S.C. Legal Services

I was accepted by legal aid March 2021. I was 6 months in when they switched my attorney. Summer 2021 I was given an attorney from the Charleston office. I reside in Florence. My case is in Horry county. May 2023 we finally had our first hearing. Not only was I not able to use the most important affidavit I had bc of her mistake, she forgot half the stuff she needed at court and no one could hear her. She mumbles. At hearing in May we were given 30 days to have guardian ad litem (GAL for short) it is November and I still don’t have a Gal. So after many calls to supervisors and the situation and her attitude only getting worse after each complaint, I called the bar. Now of course I lost the attorney I had which in my opinion really didn’t matter bc I believe we would still be waiting on her to do her job this time next year. But now legal aid will not help at all. Why am I getting punished for having a sorry attorney who didn’t care about my case or represented me well. Our justice system needs change bc I shouldn’t have to have to be wealthy to receive justice.

My experience with this “service” has not been great. One Attorney spent roughly about 11 months, give or take, on my case and did absolutely nothing. I requested that a Rule To Show cause be filed on my behalf from the moment she was appointed but I never saw it get done. Then after not being able to reach her after numerous of calls, I found out my file was bounced to another Attorney. That Attorney was appointed only a week before the final hearing with no facts other than when she spoke to the opposing Attorney before even speaking with her own client. I spoke with the manager who was bouncing my file back and forth between these 2 Attorneys. I had questions that they did not want to answer. The assigned Attorney also yelled at me stating that “no one is represented for free.” The manager tried to make it seem as if she said that in reference to the guardian ad litem, which I know is false because I was the one on the phone with her, not the manager. I could go on about my experience however, I will say that I agree with Nefertiti Brown when she stated that their tone is very condescending and I would like to add “nasty nice.” However, I did receive a letter of advice, which lied about me asking them to appeal for me when both attorneys was appointed for the temporary and the final hearing. I never asked them to appeal and never wanted them to. This service is a waste of time, especially when they pretend to represent you while not really representing you. Hire a private Attorney. It may be hard, but you can do it.

My experience with this legal service was horrible!! I had attorney Matthew Billingsley and he did absolutely NOTHING to represent me or defend me as a client in a landlord tenant case that I have. He was lazy and lackluster in his of my situation. I felt that he did not take his time to build a proper defense against the entity that I had a good claim against and they walked away scott free and they were not held responsible for any of the damages that was done to my property. Needless to say I have to now persue a small claims court trial because of his lack of enthusiasm during representation. He was also late to court, unshaven and his suit was wrinkled. He walked up to me yawning which was the first sign that he really wasn't taking this case serious enough. I lost EVERYTHING and personally I think that he did not care. If you can avoid him please do, there's one other attorney there and I I regret that Matthew Billingsley was ever recommended as an attorney for me to use. Potential Clients BEWARE

I've had the pleasure to have Ms. Van de Horst as my attorney. She went above and beyond for my case. I truly appreciate the work she and her partners put in. Thank you Ms. Van de Horst!

Terrible service lawyer caroline witz refused to do what I asked her to do or listen to me at all and then told me no one else at south Carolina Legal assistance would take my case terrible service I hope that she got a good deal on her other case with lawyer dean