People are faced with serious civil legal issues every day. These include tenants facing eviction, swindled consumers, single mothers suffering from intimate partner violence, and grandparents who want to help their neglected grandchildren. The Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Help Center can assist each of these people with the serious legal issues that make a meaningful difference in their lives.
Founded in September of 2017, the Help Center is a partnership between the Clerk of Courts and the University of Cincinnati College of Law. The goal of this unique endeavor is to increase access to civil justice for people who are not constitutionally entitled to an attorney and are otherwise unable to access an attorney. The reality is that there will never be enough attorneys to provide full representation to those in need. The Help Center provides visitors with information and limited legal advice (by appointment) as to how they can be their own best advocate. In 2025, the Help Center assisted 24,783 people!
Initially, the Help Center was staffed by a director (who was also the sole attorney), and one paralegal. At that time the Help Center focused exclusively on municipal civil matters. These included small claims, landlord/tenant issues (including eviction and rent escrow), and debt collection. The Help Center identified some common recurring issues where people were seeking information, which led to staff and law student volunteers developing forms and guides that spoke directly to these needs.
The guides and forms address commonly faced matters, such as how a small claims case proceeds and how to complete a small claims complaint. They also focus upon more specialized matters, like how a small claims plaintiff can file for a garnishment order, or the criteria considered by the court when evaluating a motion to remove a case from electronic access. As the guides and forms have increased, so too have the people who are served with general information. Of the nearly 25,000 people served by the Help Center in 2025, almost 22,000 of those received legal information (including guides and forms).
In addition to information, the Help Center also assists people by providing access to an attorney who will meet with them for 40 minutes to discuss various legal issues at no charge. During this appointment, the attorney can provide advice that ranges from general court procedures to case evaluation to preparation of customized pleadings. Visitors will oftentimes have a misunderstanding about what goes into litigating a case and what filing a lawsuit can accomplish. Advising people about what to expect after filing a lawsuit (and that getting a judgment is not the same as getting paid) can prevent someone from plunging into a lawsuit blind. As the saying goes, “you can’t know what you don’t know.”
The pleading forms available to all visitors address many of the most common issues facing Help Center visitors. These include:
However, there are times when visitors need something that is either more customized or the visitor lacks the ability to complete these forms on their own. During these appointments, an attorney can prepare a pleading that speaks more specifically to the visitor’s needs. For example, the Help Center was contacted by a tenant who received a notice that she was going to be set out from her residence in a week. This tenant had been instructed by her landlord that she did not need to attend an eviction hearing because she had paid her rent following the filing of the eviction complaint. One of the Help Center attorneys met with the tenant and prepared a motion to stay the writ. This motion walked through all of the facts of the case and incorporated exhibits (including an affidavit from the tenant, proof of payment, and a text message exchange between the landlord and tenant). The tenant then filed the motion to stay the writ with the court. The court granted the motion to stay the writ, set a new trial, and ultimately dismissed the eviction complaint. Help Center staff and volunteer attorneys scheduled 2,027 appointments to assist people just like this tenant in 2025.
Six years after its founding, the Clerk of Courts saw an opportunity to expand the Help Center’s services beyond the Municipal Court. Working in partnership with the Juvenile Court, the Juvenile Court Help Center launched in August of 2023. This Help Center branch has put its focus on aiding unrepresented people with custody matters. These include issues pertaining to custody between parents that have not been married to each other as well as kinship matters for visitation and emergency custody by relatives. The Help Center attorney, Juvenile Court staff, and law student externs have worked diligently to create guides and forms that speak to these needs as well as hosting limited legal advice appointments. In 2024, the Help Center further expanded to serve the Common Pleas Court and the First District Court of Appeals. Eligible issues in these courts include homeowners defending themselves from foreclosure and those facing challenges with their initial appeals filings.
Most recently in late 2025, the Help Center launched a Domestic Relations Court Help Center. This Help Center assists those with the greatest needs that appear in the DR Court. To that end, the Help Center prioritizes assisting unrepresented people in their pursuit of domestic violence protection orders while helping the public with DR trial preparation.
In late 2023, the Help Center partnered with Cincinnati City Council to host its first eviction docket observation. This event allowed interested members of the public to see how the eviction court operates and to get a general understanding of how cases get into eviction court. This has since become a recurring monthly event attended by a wide range of people that includes local leadership, students, physicians, and non-profit partners. The common refrain from attendees was that nearly all landlords were represented by an attorney while nearly all tenants went unrepresented. Seeing a need to be filled, the City of Cincinnati and the Help Center partnered to create a mechanism for same day tenant representation.
Eligible tenants can now access an attorney to represent their interests in the hearing that determines whether the tenant may become unhoused. The program launched as a pilot on September 10, 2024 and was originally available to tenants residing within the City of Cincinnati who had a hearing scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The success of the program led to philanthropic investments by Interact for Health and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. This is in addition to increased financial commitments by the Clerk of Courts, the Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners, and the City of Cincinnati. Because of these investments, this service is now available to any income-eligible tenant in Hamilton County with a hearing scheduled Tuesday through Friday. It is anticipated that this service will be available five days a week sometime in Spring 2026.
The statistics prove the success of this program. In 2025, the Help Center filed 929 notices of appearance for tenants in need. Over 94% of tenants represented obtained a positive outcome as a result of the appearance (with success defined as either a continuance obtained or dismissal of the case). Of the cases litigated to completion, over 87% of the appearances resulted in a dismissal. This success is due in significant part to investment by the City of Cincinnati in rental assistance that is available for tenants provided with limited representation by the Help Center. In 2025, over $294,000 in city rent assistance administered by the United Way was provided for 129 households. Not only does this program keep families housed, it helps to make housing providers whole.
The Help Center also promotes education to the community and professionals with an interest in access to justice. In 2025, the Help Center participated in 43 community events, which included tabling at 513 Relief Bus stops, City of Cincinnati Social Services days, and library branches throughout the county. In addition, the Help Center has presented an annual Access to Justice Symposium for four years, which has brought noted scholars, judges, and advocates from around the country to present access to justice innovations. This year, the symposium will run concurrently within the National Access to Justice Network Conference on October 20-22 at the Cincinnati Convention Center. This conference will convene hundreds of attorneys, legal scholars, and other stakeholders in the field of access to justice from across the nation. All are invited to join this event! Please link through the QR code on the sidebar to this article for more information.
Pavan Parikh is the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, focused on increasing access to justice, modernizing the office, and improving customer service. His extensive legal background includes 11 years as a judge advocate in the US Army Reserve, roles with the Ohio Senate and Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, teaching, private practice, and corporate counsel work.
Nicha Zingarelli (she/her) is the Director and Chief Attorney of the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Help Center. Nicha is a graduate of the UC College of Arts & Sciences and the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at NKU.