We Celebrate Juneteenth
Dear Friends of LAFLA, Today LAFLA celebrates Juneteenth as an official holiday, so that our staff can rest and reflect on June 19, 1865, when the remaining enslaved African Americans in the Union learned they were free under the Emancipation Proclamation. Next year, 2022, will be the first time the United States will have been […]
Meet Our LEIF Fellows & Summer Law Clerks
We are excited to welcome our summer class of 34 law clerks, who represent 22 law schools. The students join us remotely from nearly a dozen metropolitan areas across the nation, as far away as Boston, Chicago, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They also speak 14 languages other than English, ranging from Spanish and Korean to […]
Meet Our New Directors
Over the last year, we in the nonprofit sector, and specifically in legal services, have served as lifelines for our clients: providing access to justice, resources, and services to keep them housed, healthy, safe, and economically secure. Our commitment to our clients and our communities has never wavered. The pandemic and our nation’s racial reckoning have laid […]
Supporting Our AAPI Communities
[W]e have much work to do, in solidarity with other communities of color, to demand our own space and a meaningful place in this land we call home. This includes not only citizenship, but also dignity, humanity, safety, acceptance, civic participation, leadership, pride, power, and so much more. I am proud and honored to be […]
Veteran Fights Eviction with Help of LAFLA, Stay Housed LA
“I had applied for help everywhere but kept being told it was either too late or I’d have to wait. Once I applied for help through Stay Housed LA, Kristi reached out right away.” Marvin Andrews, LAFLA Client Tenants facing eviction or other urgent matters often face an uphill battle, which the COVID-19 pandemic has […]
We Stand With the AAPI Community
Dear Friends and Supporters of LAFLA, We at LAFLA are appalled by the unspeakable tragedy in the Atlanta area that claimed the lives of eight victims, including six Asian women. This is the latest attack in a horrifying surge in violence, blame, and xenophobia against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities across the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The […]
Pro Bono Spotlight: Racquel Muindi
“The expungement clinic is more than helping clients file their expungement petitions and supporting documents. I truly believe in many cases it really functions as a launching pad for clients to get the second chance they’re all hoping for.” Racquel Muindi Pro bono work offers attorneys an opportunity to not promote access to justice and […]
This Black History Month
Dear Friends and Supporters of LAFLA, This Black History Month we honor, celebrate, and reflect for many reasons. Still in the throes of the worst pandemic in decades, we mourn the loss of our Black brothers and sisters who have disproportionately suffered from deaths, job losses, and health disparities because of COVID-19 and systemic racism. […]
LAFLA Fellows Fight Housing Insecurity
This fall, LAFLA welcomed three postgraduate fellows whose work focuses on housing issues – especially critical as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on underserved communities. Meet our fellows and learn about their experiences. Curtis Skinner, Community Economic Development Fellow Prior to transitioning to law school, I was a journalist for about five years. After […]
LAFLA, Team Call for City of LA to Stop Displacing Unhoused People During Pandemic
On Monday, Dec. 21, attorneys with Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and Schonbrun Seplow Harris Hoffman and Zeldes LLP sent a letter to the City of Los Angeles, calling for the City to stop displacing people during encampment cleanups. According to the attorneys, “Given the unprecedented and uncontrolled level of community spread of COVID-19 […]