Legal Services of Eastern Missouri celebrates 70 years

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri celebrated its 70th anniversary May 9 with a gala held at The Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis.  

More than 430 people were in attendance, with gross revenue exceeding $250,000.

Founded in 1956 as the Legal Aid Society of the City and County of St. Louis, the organization provides free legal services for low-income residents across eastern Missouri, with offices in St. Louis, Hannibal and Union. According to figures highlighted in the event program, Legal Services served 35,285 people in 2025, including 7,991 through direct client work and 27,294 through community education, court help desks and referrals. The organization reported a 96 percent success rate on full case work, with 96 percent of clients living at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

The gala program went through the organization’s history from its formal incorporation in 1956 to present day. Early cases in the late 1960s and ‘70s included tenant protections and prison condition reform, while the 1980s the included a case that established St. Louis’ homeless shelter system and another that secured Medicaid coverage for HIV treatment.

Recent years have seen Legal Services win expanded Medicaid and SNAP access, launch digital tools to help tenants facing eviction and establish a legal assistance table at the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court that has served more than 5,600 people since 2022.