For the past few years I have been caught in a snowball effect of increasing debt.  I have finally got employed, moved to smaller digs, sold some things, and got caught up on my monthly bills.  But...and it's a big but...I have an enormous amount of debt that I acquired while I was ill, and compounded when I was laid off last year.  I've already lost my house and valuables, and I don't want my measly paycheck garnished.

Here's the issue.  When I was unemployed, there were some legal services I might have been able to use, but I only found out about them after I became employed.  All of the social service organizations in the Twin Cities have given me leads, but you have to be at or barely above the poverty level to qualify.  Just having enough money to barely cover your monthly expenses is too much.  Then there are some non-profit organizations that do financial counseling and pre-bankruptcy support, but they don't have legal staff, and they don't give recommendations.

So, what do people on modest incomes do?  Does anyone out there know of any legal services that work on a sliding scale, or take reasonable payments?  The few law firms I have contacted so far either want $2000+ dollars up front or $600-700 up front with large monthly payments...neither of which are in my budget.

Are there any legal eagles out there? Or, have you gone through this situation yourself? Tell me about it.