Senior Adults Legal Assistance

            Senior Adults Legal Assistance (SALA) is a non-profit elder law office whose mission is to support older persons in their efforts to live safely, independently, and with dignity.  Established in 1973, SALA provides free legal services and community education to Santa Clara County residents who are age 60 or older. There is no income eligibility qualification to use SALA’s services. SALA’s attorney staff provides a full range of legal services from simple advice/referrals to comprehensive legal representation.  SALA’s caseload consists of legal matters that private attorneys typically do not handle and that have a great impact on elders most in need in our community.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

            Currently SALA’s legal staff is comprised of five full time attorneys. Annually SALA also relies upon approximately 30 attorney, paralegal, and law clerk volunteers to augment the efforts of our legal staff. These are the following ways that you can volunteer at SALA:

SENIOR CENTER INTAKE VOLUNTEER

            SALA relies heavily upon volunteer attorneys, paralegals, and law clerks to conduct client interviews at our appointment locations at senior centers or other sites throughout Santa Clara County. All intake volunteers at SALA work under the direct supervision of an attorney on SALA’s staff. Several of our intake volunteers are retired attorneys and SALA participates in the Emeritus Attorney program sponsored by the State Bar to encourage such involvement. We also provide internship opportunities for law students during the academic year and the summer. Due to the training time that is involved to prepare intake volunteers, we ask for a minimum service commitment of six months from such volunteers, although this can be modified for summer interns.

PRO BONO SERVICE ON SALA’S NO FEE WILLS PANEL

            SALA continues to recruit attorneys with estate planning experience for service on our Wills Panel, which was established in 1987. Pro bono Wills Panel attorneys draft Simple Wills, free of charge, for our clients with modest assets at Will Days arranged by SALA at senior centers. We ask that Wills Panel attorneys pledge service to do one senior center Will Day annually. Wills Panel attorneys can also pledge additional service to make home visits to SALA clients that are homebound or institutionalized. Attorneys that are bilingual are especially needed. All Wills Panel volunteers must be licensed attorneys in good standing with the State Bar.

PRO BONO SERVICE AS AN ELDER LAW EDUCATION SPEAKER

            Wills Panel attorneys can also serve as speakers for SALA’s Elder Law Education Project on topics related to legal planning for the future at presentations arranged by SALA at our senior center appointment locations or to other organizations. Presentations provide a neutral forum for elders to have their questions answered related to wills, living trusts, and estate planning. All Elder Law Education speakers must be licensed attorneys in good standing with the State Bar.

PRO BONO SERVICE ON SALA’S ELDER LAW COUNSEL PANEL

            Elder Law Counsel is SALA’s newest pro bono effort to expand services to our clientele. SALA is recruiting pro bono attorneys to handle financial abuse cases in situations where our clients are not able to pay for private counsel and there are no other resources to assist them. SALA does not have the attorney staff resources to handle many of these cases because we are focusing upon prevention of physical abuse. All Elder Law Counsel volunteers must be licensed attorneys in good standing with the State Bar.

For more information visit the agency’s website or call the agency at 408.295.5991.

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