About Us

The Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky, Inc., known as “AppalReD Legal Aid,” is a private non-profit law firm.  Our work is funded by public and private grants and donations. AppalReD offers free civil legal help to eligible low-income people in 37 counties of the Appalachian Mountains and rolling hills of eastern and south-central Kentucky, a region home to more than 220,000 people living in poverty.  AppalReD focuses on legal problems that affect our clients’ basic needs for food, shelter, income, personal safety from all forms of abuse, and safety and stability for children and the elderly. AppalReD does not handle criminal matters.

The people who work with AppalReD are committed to making a difference and ending the effects of poverty in the lives of our clients.  Since its 1970 founding by its first Executive Director, John Rosenberg, a legendary pioneer in Appalachian poverty law, AppalReD’s tradition of excellence has attracted young attorneys and legal workers from all over the U.S., and AppalReD’s intensive training programs and hands-on experience have produced leaders who have gone forward to change the face of life in Kentucky and the nation.  

Today, AppalReD operates six local law offices across the region.  Each covers a defined service area and is staffed by attorneys, paralegals, and legal secretaries with a high degree of specialized training in the legal matters we handle.

Our experts in housing law, consumer law, family law, domestic violence, and public benefits do more than serve our clients.  Annually, our attorneys and support staff host trainings open to private attorneys and legal staff, like our well-known, annual Domestic Violence Conference and Poverty Law seminars.  AppalReD engages in outreach efforts, attending community events and making contact with people to learn more about what is going on in the area.  AppalReD offers a unique Volunteer Lawyers Program, and our Low Income Tax Clinic stretches to provide help with income tax problems to residents of 86 Kentucky counties.