About Us
The Public Law Center, Orange County's pro bono law firm, is committed to providing access to justice for low income residents. Through volunteers and staff, the Public Law Center provides free civil legal services, including counseling, individual representation, community education, and strategic litigation and advocacy to challenge societal injustices. Now in its 29th year of service, PLC works with more than 972 volunteer lawyers, paralegals and law students from throughout the county who volunteer their time and expertise.
In the year 2009 alone, PLC staff and volunteers provided 45,454 hours of free legal services in handling more than 3,400 cases, serving nearly 15,000 low income children, adults and seniors in Orange County. We estimate that the value of free legal services provided by PLC staff and volunteers in 2009 is worth just under $17 million. Our volunteers include partners at major Orange County law firms, sole practitioners, young lawyers, law students, college students and an array of others concerned about ensuring access to justice.
PLC's staff of 26 works to make certain that volunteers have the tools necessary to properly represent their clients. PLC carefully screens new cases to ensure that the matters are appropriate for placement with a volunteer attorney. PLC staff monitors all cases from the client's first contact with PLC until the case closes. PLC provides training in a variety of critical areas of importance for our volunteers, as well as substantive backup from the expert advocates on our staff. PLC staff assists with interpretation for non-English speaking clients who do not have their own interpreters and for volunteers who do not have diverse language capabilities in their office.
Most importantly, PLC provides Orange County attorneys with the opportunity to help make sure that access to civil justice is available to all. PLC offers a variety of different types of pro bono work for potential volunteers, whether they are in large firms or small firms, sole practitioners, litigators or transactional lawyers, or law students. Our work includes:
Private Attorney Referral - PLC has a longstanding relationship with the Legal Aid Society of Orange County by which Legal Aid refers indigent clients to PLC for placement with volunteer attorneys in the private bar. Clients' cases encompass a wide array of substantive matters including family law (e.g., dissolution, child custody and support, and paternity), children's issues (e.g., guardianship and adoptions), consumer fraud (e.g., auto purchase, lease or repair, trade school student loans, home improvement contractor fraud), bankruptcy, wills and uninsured tort defense.
Orange County Human Trafficking Coalition - PLC is part of a coalition led by Community Service Programs to provide services to victims of the growing crime of human trafficking. PLC provides legal representation to victims in the areas of immigration, civil litigation and other appropriate legal remedies so they can begin their lives anew.
Community Legal Clinics - PLC conducts bi-monthly free legal clinics at several community sites in Orange County where our staff and volunteers offer brief counsel and advice to indigent clients. During the winter, PLC staff and volunteers conduct weekly legal clinics at Orange County's two armory based temporary homeless shelters. PLC also works with the OCBA to co-sponsor domestic violence clinics at various locations throughout the county as well as courthouse based bankruptcy and guardianship clinics.
Family Advocates - PLC has joined together with the St. Joseph Health System in a collaborative effort called Family Advocates. Family Advocates is designed to improve the health of low income clients by addressing legal issues, such as domestic violence, landlord/tenant and immigration, which may have adverse health consequences. Family Advocates conducts monthly legal clinics at community health clinics operated by the St. Joseph Health System, La Amistad in the City of Orange, Camino Health Center in San Juan Capistrano and St. Jude Neighborhood Health Center in Fullerton.
Southeast Asian Legal Outreach Project (SEALOP) - Orange County is home to the largest Vietnamese community in the world outside of Vietnam. To assist the Vietnamese and other API communities in Orange County obtain meaningful access to the civil justice system, SEALOP provides the community with linguistically and culturally appropriate information and representation. PLC staff and volunteers conduct bi-monthly SEALOP legal clinics where clients can obtain assistance with a variety of legal matters, including family law, housing, benefits, immigration and consumer issues.
AIDS Legal Assistance Project (ALAP) - PLC provides civil legal services to indigent persons living with HIV or AIDS. We work closely with the AIDS Services Foundation of Orange County, various community groups and the Orange County Health Care Agency to assist clients. Client services involve areas such as wills and estate planning, advance health care directives, immigration, bankruptcy, discrimination, employment, health care access and landlord/tenant issues. Beginning in 2008, people living with HIV/AIDS can get a Legal Checkup ("LCU") - designed to help prevent legal problems before they become too serious.
Community Organizations Legal Assistance Project (COLAP) - makes free legal services available to community-based nonprofit organizations, child care centers and providers. PLC will also help micro-business owners who meet certain eligibility criteria. Through our network of volunteer attorneys, COLAP provides free legal services to existing nonprofit organizations serving Orange County's low-income population as well as to groups that want to form such organizations. In addition, through community partners, we also offer free or low-cost workshops on a variety of legal topics.
Impact Advocacy - PLC seeks to address broader issues that affect more than just the individual clients who come through our door. PLC has been and continues to be involved in a variety of advocacy efforts involving affordable housing and health care, two areas where scarce resources and overwhelming need combine to create problematic situations for many of Orange County's low income residents. Working with other advocates, PLC seeks to develop solutions through the legal system to these systemic problems.
PLC opens access to justice for those who are most vulnerable to injustice. Our collaborative relationships with other organizations help make Orange County a better place to live for everyone.
For more information about PLC contact:
| General Information |
(714) 541-1010 |
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| Volunteer Opportunities |
Kirsten Kreymann
Pro Bono Director |
(714) 541-1010 ext. 283 |
| Support Opportunities |
Charlotte Finklea
Director of Fund Development |
(714) 541-1010 ext. 277 |
| Media Inquires |
Kenneth W. Babcock
Executive Director
or
Charlotte Finklea
Director of Fund Development |
(714) 541-1010 ext. 272
(714) 541-1010 ext. 277 |
The Public Law Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Tax Id Number: 95-3709253
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