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While we have not found legal organizations in this country which specifically focus on squatting, we in San Francisco have found legal organziations and tenants' rights organizations which have been happy to provide advice and assistance.  Due to the fact that laws and societal norms vary from city, town, county, and state, we advise anyone interested in squatting to find legal and tenants' rights organizations which are sympathetic to or supportive of squatting so that one may get accurate and current information about the area where they live.  Here in San Francisco, we have found that people who are caught squatting are rarely arrested or serve jail time, but we know of someone from our group who went to another state, got caught squatting in a barn, and ended up serving six months in jail.  Furthermore, if one wishes to squat one should make arrangements with a supportive legal aide group to help and represent squatters if they happen to be arrested by police and go to jail.  Asking around and searching the internet can help you find the support you need.

Also, you want to have a lawyer lined up ahead of time before one embarks on squatting. It is a lot easier to get legal help before you squat than after you happen to get arrested. Even if you haven’t done anything illegal, that in itself will not keep you from going to jail.  What we do in San Francisco is have a volunteer who receives calls from members if they get in trouble with the police, and than that person contacts the lawyers and gives them information about who was arrested.  People who squat with our group fill out forms with basic information about themselves which can be given to the lawyers as needed to help the lawyers get the squatters out of jail and assist the squatters with things they need taken care of outside of jail (examples:  calling your boss to let them know you won't be in for work, having your pet fed, etc.).  A sample form can be downloaded from the National Lawyers Guild of San Francisco - http://www.nlgsf.org/docs/2010WorkingWithNLG.pdf