Beyond Individual Representation: Group Representation & Neighborhood-Based Legal Advocacy
Using Legal Services of Eastern Missouri's Neighborhood Advocacy initiative as a case study, the presentation will discuss the practical realities of group representation under LSC regulations, including eligibility considerations, representation of nonprofit entities, restrictions and opportunities under the LSC framework, and structuring compliant advocacy strategies. The session will also explore how transactional law, litigation, and pro bono partnerships can be combined to support community-led revitalization efforts.
- Identify the opportunities and limitations for group representation under LSC regulations and legal aid program rules.
- Develop community-based legal advocacy strategies that combine litigation, transactional representation, and neighborhood partnerships to stabilize neighborhoods and to preserve increase affordable housing opportunities.
- Implement pro bono and cross-sector partnership models that support nonprofit community development organizations and expand affordable housing and neighborhood stabilization efforts.
Peter Hoffman, JD/MPA
Managing Attorney
Neighborhood Advocacy
Peter Hoffman manages the Neighborhood Advocacy program for Legal Services of Eastern Missouri. Neighborhood Advocacy provides free legal services to prevent and eliminate blighted, vacant, and abandoned property. Peter began his legal career in Kansas City where he helped to create Legal Aid of Western Missouri's "Adopt-a-Neighborhood" program connecting urban neighborhoods with volunteer lawyers. He served as that project's director until moving home to St. Louis in 2018 to found Neighborhood Advocacy. Peter received his JD/MPA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with an emphasis in Urban, Land Use, and Environmental Law. Peter’s articles, “Bringing Self-Empowered Revitalization to Distressed Neighborhoods” published in the Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law, and “Legal Services and Pro Bono Lawyers Help Neighborhoods Tackle Vacancy” published in the St. Louis Bar Journal, both spotlight the role pro bono lawyers can play in community revitalization.
Stephanie Moes, JD
Director
Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, LLC
Stephanie Moes, Director of the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, LLC, has more than 20 years of litigation and advocacy experience in in poverty law, housing, consumer protection, disability rights, and educational advocacy. She began her legal career as a federal law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge James Gwin before joining Legal Aid as an Equal Justice Works Fellow focused on affordable housing and neighborhood stabilization. Prior to becoming Director of Legal Aid of Southwest Ohio in 2025, Stephanie served as a managing attorney, where she built and led cross-system collaborations to expand affordable housing, preserve homeownership, and improve educational outcomes for children in foster care. Stephanie serves on the boards of Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Price Hill Will, and the Housing Assistance Legal Fund. Stephanie earned her B.S. from Xavier University, her M.S.W. from The Ohio State University, and her J.D., Order of the Coif, from the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
Components visible upon registration.