Law Foundation for Silicon Valley
In 1974, a forward-looking group of Santa Clara County Bar
Association members recognized a need in the community for an
organization that would help empower low-income individuals towards
achievement of their potential, secure justice for them, and help
protect their human rights. This vision became a reality with the
founding of the Law Foundation in May 1974. Initially, the Law
Foundation's sole project was Public Interest Law Firm. As the
organization expanded over time to meet the needs of the community,
four legal services projects were added: Mental Health Advocacy
Project (1978), AIDS Legal Services (1988), Legal Advocates for
Children & Youth (1990), and Fair Housing Law Project (1998).
SERVICES
| • |
AIDS Legal Services (ALS)
provides free representation to persons with HIV and AIDS
through direct legal services and its panel of pro bono
attorneys. |
| • |
Fair Housing Law Project
(FHLP) ensures that individuals who wish to
live in Silicon Valley can freely choose a place to live
without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, age,
national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital
status, source of income, operation of a licensed daycare,
disability, or whether they have children in their family.
|
| • |
Legal Advocates for Children
& Youth (LACY) advances the legal rights of
minors in Santa Clara County, empowering them to lead
healthy and productive lives. |
| • |
Mental Health Advocacy
Project (MHAP) works to empower individuals
identified as having mental or developmental disabilities to
live more independent, secure and satisfying lives through
the enforcement of their legal rights and the advancement of
their social well-being). |
| • |
Public Interest Law Firm
(PILF) represents disadvantaged groups and
individuals in class action and impact litigation and
advocacy on issues that affect civil rights. Many cases are
handled on a pro bono co-counsel basis with private firms.
|
HOW YOU CAN HELP
The Law
Foundation’s three direct services projects--AIDS Legal Services,
Legal Advocates for Children & Youth, and Mental Health Advocacy
Project--have opportunities for lawyers who would like to make a
difference in someone’s life by providing direct pro bono services
to individual clients in need of free legal representation. You
could help an MHAP client whose disability prevents him from working
and who needs to appeal a denial of disability benefits to pay for
desperately-needed basic necessities of life, like food, clothing
and shelter. Through LACY, you could help a child stay out of foster
care by obtaining a guardianship with her grandparents. You could
help an ALS client who has suddenly suffered a serious health
decline and needs immediate assistance with drafting a simple will
and durable power of attorney for health care.
Law
Foundation programs provide legal training in practice areas such as
guardianships, social security claims, consumer rights, restraining
orders and will/estate preparation. Upcoming trainings are posted on
our website, www.lawfoundation.org, under "Get Involved: Pro Bono
Opportunities." We ask that pro bono attorneys commit to taking at
least one case or providing 10 hours of pro bono work per year.
CO-COUNSELING WITH THE LAW FOUNDATION
Another pro
bono avenue is for law firms to co-counsel cases with Fair Housing
Law Project or Public Interest Law Firm. In the past, firms have
worked with FHLP and PILF on matters ranging from predatory lending,
to discrimination in primary education, to inmates’ constitutional
rights; all report great satisfaction with the litigation experience
and hands-on client contact that these cases offer.
Fair Housing
Law Project has co-counseling opportunities on cases helping victims
of predatory home loans. Our clients, often elderly or monolingual
Spanish-speaking, are targeted by unscrupulous brokers and lenders
who charge enormous fees and obtain loans unaffordable to the
clients. These clients are often given misleading information about
their loans, pressured to sign quickly, and threatened with legal
action if they do not follow through. As a result of these predatory
loans, clients lose their equity and often the home itself.
Public
Interest Law Firm works with private pro bono co-counsel on most of
its impact litigation matters, which are wide-ranging. PILF's cases
involve civil rights; fair, habitable, and affordable housing;
inmates' rights; consumer issues; disability rights; and education
and other youth issues.
The Law
Foundation also invites law firms to consider offering the services
of an attorney for a period of 2 to 6 months to work in-house with
our staff.
For more information visit the agency’s
website
or call the agency at 408.293.4790 .
To find a specific volunteer opportunity for this agency, go to our
search page and
select the
agency’s name.
|
