At Community Legal Aid SoCal we provide advice on a number of legal issues that one might face, ranging from family law to expungements, and just because we are helping a client with one issue doesn’t mean we can’t help them with another.
Many times when a legal issue arises there may be some more issues that come up as a result of the one; for example, a client may have to get a divorce that may also have housing issues if their spouse isn’t willing to leave or aren’t paying their portion of the rent.
The following story is one example of when a client called us for one reason and how in the end we were actually able to help her with three different legal issues she was facing.
Nicole (fictitious name) called Community Legal Aid SoCal seeking assistance with a restraining order against Brandon (fictitious name), who had been physically and verbally abusive to her throughout their relationship. Nicole was initially hesitant to file the order due to what Brandon had threatened would happen if she did. However, after the most recent incident (about a week before her call) Nicole decided it was finally time to file and sever their ties.
Identifying other issues
While conducting Nicole’s restraining order intake, I learned she was married to Brandon and that she had a pending immigration case because he had petitioned for her after they got married. The pending immigration case was another reason why she was so hesitant to file. She told me she didn’t want to risk losing the progress she’d already made toward gaining status and she was worried about what would happen to her children.
After gathering the new information, I then offered to create intakes on those issues to which she eagerly responded “yes.” She said she was relieved and happy to hear she’d be able to get answers to most of her questions in one go and wouldn’t have as much uncertainty as to what may happen once she filed the restraining order.
Sharing options
When I read the advice to Nicole she was pleased to hear that, due to the abuse she suffered from Brandon, there were other options for her to gain status and that she wouldn’t have to go back to him to see it through. I provided her with appointments for further possible assistance with her immigration and restraining order cases.
Although she wasn’t scheduled with an appointment for the divorce issue, she was glad and grateful that we were at least able to help her with the challenges of the immigration and restraining order issues so that she could then focus on the divorce. Nicole also knew she could always call Community Legal Aid SoCal again if she had further questions about the divorce issue.
