For people carrying criminal convictions from minor offenses, a clean record is often the key to new pathways to employment and a second chance. Foundation grantee LegalWorks, a nonprofit based in Cleveland, Ohio, helps low-income clients overcome the barriers of past convictions through record sealing and expungement, giving them the chance to start fresh.
The journey to LegalWorks began in 2013 when Founder and Executive Director James Levin was working as a criminal defense attorney on a murder case. While building his client’s defense, he identified 26 potential witnesses from Cleveland’s East Side. However, when the trial began, none of them appeared in court.
Levin soon discovered why: every single witness had open warrants for low-level offenses, like unpaid traffic tickets or missed court dates. After doing some research, Levin found that at the time in Cleveland alone, there were over 70,000 outstanding warrants, and half a million across the entire state of Ohio.
“There were people who wanted to help, but the risk was too high,” Levin said. “They knew that showing up could mean getting arrested on the spot.”
Levin established an office within the Famicos Foundation, a neighborhood revitalization nonprofit on Cleveland’s East Side, where he would help residents clear their outstanding warrants weekly. During intake, he noticed that many people were still carrying convictions for minor offenses, with some dating back over a decade.
“When I explained to clients that they could have a clean record by sealing a drug or theft offense, they looked at me in shock,” Levin said. “Most had never even heard of record sealing or expungement, let alone knew it was possible.”
From there, the work expanded into what it is today. LegalWorks, now with its own headquarters in downtown Cleveland, partners with a wide range of neighborhood-based organizations across Cleveland, including community development corporations (CDCs), recovery centers, workforce programs, and other trusted community groups. These partnerships help make legal support more accessible by embedding services directly within the communities they aim to serve.
“The access to these services is an essential aspect of what we do,” Levin said. “There’s a huge barrier for a lot of people going to any law-related institution downtown. So being in familiar places like the CDCs or the community spaces makes clients feel more at ease and welcomed.”
LegalWorks also collaborates with the Cleveland Public Library, hosting record sealing clinics at various branches throughout the city. Between the library sites and the CDCs, LegalWorks operates eight clinics a week, staffed by attorneys, paralegals, and law clerks. Law clerks in particular are a vital part of the organization’s day-to-day work.
Helping clients seal and expunge their records has been deeply fulfilling for Levin. The impact is often life-changing, opening doors to jobs, improving familial relationships, and lifting long-standing personal burdens. It’s a reminder, he says, that no one should be defined by their worst mistake.
“The weight of a criminal record is heavy,” Levin said. “But people grow and change. Their life opportunities should not be limited due to a choice they made years ago. LegalWorks helps lift that burden and gives people a real chance to move forward.”
The Foundation funds specialty legal service providers like LegalWorks to address the unique civil legal needs of specific populations. Make a gift to support the Foundation’s grantees.