Pioneers in Orange County: In 1958, attorneys with a vision for equity saw the need for free and low-cost legal services for low-income residents of Orange County. With the support of the Orange County Bar Association and the Lawyers’ Wives of Orange County Auxiliary, the organization now known as Community Legal Aid SoCal was founded.

Finding a way to serve vulnerable populations: The Senior Citizens Legal Advocacy Program became our first specialized unit in 1976 and it serves seniors in Orange County thanks to funding from the Orange County Office on Aging.

A milestone in southeast Los Angeles: We opened the first and only legal aid offices in southeast Los Angeles in 1984, offering free services to marginalized communities.

New program makes a world of difference: The Domestic Violence Prevention Program (DVPP) was established in Norwalk in 1988 to help survivors of domestic violence obtain restraining orders. In 1995, the DVPP was replicated in Compton.

Words have meaning and names have power: In 1994, we purchased the Compton office on Rosecrans and named the building after Thurgood Marshall, the first Black American to serve as an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Answering the call: In the face of financial cutbacks in 1996, we created the first toll-free legal hotline in the country to serve the greatest number of people with limited resources. We continue to be one of the largest legal aid hotlines, receiving more than 46,500 calls a year.

First of its kind: The Health Consumer Action Center was created in 1998 and assists low-income and underrepresented consumers with accessing the health care system in Orange County.

The Compton Self-Help Center opened its doors in 2004, breaks down barriers: The opening of the Self-Help Center increases access for justice to thousands of self-represented litigants every year by offering free legal information.

A new practice area changes lives: We were awarded a grant from the California Department of Social Services in 2017 to assist immigrant adults and minors who are survivors of domestic violence and other crimes with immigration matters.

A new era: We celebrated 60 years in 2018 by unifying our offices in Orange and Los Angeles Counties under one new organizational name, Community Legal Aid SoCal. Legal Services Corporation’s Pro Bono Innovation Fund grant allowed us to transform our pro bono efforts. The initiative began as a handful of volunteers and has grown to over 330, including 108 attorneys.

Case managers lead the way in client-centered care: Case managers joined our team in 2019 as part of our commitment to provide holistic trauma-informed legal services.

A commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: We launched our initiative in 2020 to promote and embrace justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) which has become fundamental to how we work with each other and our clients. We also restructured the organization into substantive units based on legal practice areas to enable our legal advocates to be issue-area experts and provide greater depth of service to clients.

Community Legal Aid SoCal turns 65: We celebrated 65 years of service in 2023 in support of our mission of fighting injustice and advocating for social, economic, and racial equity.