Legal Services
As part of its wraparound services for reentry and justice-affected women, CFLS provides filing assistance, counsel, representation, and referral services for clients’ legal needs. Our legal department is committed to removing barriers and to the preservation of individual freedom, income stability, personal safety, housing stability, and family structures.
How We Help Individuals
After calling, emailing, or walking in during our drop-in hours, we assist clients through a general intake process that is designed to understand you are your unique needs. One of our trained staff members will review your legal and nonlegal needs so that we can determine your most pressing needs and ways we may serve you.
Please note that completing an intake or speaking with someone about your case does not guarantee that we can provide representation, counsel, or additional assistance. We will work together to determine the best path forward and inform you of the next steps.
How We Help Organizations
Advice & Referrals
We provide legal advice, brief services, and warm referrals for clients in a broad array of case types including discrimination, custody, child support, landlord/tenant issues, and more!
Issue-Spotting Trainings
Our team is available to help you determine when a lawyer might be just what your client needs. We are available for group and organizational trainings.
Know-Your-Rights Seminars
Every month, our department hosts a themed seminar to engage directly with the community while teaching the ins and outs of various legal topics. Check out what our topic is this month! (Click on “legal”)
Know-Your-Rights Personalized Trainings
Our attorney can speak directly to clients on various topics such as custody and child support, consumer issues, housing or employment discrimination, wage garnishments, landlord/ tenant issues, and domestic violence
Our Legal Team
Risheena Schwemle – Director of Legal & Community Partnerships
Risheena is the CFLS Director of Legal & Community Partnerships, providing legal assistance to reentry and justice affected women. Her goal is to help remove the barriers that impede a successful integration back into the community. As someone who believes that access to justice and legal services should not depend solely on one’s income, she has dedicated her career to serving low income and indigent clients for non-profits and government agencies. Barred in both D.C. and Maryland, Risheena’s 20+ years of knowledge and legal experience is now focused on guiding the CFLS Legal Department in its task of addressing the variety of legal needs of our clients.
Connect With Us
Phone: 1-833-888-0434 (toll-free)
Email: Legal@cflsdc.org
Drop-In: You can stop by to speak with our Legal Assistant during the following hours:
Tuesday: 10:00am to 4:00pm (closed between 1-2pm for lunch) Thursday: 10:00pm to 4:00pm (closed between 1-2pm for lunch)
