A look back at how PLC started... 40 years ago |
|
Pro Bono Attorney Rebecca Cottrell answers the call to serve |
|
Meet the newest faces at PLC, like Staff Attorney Michelle Larios |
|
40 Years of Service in Orange County |
In 1981, a small group of Orange County judges, lawyers, and others created Amicus Publico to mobilize the private bar to provide pro bono legal services for low-income Orange County residents. In 1984, a group of social justice advocates created the Orange County Public Interest Law Advocates to engage in impact litigation and policy advocacy to address systemic injustices harming the poor.
By late 1988, the two groups began to realize they could do more good together than they could do apart. A May 1989 Los Angeles Times article titled “2 Groups Merge Efforts to Give Legal Aid to Poor” announced: “Two nonprofit community groups have decided to merge their efforts to provide free legal services for the county’s poor. Pending final paper work, officials said, the unification of Amicus Publico, a county group that was founded in 1981 and has more than 350 local lawyers on its volunteer panel, and the Orange County Public Interest Law Advocates, created in 1984, could take effect within days.”
A new organization named the Poverty Law Center was formed and in 1993 the name was changed to Public Law Center. Our first President was Gar Shallenberger, a former President of the State Bar of California, the Orange County Bar Association and a long time leader at Rutan & Tucker. Reflecting the missions and cultures of the two organizations, PLC was designed to handle both cases for individual clients and larger impact litigation and policy advocacy matters which could affect the lives of many.
With your support, we have come a long way from the early days, when a single staff attorney was responsible for mobilizing a small cadre of volunteer lawyers to provide needed free civil legal aid. Today, we have a staff of 45 attorneys and other professionals, and by working with 1,600 volunteers can provide over 65,000 hours of life-changing services each year.
Please join us on Monday, June 14, 2021 to celebrate our 40th Anniversary at the Volunteers for Justice Virtual Event. More information is available here.
|
|
Rebecca Cottrell and the Life-Changing Impact of Pro Bono Service |
|
Pro bono service is life-changing, especially during a pandemic. Take the case of a monolingual domestic violence survivor navigating the legal system to obtain a restraining order and custody of her children. If not for skilled and courageous pro bono partners like Rebecca Cottrell, Associate General Counsel at management consulting firm RGP, PLC’s clients would not have their voice fully heard in court.
Rebecca, then at O’Melveny & Myers, LLP, and PLC Board Member Tony Wang of O’Melveny & Myers, LLP, took the case in September 2020 as part of PLC’s partnership with Human Options, an organization serving those threatened by relationship violence. In January 2021, with COVID-19 still surging, Rebecca went above and beyond the call of duty to accompany our client to court in-person. Rebecca helped the justifiably scared mother of two testify to her abuse with the help of an interpreter and provide photographic evidence. With Rebecca’s extraordinary assistance, our client was granted a 5-year restraining order and custody of her children. Our client is so grateful for Rebecca’s guidance through her ordeal and so are we.
Rebecca has been there for PLC clients before. She, along with Anne Steinberg, Nora Salem, and Nikole Kingston of O’Melveny & Myers, LLP, previously assisted another PLC client with an adoption petition. Fortunately, Rebecca and her collaborators are not alone in helping to change the lives of so many of our vulnerable Orange County neighbors. On behalf of our clients past and present, we thank all our pro bono partners for 40 years of leadership and action in bridging the justice gap.
|
|
Please join us in welcoming our newest staff members:
Michele Larios (clockwise from top left) is a Staff Attorney in the Health Law Unit and joins PLC after 4.5 years at Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. Michele is a graduate of Western State College of Law.
Andy Tran is also a Staff Attorney in the Health Law Unit and joins PLC after stints at the City Attorney’s Office of Baldwin Park and Peterson Bradford Burkwitz, LLP. Andy is a graduate of American University Washington College of Law and completed his Executive Educations studies at the Yale School of Management in Healthcare Management.
Gina Verraster is a Staff Attorney in Operations Veterans Re-Entry and joins PLC after working at Lagenkamp, Curtis & Price, LLP in Sacramento. Gina is a graduate of UC Davis School of Law.
Kristen Saad is a Staff Attorney in the Consumer Law Unit and joins PLC from Hughes & Hughes, LLP. Kristen is a graduate of Western State College of Law.
Mellanie Tran is an Administrative Assistant in the Housing and Homelessness Prevention Unit and joins PLC after working in a JusticeCorps program to assist self-represented litigants in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. Mellanie is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach.
Alexis Mondares is a Legal Fellow in the Housing and Homelessness Prevention Unit. Prior to graduating from UC Irvine School of Law, Alexis worked with PLC on community land trusts and Housing Element research.
We also welcome SoJin Kim (not pictured) of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP, who will be working with PLC’s Consumer Law Unit and Community Organizations Legal Assistance Project on a one year fellowship.
In addition, Morgan Cienfuegos Padgett (not pictured) has transitioned from the Immigration Unit’s Deportation Defense Case Manager to a Staff Attorney position in the Consumer Law Unit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
