This summer lots of people need your help: families who live in sweltering apartments where the windows don't open, survivors of domestic violence who are afraid to walk outside, and seniors who struggle to access life's basics on very little income. 
When you become a pro bono volunteer you do something very few people can do. You share your legal expertise with low-income children, domestic violence survivors, families and seniors who can't possibly afford a market rate attorney to solve their legal problems. 
 
Read about the recent experiences of your peers and click 
here to visit our website to learn more about our Pro Bono opportunities  or contact  Janet Seldon, Director of Pro Bono 
at [email protected] or  (650)517-8912


"I've been involved in the Legal Aid Share-of-Cost clinics for many years. They are one of the most rewarding pro bono activities I do because I get a chance to sit down and talk directly with seniors and disabled adults about helping them get the medical insurance coverage they need.  And I get hear some amazing stories from them - they often 
make me laugh, and they are always so relieved 
and thankful for any advice I can give."
 
Antonia Sequiera
Partner, Fenwick & West LLP

Pro Bono Work Can be an Unexpectedly 
Meaningful Experience
by Amanda C. Dillon, Summer Associate, Latham & Watkins LLP

In my first week at Latham, I was fortunate enough to assist another attorney with a pro bono matter from the Domestic Violence Collaborative. Although I have worked at various legal clinics in the past few years, this was my first experience specifically with a domestic violence case.
 
Our client had recently ended a long-term relationship with her boyfriend, who became verbally and physically abusive during their separation. He also began texting and calling her incessantly, as well as showing up to her home and work uninvited. Our client had previously obtained a temporary restraining order against him through the Collaborative, so eventually the police arrested him for violating the order. However, he continued to call her from jail. I witnessed first-hand how this disrupted our client's life, as she was constantly being dragged back to the past while trying to build a new future for herself. We worked to compile over twenty-five pages of texts and calls that the client had received from him in violation of the order, and successfully obtained a three-year permanent restraining order against him in court. The order also applies to our client's mother and sister.

The matter took a personal turn for me when I learned that our client works at a restaurant which my family has frequented for decades. Working at a global firm, I didn't expect to interact so closely with the community this summer but am now extremely grateful for the opportunity to engage in such a direct way. This experience reminded me of the human side of the legal profession, and how our work can have such an immediate impact on individuals' lives. I was struck by how just a small amount of an attorney's time can provide such meaningful and critical support to a client in navigating the court process and obtaining a just outcome. Although I hope to practice corporate law in the future, I now plan to remain involved with the Domestic Violence Collaborative throughout the rest of my career.

Pro Bono Attorneys Really Do Help Make the 
World  a Better Place
From a Legal Aid Client

"I want to take this opportunity to thank you and your organization for the fantastic work that you did to help my family by keeping my sons' well-being. Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County helped me and my family with everything that I needed in the process of conservation of my son. 
 
Thomas P. Feledy was so professional and helpful with guiding and comforting us during all. the process. My son has severe autism, since last year I have been stressing by thinking that I could lose all authority towards deciding my son's education and medical needs. 
 
Thanks to Legal Aid for maintaining it united and stable; I encourage you to continue with this community service because it's so helpful for families with children of special needs, and it makes a difference for low income families like mine. 
 
Thank you so much again. May god bless you always and allow you to succeed with families like you did with mine. "

You Get Trained To Be a Pro Bono Volunteer
We won't leave you hanging! When you become a pro bono volunteer Leg al Aid provides training, MCLE credit and mentorship to help you at every step of the way. 
 
Recently our San Mateo County Superior Court Commissioners got rave reviews for a 
l unchtime training about the DV court calendar at the San Mateo County Courthouse.

l-r: Commissioners Hugo Borja, Susan Jakubowski, Rachel Holt & Cristina Mazzei

"Thank you again for coordinating the training. I found it extremely useful to hear procedural preferences straight from the Commissioners regarding everything from basic procedures such as initial introductions and roll call to more complicated issues related to evidentiary hearings. I appreciated their advice about who should fill out forms (e.g. the attorney or the family law facilitator), when you need to  speak up about new evidence, and requests to hear sensitive cases at the end of the calendar.  I now feel more confident about representing my pro bono clients now that I understand how hearings are viewed from the Commissioners' perspective."   
 
Nicole Johnson, 
Associate, Haynes and Boone

"I help at Legal Aid because I enjoy helping people navigate the complicated Share of Cost system.  No one should live in fear of not receiving medical help." 


Kyle Reuther
Patent Engineer, Fenwick & West LLP  

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