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Volunteer Legal Services Programof The Bar Association of San Francisco Sources by Amanda Bach
FREE LEGAL HELP
Do you have a problem that may require an attorney?
Visit the FREE Legal Advice and Referral Clinic (LARC) in San Francisco. If you have any questions, or would like more information, please call (415) 982-1600.
Volunteer Legal Services Program of The Bar Association of San Francisco
CONTACT INFO: • www.sfbar.org/volunteer/index.aspx Email: vlsp@sfbar.org 465 California Street, Suite 1100 San Francisco, CA 94104 Phone: 415.982.1600
Every year the Volunteer Legal Services Program (VLSP) serves thousands of people in desperate need of legal help. They've provided this help with the assistance of volunteers throughout the Bay Area for nearly 30 years.
Their award-winning program changes lives by using a holistic approach that offers social services as well as legal assistance.
The Volunteer Legal Service Program Story
Founded by The Bar Association of San Francisco in 1977, VLSP is a nonprofit provider of free legal and social services to low income individuals and families. It began as a small pro bono project under the leadership of its then President James Brosnahan, a partner at Morrison & Foerster.
In 2004, under the direction of VLSP Director, Tanya Neiman, the program served thousands of low-income people in San Francisco.
A Few Facts
• We are one of the nation's premiere providers of pro bono legal services • We are the largest legal services provider in San Francisco • We serve nearly 20,000 clients each year together with BASF's Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) • Our program is award winning and nationally recognized • We integrate legal and social services in order to address the full spectrum of issues facing our clients • Our goal is to achieve life-changing results • Our volunteers contribute close to ten million dollars in pro bono hours per year.
They provide FREE Legal and Professional Services
Family Law Project
Assist individuals, families with children or families with domestic violence in matters including marital dissolutions, child custody, child support, restraining orders, guardianships, conservatorships, wills, powers of attorney and probate litigation.
Did you know...
• With 62 new volunteers last year, 328 family law clients received help through VLSP. Of those, 286 families received help for domestic violence.
Eviction Defense Project
Assist individuals and families with children facing eviction from their homes.
Did you know...
• There is not a single American city or rural county where a household with one full-time minimum wage earner can afford a modest one-bedroom apartment.
• There are 26,132 households on the SFHA waiting list for Section 8 vouchers. The list is likely to be closed for eight to ten years.
• Only 27% of Californians can afford to purchase their own home. One quarter of California's renter households spend more than 50% of their income on shelter.
Courthouse Landlord/Tenant Project: Attorney of the Day
Provides limited scope representation to un-represented litigants in their mandatory unlawful detainer settlement conference in San Francisco Superior Court. Community Organization Representation Project (CORP)
Assist nonprofit community-based organizations in a range of transactional business law matters.
Did you know...
• Two hundred fifteen (215) volunteer attorneys assisted over 186 organizations volunteering 4,833 hours valued at over 1.6 million dollars.
Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP)
Assist individuals or families who are homeless or at serious risk of becoming homeless. HAP also hosts a Summer Associate in Public Service Program, a collaboration between BASF's Barrister's Club Pro Bono Issues Committee, HAP and participating San Francisco law firms.
Did you know...
• Between 8,500 - 15,000 people are homeless on any given night in San Francisco.
• There are more than 4,000 homeless youth in San Francisco each year.
• Nearly a quarter of homeless people are employed, but still can't afford a place to live.
Consumer Project
Assist individuals and families in a variety of consumer matters, including collection defense, credit card discrepancies, bankruptcy, home equity fraud, lemon law and automobile repossessions, consumer fraud and scams, and contract disputes. The Consumer Project also holds a monthly Bankruptcy Clinic, which is an informational session on personal bankruptcy, followed by a brief consultation with an experienced attorney.
Did you know...
• California has no limit on what credit card companies can charge for interest rates.
• In the United States today, the average family carries $8,100 in credit card debt. If they pay the minimum very month, at an interest rate of 18%, it'll take them 53 years to pay that debt off.
Tort Defense Project
Assist individuals and families in a variety of tort defense matters.
Did you know...
• VLSP helps low-income people who are being sued.
• Low-income people are often victims of predatory litigants.
Legal Advice and Referral Clinic (LARC)
Assist the general public at a free monthly walk-in clinic at the San Francisco Public Library's Main Branch or in the Bayview/Hunters Point District that provides clients with brief legal advice and referrals.
Recent comments from LARC clients...
• “I appreciate people being here on a Saturday to help others.”
• “Me parece bien y el personal muy amable.”
• “Excellent! My attorney gave me an extremely clear map of my legal options and rights.”
Interpreter Project
Assist non-English speaking clients in communicating with their attorneys
Did you know...
• Fifty percent of our clients are monolingual.
• Forty percent of Californians speak a language other than English at home.
• Language access to legal help is a civil right.
Family Law Assisted Self-Help (FLASH) Project
Assist individuals representing themselves in family law proceedings in preparing and filing court forms.
Did you know...
• Each year, FLASH assists several hundred San Francisco residents in filing their dissolution papers and getting divorced.
• California reports in 2001 that over 50% of the filings in custody and visitation are by pro se litigants.
• Urban courts report that approximately 80% of the new divorce filings are filed pro se.
• Fifty-seven percent of people choose to be pro se litigants because they could not afford a lawyer.
Social Services Project
Assist clients in any of VLSP's project or clinics with social services.
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