Northern Nevada Legal Aid is a nonprofit legal aid organization serving qualified residents in Washoe and surrounding rural northern Nevada counties. Legal aid is free or low-cost advice, assistance, or representation in civil matters for those who could not otherwise afford an attorney. Its goal is to eliminate barriers to access to the legal system for our society’s most vulnerable members to protect their rights, keep them safe and provide stability. It also provides legal system efficiencies by decreasing self-represented litigants. 


Volunteer Attorneys for Rural Nevadans (VARN) was incorporated in December 1996 with the stated purpose to provide pro bono legal services to the low-income residents of rural northern Nevada.  VARN applied for and received 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in 1997. Since 1996, VARN’s Pro Bono Project has recruited a panel of over 100 private and public volunteer attorneys to provide free legal services to low-income residents in Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Lyon, Storey, Humboldt, Elko, and White Pine counties.  


Mission: The preservation of access to justice and the provision of quality legal counsel, advice and representation for individuals who are unable to protect their rights because they cannot afford an attorney.


We are the public law library for Washoe County. As a public library, everyone is welcome to use any and all of the library’s legal resources. Our staff is dedicated to helping you find and access the law. We invite you to visit or call the law library for further assistance.