Understanding Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto

Insight into Community Legal Services

Although legal aid programs are as old as America itself, the term "community legal services" or "community legal services provider" is relatively new in the dynamic world of legal aid. The Federal Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a distinction without a difference, enabling organizations receiving federal funds for "civil legal assistance" to refer to themselves under this moniker. Still, it encompasses a broadening view of what it is that we do.
In common parlance, however, community legal services refers to the work done by nonprofit lawyers and paralegals to bring legal assistance to underserved populations. These organizations, funded in part through LSC, provide access to justice for low-income populations who cannot afford to pay for civil legal services . As President Lyndon B. Johnson said in 1964, "No other problem is more basic than the need to ensure equal justice for all Americans . . . Our Nation is not a place where some men own the law and others have nothing to say about it."
Sometimes, people refer to our work as helping the poor. Although low income issues are a primary concern of community legal services, there is a need to remind ourselves there are others in great legal need, too, many of whom in fact do not qualify for legal aid by virtue of their income, and who we may be alienating if we try to portray access to justice as something afforded only to people who live in poverty.

Legal Aid Available in East Palo Alto

The services aimed at providing free or low-cost legal representation are offered by a variety of organizations. A brief description of some of these services includes:
Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County
This service offers general information about the law and legal matters to low-income residents. Telephone consultations are available in English and Spanish, and the staff will also be able to refer residents to a community lawyer or family law facilitator if an appointment is necessary. The staff can also offer help to veterans and their family members, legal help for support to caregivers of seniors, and referrals to domestic violence shelters. There are no income requirements to call about this service, but a $20 co-pay is standard.
Coramino Adult Resource Center
This local non-profit organization aims to ensure that everyone has access to basic human needs and that the local community has access to other resources. The center participates in the California State Bar Volunteer Lawyer Program, which is considered to be the largest of its kind in the United States. East Palo Alto residents can seek legal advice and assistance from a volunteer lawyer for any kind of an issue, whether it is landlord/tenant problems or issues with government, and there are no income restrictions for this service.
The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley is considered to be one of the most comprehensive legal services in the state of Northern California. There are multiple offices throughout the Bay area and this non-profit organization serves thousands of clients every year. Staff members are fluent in a number of different languages. Free legal aide is provided for families and individuals suffering from domestic violence, divorces, guardianship or probate, public interest law, and immigration.

Providers of Legal Help

In addition to the legal aid provided by San Mateo County itself, East Palo Alto is home to four other organizations that provide legal assistance: Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal), Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA), Pro Bono Project Silicon Valley (PBPSV) and Stanford Law School’s Youth and Education Law Clinic and Community Law Clinic. Combining innumerable hours of volunteer work with funds from public donations, grants and non-restrictive funding from local, state and federal government, these other organizations comprise a crucial part of the East Palo Alto legal community.
BayLegal has operated out of East Palo Alto since 2000. Its local office is located at 95 Lincoln Avenue. The primary purpose of BayLegal is to provide representation to low-income clients in East Palo Alto and across the Bay Area. The office also provides support in 11 different languages. Their provided services include:
CLSEPA focuses its attention on the legal needs of low income individuals, the immigrant population and the young people in East Palo Alto. CLSEPA also provides bilingual services in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Farsi. CLSEPA provides its services free of charge and accepts all Low-Income clients:
PBPSV operates offices in San Mateo County, Santa Clara County and Santa Cruz County. Their main office is located in Downtown San Jose. PBPSV provides services free of charge to diverse low-income populations. PBPSV’s East Palo Alto office is located in Woodland Park and serves predominantly Latino families. It provides the following legal services:
The Stanford Law School Youth and Education Law Clinic (YELC) provides legal services to minors and young adults to prepare them for postsecondary education and transition into adulthood. The clinic’s areas of focus include special education law, disability rights and student discipline or suspensions. Accordingly, the YELC serves a diverse population in East Palo Alto, which includes pregnant or parenting teens, youth in foster care or homeless settings, and students with disabilities. The YELC works with many partner organizations and clinics such as the Youth Law Center, Legal Aid of San Mateo County and the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic.

Obtaining Legal Aid

Residents seeking legal services can make an appointment with the Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center (LASC-ELC), which provides free legal services to low-income individuals, families, nonprofits, and other community organizations. LASC-ELC helps low-income people assert their employment rights, prove their eligibility for disability benefits, settle financial problems, be safe from systemic harm to groups including LGBT people and people repeateedly harassed in commercial space, and also provides services to other nonprofit and community organizations working for low-income communities. LASC-ELC provides services including (1) a free intake telephone consultation, (2) free walk-in clinic on The First and Third Thursdays Rise Up For Justice (Details below) for LGBT clients with employment law problems and all clients needing assistance with general immigration matters in the San Francisco Bay Area. (3) full-scope legal representation cases must first go through the intake process and meet eligibility criteria. In representing a client or setting up a clinic , an attorney tries to match the agency’s mission and its practice areas (such as employment, public benefits, LGBT rights, migrant worker protection, etc.) to a potential client’s needs and to identify the most appropriate agency or clinic for the client’s needs. Rise up for Justice is offered every first Thursday and third Thursday of each month from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.at The San Mateo County LGBTQ Center, 800 Middlefield Road, Building C, Suite 10 in Redwood City. No appointment is necessary and is open to all LGBT applicants with employment law problems; other legal issues are entertained on a limited bases. Each session accepts 20 clients on a first come, first serve basis. The attorneys then briefly interview each client, and contact each client via email or telephone within the week following the Rise Up For Justice night to determine whether LASC-ELC will represent that client pro bono or refer him/her to a local provider (rather than "turn away" a client, LASC-ELC makes it a priority to provide referrals to other pro bono agencies that may be able to assist the client).

Community Successes and Legal Aid

The importance of the work done by community-based legal service providers like Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto can be best highlighted through the stories of the individuals and families we have represented. One recent example involved a single mother of three children who came to CLS with a Notice to Appear for deportation in front of an immigration judge. This woman is a victim of domestic violence and an active participant with her children in school activities. Without the support of our staff attorney, this mother could have been placed in removal proceedings and possibly separated from her children. In another case, a young man was served with temporary eviction papers, which required filing an answer within five days, and a notice of trial in three days. If the answer and notice of trial were disregarded, a judgement was going to be entered against him. It was a weekend and CLS was closed. He sat at home contemplating why he should go through the trouble of trying to save his home. Fortunately, CLS called the client back regarding another issue and was able to advise him to file the documents as he was still within the deadlines. A third story involves a LGBT asylum case in which the client was beaten in Nigeria because of their sexual orientation. The client endured these attacks, in part, due to the fact that they were too afraid to seek medical attention for injuries, not wanting to expose their status. After a year of living in fear and working multiple low-paying jobs, the client reached out to CLS and got help at an asylum workshop. At court, the judge found the client credible and granted asylum. The client was able to reunite with a former partner in the United States who now plans to marry.

Future of Legal Aid in East Palo Alto

Although institutional support for legal aid entities in East Palo Alto are lacking, legal service providers in the area have begun to see an improved attitude from the California State Bar. In addition to the designated office in East Palo Alto, Bay Area Legal Aid has plans for a second office that will be located near the Ravenswood Center in East Palo Alto. Bay Area Legal Aid will also continue to maintain a small satellite office in the San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City . Finally, the Bar has also committed to establishing a special pro bono panel to volunteer for domestic violence cases through the legal aid organization, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLESA). Legal aid entities in East Palo Alto are optimistic that the new Housing Element of the City Plan will include a provision for the funding of a multifamily legal aid office. However, no such legal aid office is planned yet for East Palo Alto. Currently, over 40% of the clients who apply to its offices in Menlo Park for legal aid services come from East Palo Alto.