THE   LEGAL   ASSISTANCE   OFFICER.— All  Navy  legal  assistance  officers  (LAOs)  are qualified  attorneys  who  are  licensed  to  practice law before the highest court in at least one state. All  legal  officers,  however,  are  not  necessarily qualified attorneys. They are officers assigned to assist  commanding  officers  with  inservice  mili- tary justice matters and to refer service members to  LAOs  as  necessary.  In  some  areas,  an  LAO may  represent  a  member  before  a  civil  court even  though  the  LAO  may  not  be  a  member  of the  local  bar  association. The   legal   assistance   officer   can   serve   a client   as   a   legal   advisor   and   consultant   in areas   such   as   wills,   powers   of   attorney, divorce   and   separation,   support   and   nonsup- port,  debt  liquidation,  estates,  tax  problems and  other  civil  legal  matters.  (For  example: landlord/lease  problems,  foreclosure  and  repos- session, claims   against   the   Government   for household  goods  or  auto  damage  during  trans- portation  or  while  in  Navy  quarters,  and  con- sumer  fraud.) Legal  assistance  officers  are  not  permitted to  accept  fees.  If,  however,  LAOS  refer  their clients  to  a  civilian  attorney  for  court  represen- tation,  the  civilian  attorney  is  free  to  charge  a fee. Referrals  to  outside  sources  of  legal,  assist- ance   should   only   be   made   through   the   legal assistance  officer  who  will  normally  maintain  a list of outside legal assistance resources available within  the  civilian  community. Additional  information  concerning  the Navy’s  Legal  Assistance  Program  is  contained within  Chapter  19  of  the  Manual  of  the  Judge Advocate    General. THE   EXPANDED   LEGAL   ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The   Expanded   Legal   Assistance Program  is  designed  to  provide  full  representa- tion   for   eligible   clients.   A   legal   assistance officer  may  write  letters  on  behalf  of  clients; negotiate  with  another  party  or  a  lawyer  of  the party;  prepare  all  types  of  legal  documents, including pleadings; and where locally admitted or  permitted  by  agreement,  appear  in  court  as attorney   of   record.   Persons   eligible   for   legal assistance under the Expanded Legal Assistance Program  are: Military  personnel  in  paygrades  E-3  and below; Married  military  personnel  in  paygrades E-4  and  below,  and  their  dependents;  and Other  military  personnel  who  are  unable to  afford  the  services  of  an  attorney  without substantial financial hardship. Cases of military personnel  within  this  category  will  be  fully documented  as  to  the  justification  for  providing representation under the Expanded Legal Assist- ance  Program. Persons not eligible for legal assistance are as follows: Personnel   in   paygrades   E-4   and   below who  have  a  source  of  substantial  income  inde- pendent of their military pay Retired  military  personnel  or  their dependents The   Expanded   Assistance   Programs   may accept  (but  are  not  necessarily  limited  to)  the following  types  of  cases: Adoptions Name changes Routine   or   “short-form”   statutory   pro- bates of small estates Divorce,  separation,  and  child-custody matters Paternity Nonsupport   and   Uniform   Reciprocal Enforcement  of  Support  Act  cases Collection  of  security  deposits  and  debts Actions   involving   conditional-sales   con- tracts or warranties 5-24