two full-time experienced lawyers and a part-time intake advocate who has worked in that office for 33 years provide a full range of legal services to low-income residents of Aroostook County. Assuming level staffing in 2008 and 2009, the office will provide legal services to an estimated 500 clients a year.

Machias: Pine Tree is the only legal aid provider in Maine with an office in Washington County. Its client base in 2006 was disproportionately made up of individuals with disabilities. The average household income was $9,790, significantly below that of the average low-income client served. A staff of one full-time and one part-time lawyer and a full-time intake advocate provide legal services to low-income residents of Washington and Hancock County. Assuming the same level of staffing in 2008 and 2009, the office will provide legal services to an estimated 400 clients a year.

Bangor: PTLA has maintained its office on Main Street for 40 years. The average client served by the office is slightly poorer and older than the statewide average. About 4 percent of clients have limited English proficiency. A staff of three full-time lawyers and four paralegals, three full-time and one part-time, provide legal services to low-income residents of Penobscot, Piscataquis and Waldo counties. They also staff a statewide low-income taxpayer clinic funded by an annual grant from the Internal Revenue Service for low-income Mainers with federal tax problems. Others in the office work with the Native American Unit, Farm Workers Unit and Kids Legal Program. The office also houses a part-time paralegal who represents low-income Mainers needing help with disability benefits. Assuming level staffing in 2008 and 2009, the office will provide legal services to an estimated 800 clients a year.

Source: Pine Tree Legal Assistance