Legal Aid of North Carolina announced this month that its Boone office will close because of a statewide freeze on grants from the North Carolina Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program. The halt, now in its sixth month, has created a multimillion-dollar gap in funding that supports civil legal services for low-income residents across the state.
Legal Aid of North Carolina made a significant investment in Boone last year, relocating to new office space in the Rivers Walk Community to expand access to civil legal services in the High Country. The Boone office served residents in Wilkes, Ashe, Alleghany, Watauga, Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey counties and was the only nonprofit civil legal services provider in the area. In addition to ongoing work in family law, domestic violence protection, and health- and consumer-related cases, staff played a critical role in disaster recovery following Hurricane Helene, helping hundreds of residents navigate FEMA appeals, insurance claims, and other urgent legal matters.
“The Boone office has been a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable families in the High Country,” said Jonathan Perry, Western Regional Manager and former managing attorney of the Boone office. “Closing this office is not just the loss of a building; it is the loss of immediate, local access to justice for people facing life’s most difficult challenges. This community has endured extraordinary hardship, and our clients’ resilience has always inspired us. While this transition is incredibly difficult, our commitment to serving this region remains unwavering, even as the way we deliver that service must change.”
Legal Aid of North Carolina is the only nonprofit civil law firm serving all 100 counties in the state. In prior years, the organization relied on funding from multiple sources, including grants from NC IOLTA, which does not use taxpayer or state funds. IOLTA collects interest earned on lawyers’ client trust accounts—funds held for clients while legal work is performed—and distributes that interest as grants to civil legal aid organizations. Since its inception, NC IOLTA has distributed more than $134 million to support access to justice across North Carolina. In 2025, before the freeze took effect, Legal Aid received approximately half of the IOLTA funds awarded statewide, representing about 15% of its annual budget.
The freeze was enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly in this summer’s Public Safety Act, temporarily prohibiting the IOLTA Board from issuing grants. Members of the General Assembly cited concerns that some IOLTA funds could be used to support political or advocacy activities. However, Legal Aid of North Carolina is strictly prohibited from engaging in lobbying or political activity and focuses solely on providing civil legal services to low-income residents.
With funding paused, Legal Aid is implementing a statewide restructuring that includes closing nine offices, reducing staff, and scaling back programs that communities rely on, including disaster recovery, domestic violence protection, family law, and health- and consumer-related legal assistance.
“This freeze will prevent us from serving an estimated 8,000 people next year,” said Ashley Campbell, CEO of Legal Aid of North Carolina. “While the closure of offices like Boone is devastating, the greatest impact falls on the thousands of North Carolinians who will not be able to access the civil legal help they need during a crisis. Every year, we receive calls from more than 300,000 people seeking assistance, and there simply are not enough resources to meet that demand.”
Although the Boone office has closed, Legal Aid will continue to serve residents of Watauga, Avery, Ashe, Alleghany, and surrounding counties through statewide teams, pro bono partnerships, remote services, and its modernized intake and online legal information systems.
“Our mission has not changed,” Campbell said. “We will continue to provide high-quality legal services that support housing stability, personal safety, family stability, economic security, and health. We will adapt, we will innovate, and we will continue to serve the people of North Carolina.”
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