Legal help
A lawyer in your corner.
Free legal representation for young people facing charges in the Denver metro area: in juvenile court, and in the places the system leaves children to manage by themselves. Free legal services are available to eligible families, subject to an initial eligibility review, conflict check, and attorney capacity.
Right now
Being questioned, or just arrested?
- You do not have to answer police questions. Say “I want my parent and a lawyer,” then stop talking. In Colorado, police generally need a parent or guardian present to use what a young person says.
- If you are held, you get a free lawyer at the detention hearing, whatever your family earns. Ask for the public defender.
- Get a lawyer for the case. Ask us for a call: we represent young people in juvenile court.
If anyone is in danger, call 911.
Free legal representation
What representation includes.
- 01
An early legal consultation
A first conversation with our legal team about what is happening, and a screen of the case.
- 02
Representation in juvenile court
An attorney who represents the young person in their case, within the kinds of cases we take.
- 03
Someone beside them at hearings
Advocacy at court, school and city court hearings, so a young person is not standing there alone.
- 04
Rights and options, in plain words
What is happening, what could happen and what the choices are, explained so a young person understands. They are the client, and they have a say.
- 05
The right referral when it is not us
For appeals or matters outside what we do, we connect you with someone who can help.
Free legal services are available to eligible families, subject to an initial eligibility review, conflict check, and attorney capacity. Legal services are provided by attorneys licensed in Colorado.
What we help with
Cases we take.
We represent young people in juvenile court, and in the school hearings, records and coming-home matters where kids most often have no lawyer at all.
Juvenile court defense
An attorney who represents a young person charged in juvenile court, from the first hearing to the end of the case. That includes families who earn too much for a public defender and too little for a private lawyer.
School expulsion and discipline hearings
Colorado gives no right to a free lawyer when a school moves to expel a student. A hearing can cost a young person a year of school. We can stand beside them in it.
Sealing a juvenile record
Many juvenile records seal on their own. Some still need a petition to the court. A record left open can follow a young person into jobs, housing and school.
Legal help after coming home
Getting back into school, making sure credits count, special education plans, and parole hearings. The legal side of coming home, alongside our reentry support.
Not on this list?
Ask anyway. If we cannot help, we will tell you, and point you to someone who can.
Who we can help
Young people, and the families behind them.
Young people who live or have a case in the Denver metro area: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas or Jefferson County. The matter can be in juvenile court or school discipline, or it can be a record from when they were under 18.
A young person can reach out on their own. So can a parent, a grandparent, a teacher or a caseworker.
Free legal services are available to eligible families, subject to an initial eligibility review, conflict check, and attorney capacity.
Why it matters: in FY2024, colorado juvenile delinquency cases had no court-appointed lawyer on record at any point: 1,405 of the 6,561 filed. Source.
How it works
Four steps, in plain words.
- 01
Ask for a call
Use the short form or call us. We only need a first name, a safe number and a good time.
- 02
Talk to our legal team
We call back, ask what is going on, and check three things: that you are in our area, that you qualify, and that we have no conflict of interest.
- 03
Put the agreement in writing
If we’re able to take your case, an attorney will clearly explain the services we will, and won’t, provide. You and the attorney will then sign a written agreement. Once it’s signed, we officially represent you.
- 04
Make a plan together
Legal representation, along with support for everything surrounding the case: school, our programs, and the transition home. We’ll coordinate only with your permission.
Ask for a call
Call or email us to start.
A person reads every message. Give us a safe number and a good time to call, and please do not write down what happened.