News
Perseverance: One Client’s Journey Towards a Fully Favorable SSI Decision
Submitted by Esther Gomez, Staff Paralegal, Public Benefits Unit Tracy (fictitious name) is a 44-year-old woman who suffers from hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), a chronic inflammatory skin condition that causes painful [Continue Reading]
Eviction Defense for a Disabled Client
By Terea Williams, Registered Legal Aid Attorney An eviction, unlawful detainer case is an extremely stressful experience for a client, and even more so when they do not have the [Continue Reading]
Advising and Representing a Client in Debt Collection
By Melina Fuentes, Staff Paralegal Our client Massimo Vega (fictitious name) is 54-year-old non-literate monolingual Spanish speaker who works as a caregiver for his sickly wife. Jefferson Capital, a third-party [Continue Reading]
Q & A—Shirly Sun and Jeff Tsair, Volunteering at the Expungement Clinic
Community Legal Aid SoCal holds monthly Expungement Clinics on Saturdays from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm in partnership with UCI Law School student volunteers. At the clinics, we assist clients [Continue Reading]
Community Legal Aid Socal’s Response to the Supreme Court’s Decision in City of Grants Pass
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson that fining and jailing unhoused people for violating anti-camping ordinances, even when they have no access to [Continue Reading]
Advocating for Client’s Gender-Affirming Care
By Joan Chang, Senior Attorney, Health Unit Alicia (fictitious name) is a 34-year-old male to female transgender individual who, when facing multiple barriers accessing gender-affirming surgeries, contacted Community Legal Aid [Continue Reading]
Three Short Stories of Advocacy for Survivors of Domestic Violence
By Roxanne Hernandez, Staff Attorney -One- I was assisting my client Patricia (fictitious name) with a legal separation, and we needed to file and serve an Amended Petition for Dissolution. [Continue Reading]
Perseverance, Through the Years
By Cheryl Bigos, Senior Attorney Clarissa (fictitious name) was born in Egypt where she worked as an anesthesiologist. In 2012 she met and married her husband, Joe (fictitious name), and [Continue Reading]
CLA SoCal May Board Meeting Notice
Board Meeting Agenda – May 28, 2024 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. on Zoom Call Meeting to Order (Board President, Lauren Grochow) Introduce Patricia Moon, Director of Client Services Minutes Approval [Continue Reading]
Taking Thorough Action for Health Consumer
by Sara Lee, Supervising Attorney, Health Unit Our client Russell (fictitious name) is a recipient of Medi-Cal and received his services from Orange County Mental Health Plan (OC MHP). He [Continue Reading]
CLA SoCal March Board Meeting Notice
Board Meeting Agenda – March 25, 2024 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. on Zoom Call Meeting to Order (Board President, Lauren Grochow) Mission Moment (CLA SoCal Staff Member) CLA SoCal Strategic [Continue Reading]
Working Towards a Favorable Decision
When Teresa (fictitious name) came to Community Legal Aid SoCal in August of 2022, she was a 55-year-old immigrant from Mexico whose education ended at 4th grade. She was recently [Continue Reading]