Executive Director’s Message

As you know, our low-income client communities bear the brunt of the economic depression. LAFLA is straining to meet the growing need for our services while also facing our own budgetary challenges. In 2009, we anticipate a 10 percent reduction in IOLTA funds and a greater percentage in 2010. Grant funding is declining as governments make cutbacks in the face of budget deficits. Private foundations reduce program grants to offset drastic reductions in their endowments. And individuals and businesses alike are making tough decisions regarding their donations. An increasingly important way to help bridge the gap in funding is cy pres awards. As you know, under the cy pres doctrine, in class action litigation, after funds have been distributed to class members and supplemental payments are impractical, the funds are directed to the next best use. California Code of Civil Procedure Section 384 authorizes the trial court to direct residual funds "to nonprofit organizations providing civil legal services to the indigent or nonprofit organizations to support projects that will benefit the class or similarly situated persons." LAFLA is a singularly appropriate recipient of cy pres funds. We are grateful to those firms and attorneys who have proposed that unclaimed funds be designated to LAFLA, and invite others to join in this effort to make access to justice a reality for more low-income consumers. Everything you can do to help in these tough times-from directing cy pres to making a voluntary contribution to doing pro bono-is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your continued interest and support.

Silvia Argueta, Interim Executive Director

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Board Member Rita Tuzon Recognized as Pro Bono Champion

Rita Tuzon, LAFLA Board member, and Fox Networks Group’s General Counsel, Executive Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs was the recipient of the Pro Bono Justice Award from the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel on April 30. As a recipient, Tuzon received $10,000 from LexisNexis, one of the event’s sponsors, which she graciously donated to LAFLA. Tuzon has served for nine years on our Board. During her tenure, she has sought to increase the visibility of the organization and to increase the participation of pro bono attorneys. Said Tuzon in an April 10 Daily Journal article, "It’s important for lawyers to recognize that beyond general volunteer work, we all have an obligation to give back because when you are a lawyer, you have a special skill." LAFLA congratulates Tuzon on her achievement.

Housing Unit Instrumental in Improving Long Beach Housing Ordinance

Senior Attorney Susanne Browne of LAFLA’s Housing Unit was instrumental in drafting final revisions to the Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance for the City of Long Beach, which was adopted by the Long Beach City Council. The revisions provide relocation assistance to low-income tenants displaced as a result of condominium conversions.

"The original Ordinance was not tenant friendly, had many loopholes, and lacked monitoring and enforcement tools," explained Browne. "With the revisions, tenants will receive timely notices in English, Spanish and Khmer regarding their right to relocation assistance, and furthermore it will be more difficult for apartment owners who would like to convert their buildings to condos to avoid their obligation to pay for relocation assistance to current tenants. Additionally, low-income senior and disabled tenants will receive increased relocation payments."

Employment Unit Wins Difficult Claim for Rest Period Violations

Employment Law attorney Anel Flores, working with certified UCLA law students, scored a court judgment in the amount of $11,673 on a claim for rest period for a medical worker. The client did not receive her rest breaks during the time she worked at the medical clinic for about three years. According to Flores, it is generally difficult to win rest break premiums because the employer is only required to authorize and permit an employee to take a rest break, but has no duty to make sure that an employee actually takes a rest break. Flores and the students persuaded the judge of the importance of required rest periods for the health of workers and the employer’s failure to provide them.

Pro Bono Update

• SoCal Pro Bono Center Website Now Online
  In an effort to streamline volunteer requests from individual attorneys, law students and other legal advocates, LAFLA and its partners have created a new SoCal Pro Bono Center Website. The new venture is a joint project of Southern California Pro Bono Managers & Directors, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Public Interest Clearinghouse, Pro Bono Net, the Alliance for Children’s Rights, the HIV & AIDS Legal Services Alliance (HALSA), Mental Health Advocacy Services, Inc., Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles and Public Counsel. Its mission is to support pro bono legal services throughout Southern California by providing a wide range of information that is designed to link volunteer attorneys, students and other advocates with legal services programs in local communities. Whether you are a private practitioner, law student, law firm, law school, public interest law group or other qualified legal professional, the SoCal Pro Bono Center is your network for identifying programs and volunteer opportunities. Visit us at www.socalprobono.org.
• More New Law Fellows Join LAFLA
  Deferred law fellows Jennifer Cormano and Lei Zhang of Latham & Watkins will join LAFLA’s Family Law and Asian & Pacific Islander Units respectively. Joanne Byon of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe along with Keith Fujiu of Dewey Le Bouef will join our Community Economic Development Unit. All fellow will begin in the late fall. A special thanks to the law firms who are working with Pro Bono Director, Tai Glenn, to facilitate this effort and to help LAFLA meet the needs of its clients.

Client Story Captures Hearts
of Grand Cru Sponsors

The Grand Cru pre-event Sponsor Party on April 22 at the Reef Restaurant in Long Beach kicked off fundraising for LAFLA’s 2009 Grand Cru Public Tasting, generating over $130,000 in early sponsorships and "Judge for a Day" pledges.

Featured speaker Paula Cohen, Senior Attorney with LAFLA’s Family Law Unit, shared a moving story from earlier that same day at the courthouse Domestic Violence Clinic, which is supported by proceeds from the Grand Cru. A distraught woman had come in seeking a restraining order against her abusive and controlling husband, who was stalking her and threatening her clients as she went about making a modest living with her catering business. As she tearfully told her story, it came out that in better times she had been a Grand Cru sponsor herself. Once a supporter, she now was asking us to help her. The client’s reversal of fortune was a sobering reminder that changing circumstances might drive anyone to need LAFLA’s services someday, and brought home the importance of donor support for the Grand Cru.

LAFLA is grateful to the Grand Cru Board of Directors and the many volunteers who contributed to the success of the Sponsor Party. The Public Tasting is coming up on August 22 in Rainbow Lagoon Park and promises to be another great evening of award-winning wines, food and fun. For information about sponsorships or tickets, please contact Ludmila Montoya, Executive Producer at (213) 640-3894 or visit the Grand Cru website: www.longbeachgrandcru.com.

Staff Awards

• Senior attorney, Dorothy Herrera Settlage, second from left, of LAFLA’s Consumer Law Unit accepted an award from the Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services (LANHS) on May 1 for the Unit’s efforts to prevent foreclosures and keep families in their homes.
• On April 28, Joann Lee, Directing Attorney of LAFLA’s Asian & Pacific Islander Unit received the Exemplary Community Service Award as part of the 2009 Asian Pacific Community Fund’s Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy Awards. The award recognizes young leaders and organizations that are making a difference in the API community through their leadership and volunteer service.
• The Department of Women’s Studies at Cal State Long Beach has presented the Lillian Robles Award for Leadership and Action to Dominique Quevedo, an attorney in LAFLA’s Immigration Unit. The award is named for a well-known advocate for the protection of native people’s sacred lands throughout Southern California.

LAFLA Needs Furniture Donations
We are seeking donations of compact office furniture for our new South Los Angeles Office set to open in July, 2009, as well as furniture (table, chairs, etc.) for the Board Room at our West Office. For more information on how you can help, please contact Liz Castillo at lcastillo@lafla.org.

In the News

• LAFLA Board President, Harriet Posner of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom was named one of the Top Women Litigators in the May 13 issue of the Daily Journal.
• Interim Executive Director Silvia Argueta was quoted in the Daily Journal on April 27 in an article titled: Bill Seeks to Lift Limits on Legal Aid. Argueta stated that "these restrictions do not allow for full meaningful representation of the poor and undermine the tenet of equal justice under the law."
• Senior Housing Attorney Elena Ackel was quoted in the Sacramento Bee on April 19 about the increased interest in vocational schools and the need for regulation.
• Louis Rafti, a Senior Housing Attorney was quoted in a Los Angeles Times article on April 15 about moving tenants from Ujima Village, a subsidized housing complex that has potentially dangerous soil and water contamination. Rafti has been representing the Ujima residents since June, 2009.
• Consumer Law attorney Charles Evans was interviewed for a public affairs program on K-Frog Radio that aired on April 16 & 17. The station is based in the Inland Empire, one of the hardest hit areas by foreclosures. Evans warned listeners about loan modification scams.
• The fight for affordable housing in Long Beach and the work of Senior Attorney Susanne Browne were featured in a Press Telegram of Long Beach article published on April 14.
• Pro Bono Director Tai Glenn was quoted in an article titled: New Lawyers Find Work in Public Service, which appeared in the April 10 issue of the Daily Journal.

* Please visit www.lafla.org to read the articles.