Success Stories
Preventing Loss of Housing for a Disabled Client
By Melanie Pearce, Staff Attorney, Housing Unit Our client, Jessica (fictitious name), is a middle-aged disabled woman who lived alone in a two-bedroom unit located in Costa Mesa since [Continue Reading]
Preserving and Increasing CalFresh Food Benefits for Seniors
By Javier Ubach, Paralegal, Seniors Unit Emma Brown (fictitious name), an 83-year-old woman, reached out to the Community Legal Aid SoCal (CLA SoCal) for assistance after several substantial reductions in [Continue Reading]
A Life Changed for the Better
By Rose Mauro, Staff Attorney Miguel (fictitious name) came to us for help with expungement of 19 cases, covering a span of 10+ years. The charges varied, ranging from [Continue Reading]
Assisting a Retired Veteran with a Collection Lawsuit
Marshall Arbor (fictitious name) is a divorced senior citizen and retired veteran living alone on a fix income in Orange County. He contacted Community Legal Aid SoCal (CLA SoCal) [Continue Reading]
Extended Service: A Family Law Case Story
By Roxanne Hernandez, Senior Attorney Note: The below preface was originally shared in September 2023 and serves as the back story for the recent update of the case. Preface [Continue Reading]
Assisting a Client Seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
Lula (fictitious name) was born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States when she was three years old. In her teen years, she became a dependent of the Orange [Continue Reading]
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]
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]
