Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto 

 

            Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (“CLSEPA”) provides free legal services to low-income and under-served individuals and families in East Palo Alto, eastern Menlo Park and the surrounding areas. CLSEPA is a community-based organization funded by grants and donations from foundations, law firms, legal organizations, and individual donors. CLSEPA engages the assistance of volunteer law students and pro bono attorneys in all of our practice areas: housing, immigration, juvenile justice, and general civil litigation. With the help of pro bono attorney volunteers, CLSEPA serves nearly 1200 individuals and families in need each year.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

  Housing Practice

            CLSEPA benefits from thousands of hours of volunteer service. In the Area of Housing law, CLSEPA advises clients on their rights and responsibilities regarding eviction and threatened eviction, habitability, rents, Section 8 housing, discrimination, retaliation, and security deposits. CLSEPA writes demand letters, helps file answers in court, and negotiates with landlords and opposing counsels on behalf of clients. CLSEPA volunteers frequently assist clients who represent themselves in unlawful detainer and in small claims court. CLSEPA represents clients before the East Palo Alto Rent Stabilization Board.

  Immigration Practice

            Immigration services include advising clients on how to regularize their own or family members' immigration status. Bilingual informational handouts on more than 20 immigrants’ rights topics are distributed. CLSEPA help clients with Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) claims, U visa applications, family petitions, FOIA requests, green card renewals, political asylum claims and more. CLSEPA has assisted clients from American Samoa, Argentina, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, Guatemala, Mexico, Samoa, Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, and the United States.

  Volunteer Attorney Program (VAP)  

            Through our Volunteer Attorney Program, CLSEPA helps people with a wide range of legal problems, including consumer fraud, insurance, bankruptcy, car financing, and general litigation matters. Under supervision from a CLSEPA attorney, Stanford law school students interview hundreds of clients each year through VAP. When possible, our attorney and the students advise the clients directly, often preparing them to represent themselves before small claims court or with the firms that have defrauded them. Where appropriate, cases with more complex problems are referred to attorneys at local law firms who provide their services pro bono.

  Anti-predatory Lending Program  

            The American dream of owning a home has become an all-too-real nightmare for a growing number of low income and minority families, limited English proficient borrowers and the communities in which they live. CLSEPA has been in the forefront of redress for predatory and illegal loans doing cutting edge legal work in class and individual actions and successfully sponsoring legislation to protect senior borrowers.

For more information visit the agency’s website or call the agency at 650.326.6440.

To find a specific volunteer opportunity for this agency, go to the Probonomatch.org search page 
 and select the agency’s name.