Category Archives: California Legal Services Delivery System

Omnibus Spending Bill Increases Federal Funding for Legal Services Corporation

UPDATE on Omnibus Budget Bill, Friday March 23, 2018, 9:45 a.m.

The Senate approved their motion to concur with the House bill H.R. 1625 on Thursday night, voting 65 to 32. Roll call vote is here. Senators Feinstein and Harris both voted Nay, in part because of the bill’s failure to address immigration relief for Dreamers. Senator Harris shared her thoughts on the bill on Twitter yesterday in this tweet thread. Senator Feinstein tweeted yesterday that she opposed the bill because of its failure to do anything about DACA.

President Trump tweeted at 5 a.m. PST on Friday morning that he is considering vetoing the bill – that message is here. Without a budget bill, the federal government will shutdown at midnight on Friday night.

OneJustice will continue to monitor the situation and keep you posted.

Our original blog post, and more details on the bill and its impact on legal aid funding, follow below.

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March 22, 2018

After months of Congressional jockeying, the House of Representatives today passed a $1.3 trillion compromise spending bill for Fiscal Year 2018. In an encouraging sign for the legal aid community, the bill approves a $25 million funding increase for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), the federally-controlled nonprofit which provides funding for legal aid organizations across the country.

Additionally, the bill does not weaken or dismantle the Johnson Amendment, as some had feared. This ensures that nonprofit organizations can continue to fulfill their missions to provide social good without being subject to political pressure.

Today’s bill is a far cry from recent budget proposals. President Trump called for the complete elimination of funding for the Legal Services Corporation in the White House budget proposal, released in February. Similarly, the House itself proposed to cut field grants for LSC nearly 25% last fall.

In a change of course, the House bill increases overall funding for the Legal Services Corporation by $25 million (from $385 million to $410 million). Specifically, the bill would increase basic field grants by $24 million, to $376 million – meaning that 96% of the increase would go directly to legal services.

Julia R. Wilson, OneJustice CEO, stated: “We are encouraged by the House’s spending bill. Any cuts to the Legal Services Corporation would have a devastating impact on millions of Americans, including the nearly 200,000 Californians who rely on legal services. The increase in the bill, instead, recognizes the incredibly positive impact that legal aid organizations have on communities all around the country.”

Moreover, this change in the House appropriation demonstrates that Congressional education efforts, a bipartisan “Dear Colleague” letter signed by over 180 members of Congress, and the negotiations to increase overall domestic spending have been successful in demonstrating the value of legal services.

While the signs from the House are encouraging, the process is not over. The bill passed the House 256-167, according to CNN, and now proceeds to the Senate. If passed there, the legislation would then need to be signed by President Trump by midnight on Friday, March 23, in order to avoid another government shutdown.

And while the increases seen in this bill are certainly necessary, more is needed to secure access to civil justice for people in need. The Legal Services Corporation’s own FY 2018 budget request provides a roadmap to achieving this – and, at the end of the day, this is the goal we must aim for.

The full text of the bill is available here. News outlets began publishing their analyses of the bill last night. OneJustice will continue to monitor the legislative process and provide update and alerts.

Stay informed and stand up to protect civil legal aid in California. Click here to sign up for Californians for Legal Aid to receive advocacy alerts and policy updates about legal aid!

The Big Picture (and All The Little Details)

March 15, 2018

By Peter James, Senior Manager of Impact Evaluation

I’ve got to admit, “impact evaluation” probably isn’t the most tangible job in the world. What is someone like me doing all day, beyond squinting at spreadsheets (although, yes, there’s a bit of that)? The answer is surprisingly simple: my job is to figure out what impact our programs are trying to achieve, and to then gather evidence to evaluate whether or not we’re meeting those goals.

Let me give an example.

OneJustice runs pro bono legal clinics to help people with criminal record clearance. So let’s say we run 10 clinics and serve 180 clients. Ok, that’s great! But is it enough to know that those clients have simply met with a lawyer – or could we learn more by delving deeper? We might start asking: do clients typically leave the clinic with a completed petition, and how many successfully file the petition in court? What happens to clients that we refer to other organizations for more in-depth assistance? What is this whole experience like for our clients, and does it meet their needs and goals?

As you can imagine, these discussions about a program’s goals quickly become complex – and that’s before you start devising methods to assess whether these goals are being achieved.

So why go to all this effort? Again, my answer is fairly simple: because our clients’ legal problems matter deeply and often have high stakes. We owe it to them to critically assess what we are doing and make adjustments where necessary. In the example above, studying our criminal record clearance clinics may help us to identify ways that we can improve our service – for example, by changing the kind of information provided to clients before they attend the clinic, or by adjusting the training offered to pro bono attorneys who volunteer their time.

It’s an exciting time to be doing this work. Scholars in universities and law schools are pushing forward a reinvigorated research agenda on civil justice that seeks to answer difficult questions. How often do people experience civil justice problems? Do factors such as race and class influence how people respond in these situations? What is the nature of our civil justice infrastructure? How do we measure the effectiveness of legal interventions and services? Part of the job of us data folks is ensuring that the learning from these academic studies actually contributes to thinking within legal services organizations.

In addition to this type of academic research, some recent major investments in legal aid programs have included funding to evaluate impacts, such as the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project. Other organizations in the civil justice area, notably the Self-Represented Litigation Network, are using GIS mapping to provide a spatial lens to planning and analysis.

Impact evaluation is just one of many ways in which programs can assess (and reassess) their strategies. While managers and program staff are always observing what’s going on and making improvements to their work, the advantage of impact evaluation is being able to step back and take a more systematic perspective. This can bring into focus patterns that are difficult to spot on a day-to-day basis and incorporate feedback from a wider range of voices, including clients and partner organizations.

Peter James

Peter James

OneJustice is at the very beginning of our work in this area. We will be learning from the academics and other legal services organizations who have been pushing this research forward. As we move ahead with our own research and impact evaluation initiatives, we plan on sharing our learning widely with the legal services community. I’m excited to have recently launched the OneJustice Research Newsletter, for example, and we’re looking forward to creating more spaces for others to share their experiences and ideas. So look out for news from us, and we can’t wait to hear from you!

Questions? Want to sign up for the Research Newsletter? You can reach out to Peter with questions and ideas at research@one-justice.org.

One year later . . . OneJustice is ready.

November 7, 2017
Post by Julia R. Wilson, CEO

One year ago, I was pathetically naïve.

Photo of Julia Wilson in a brown suit with a white scarf tied over her shoulder.

My selfie on Election Day 2016, trying to echo the colors worn by suffragists in their fight for women’s right to vote.

I picked out a brown, pinstriped pantsuit that felt classic and maybe even (if I squinted at myself in the mirror) a bit timeless. I looked at photographs of my dearest grandmother, Daryl Henson, a fiercely independent woman who was born just two years after women secured the right to vote in this country. I found a white scarf in my drawer and thought about my older daughter, who would turn 18 on November 8th and would get to vote in her first election on her birthday. I felt electric with the possibilities.

Now one year later, I can hardly stand to look at the photo I posted that morning on my personal social media accounts before heading out the door. I think I actually somehow feel ashamed of that photo. It communicates something a bit too personal, or too raw, about what I thought was possible.

So on Election Day 2016, I put on my pantsuit and tied my white scarf over my shoulder. I felt buoyant as I went through my commute, smiling at first shyly – and then conspiratorially – with the other women in pantsuits in the parking lot and on the BART train. By the time I reached the streets of downtown San Francisco, I was brazenly high- fiving other pantsuited women as we walked by each other on the sidewalk – strangers and yet sisters.

Twelve hours later, I was perched on a stool, watching the TV shows on my computer alone in my darkened house, with my younger daughter asleep in bed.  The pantsuit was crumpled in my hamper. I haven’t worn it since. I don’t know if I will wear it again.

Photo of OneJustice staff around a laptop at a desk at SFO airport.

OneJustice staff at the SFO “pop-up” airport clinic in response to the first round of the Muslim Travel Ban, January & February 2017.

I didn’t sleep that night. Around 5am, I sent an email to the entire OneJustice staff. I contemplated closing the offices for the day, but that didn’t feel right. I thought that our  team needed to be together. So I invited everyone to take some time and then gather in our conference rooms in the late morning so that we could start to process what had happened and parse through what it might mean for OneJustice’s work.

We went through boxes of tissues that day. We cried and raged. We talked about power, privilege, and systemic racism and sexism in our country. We talked about the potential impact of the election on the communities that invite OneJustice into their fierce struggle for equality and justice. Staff members shared their fears, and we pledged to keep each other safe, no matter what the future might hold.

A photo of two attorneys working on laptops at a folding table at the LAX airport clinic, with signs that say "travel ban questions?" and "volunteer immigration attorney here to help"

The LAX airport legal clinic in response to the travel ban (February 2017).

That day is seared in my memory forever.  The election’s impact on our work could not have been more stark.  In one set of candidates, we had a possible President who had served on the Board of Directors of the federal Legal Services Corporation, and a Vice Presidential candidate who was a civil rights lawyer married to a former legal aid lawyer. On the other side, we had a Presidential candidate who had called for the end of the DACA program and ruthlessly vilified our communities, and a Vice Presidential candidate who had called for the complete elimination of Legal Services Corporation on three separate occasions during his time in the House.  We feared what our community was likely to face under the new administration.

On November 8, 2016, we actually thought we had a good sense of what was likely to come.  It turns out that we accurately predicted some of the components, but we were off in terms of the timing.  We did start planning that day and in the following weeks, including how to use the two California Pro Bono Regional Meetings that took place on either side on the inauguration date.  We tried to forecast different scenarios – the end of DACA, risk of mass deportations, a Muslim registry, the elimination of federal funding for legal aid – and sketch out high-level responses.

Looking back over the past year, I realize now that we could never have truly been ready for what came next.  How could we have imagined the waves of aggressive, discriminatory, and unconstitutional policies from the new administration? A proposed budget from the White House with no funding at all for legal services?  The attacks on the core democratic values we hold so dear: the rule of law, equality and justice for all?

Two attorneys shown on a large computer screen with the supervision immigration attorney at a table in the OneJustice conference room.

The OneJustice virtual DACA renewal clinic to bring legal assistance to young adults in Humboldt County in Sept. 2017.

I am so proud of what the OneJustice network has accomplished – and withstood – over the last year.  The LAX and SFO airport clinics in response to the multiple version of the Muslim travel ban.  The expansion of our Immigration Pro Bono Network to stand with immigrant communities as they face rapidly shifting immigration policies, craven deportation reprioritization, and increased ICE raids in Los Angeles.  The renewal of our grassroots network – Californians for Legal Aid – to raise awareness about the importance of legal services for Californians in need.  The statewide DACA response sprint to assist young adults in the terrible 4 weeks before the end of the DACA program.  The communities with whom we work – and our staff and volunteers – have undertaken amazing work in heart-breaking circumstances.

The past year has honed the OneJustice team to the sharpest edge. We have been buffeted and thrown about, but we also grew deeper roots that are now intimately intertwined with the roots of our partner organizations. Frontline collaborations forged in crisis have become lifetime relationships filled with trust and mutuality.  We have highly organized rapid response checklists and planning systems that we continue to hone with each new disaster – whether natural like the recent Northern California fires or a man-made disaster, manufactured by the federal administration.

I would never choose to live through the past year again – not for anything in the world.  I wish very much that our country and communities had never been forced through these experiences.  But as we work to make sense of the past 12 months and to look forward at what we might face over the next year, there is one thing that I know in my bones.

We are no longer naïve. We have learned our lessons.
This year, we are ready.

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And we need YOU more than ever before!  Please take a stand with us and fight for justice for all!

An experience of mutual welcome

During national Welcoming Week each year, communities bring together immigrants, refugees, and native-born residents to raise awareness of the benefits of welcoming everyone.  OneJustice is proud to be one of many nonprofits participating in Welcoming Week around the country.  This national network of nonprofits is working in a variety of ways to support locally-driven efforts to create more welcoming, immigrant-friendly environments.  The goal is to create more welcoming communities that improve the quality of life and economic potential for immigrants and non-immigrants alike.  During Welcoming Week 2017 (September 15 to September 23), the Justice Bus project is working with local communities from San Joaquin to San Diego counties to bring groups of urban volunteers to staff “pop-up” immigration clinics, including DACA renewals in light of the Trump administration’s recent termination of that program.**

One of the beautiful things about our Rural Justice work is the deep relationships we have forged with rural communities – including the on-the-ground networks of social services nonprofits, grassroots organizing groups, and local leaders in these communities.  These leaders and organizations are already building justice and empowerment in their own communities.  In fact, their daily work is exactly what activates the goals and concepts that Welcoming Week exists to promote.

And it just so happens, that sometimes these local movements need lawyers to help out with components of their work and to help local residents address the individual legal problems they are facing.  It has been an incredible honor that OneJustice gets to partner with these local networks to bring in groups of urban attorney and law student volunteers to help meet that need, in partnership with the community.  What an amazing invitation – and truly a privilege – to be able to be play a supporting role to their leadership, their fight for justice on their own terms, and the power they are building in their communities.

So yes, Welcoming Week’s vision of inclusive communities – for all of us, regardless of citizenship status – is a vision that OneJustice supports.  And yet, we believe it is also vitally important to recognize that these rural communities are also welcoming OneJustice into their lives, their fight for justice, and their work.  They invite groups of urban volunteers – who are often learning about the rural experience and rural California for the first time – into their movement.  They welcome our volunteers into their community centers, houses of worship, schools, senior housing complexes, and even community gardens – to jointly create these “pop-up” mobile legal clinics.  That mutual expression of welcome is at the very heart of the Rural Justice Initiative – in fact, it is what makes the work possible in the first place – and that is what OneJustice is celebrating this week.

** Attorneys and law students interested in volunteering at DACA clinics around the state should check out OneJustice’s website at www.OneJustice.org/DACA/Volunteer and watch the 3 free trainings on helping with DACA renewals in the Pro Bono Training Institute website.

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White House Budget Would Defund Legal Help for Veterans, Seniors, and Children

May 23, 2017

White House Budget Would Defund Legal Help for Veterans, Seniors, and Children

Contact:
Julia R. Wilson
(415) 834-0100 x 306
jwilson@one-justice.org

San Francisco, CA (May 23, 2017) – The budget proposed today by the Trump Administration would end our country’s investment in civil legal aid for the poor, leaving veterans, seniors, and families suffering from solvable legal problems. The White House’s full budget for fiscal year 2018 would provide funding only to support the shutdown of the Legal Services Corporation, which funds civil legal aid for the poor in all 50 states. The Trump Administration’s budget also proposes to eliminate to a federal loan forgiveness program that allows attorneys to choose lives of public service.

“If adopted, this budget would effectively nullify a cornerstone of equal justice in America,” said Julia Wilson, CEO of OneJustice and staff to Californians for Legal Aid. “Our entire legal system would become unaffordable for low-income veterans, seniors, families, and children. Fortunately, Congress has consistently shown strong, bipartisan support for funding the Legal Services Corporation, understanding that civil legal aid is critically important to ensuring our nation’s core values of fairness, justice, and the rule of law.”

The White House released its budget proposal today. The call to end funding for legal aid is on page 98, and the public service loan forgiveness program is on page 129. Both programs ensure that nearly 20% of the U.S. population (over 60 million people) has a level playing field in our court system, even though they cannot afford a lawyer.

“As we continue to make the case for increased funding for legal aid in fiscal year 2018, we are heartened by demonstrated bipartisan Congressional support, as well as the support of leaders in the business and legal communities who have joined the fight. Over 150 heads of U.S. law firms and general counsel from almost 200 companies signed letters stating their support for federal legal aid funding. State Supreme Court Justices, Attorneys General, law school deans, and other civil society leaders have also reinforced the call to continue federal funding for civil legal services.”

Access to our civil justice system is not a luxury. Rather, as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said about the Legal Services Corporation just three years ago, “this organization pursues the most fundamental of American ideals, and it pursues equal justice in those areas of life most important to the lives of our citizens.”

Background on federal funding for civil legal aid for low-income Californians

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974 in recognition that the ability to seek justice through the law—regardless of income level—is fundamental to the fairness of our society. LSC promotes equal access to justice by providing funding to 133 independent nonprofit legal aid organizations throughout the country – including 11 nonprofits in California.

The federal government is the largest funder for legal aid in California; the Legal Services Corporation provides over $44 million per year to fund services for low-income Californians. Over 200,000 Californians access this legal assistance each year. Cutting funding would especially harm California’s rural communities. If rural programs have to close offices, then those Californians will have nowhere else to go.

Legal aid services prevent homelessness, hunger, domestic violence, elder abuse, and death due to inadequate access to health care. Legal aid programs help the most economically disadvantaged members of our community. They protect the lowest-income veterans, children, seniors, people with disabilities, and victims of natural disasters.

Background on loan forgiveness for the attorneys who choose lives of public service

Cutting funding for legal aid will eliminate positions at legal aid programs. Ending the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program will make the few remaining positions unaffordable. Public service loan forgiveness provides attorneys a critical incentive to accept a job in legal aid by forgiving the remaining balance on Direct Loans after 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. This program is the only reason many attorneys who have high student debt from college and law school can afford to take positions at civil legal aid nonprofits.

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Californians for Legal Aid is a diverse coalition of Californians who believe deeply in justice for all. OneJustice is a statewide nonprofit that brings life-changing legal help to those in need by transforming the civil legal aid delivery system.

Now more than ever

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The world turned upside down

It’s not easy to write this blog post today.

But nothing feels easy today, right?  We’re all worried. 

How do we keep each other safe?  What about the communities already targeted during the campaign? How do we preserve the rule of law and due process, the central components of our collective fight for justice?

Yesterday morning, I think we all woke up stunned.  Here at OneJustice, we wept and hugged and raged.  I think we went through 10 boxes of tissues.

And then today? 

Well, today volunteer attorneys boarded the Justice Bus and headed out to an isolated community to provide free immigration services.  Because that is what we do.  We persevere.  We fight for justice.  We empower.  We serve.

Now, make no mistake – our work is just beginning.  And it won’t be easy:

  • The President Elect has stated that on his first day in office he will cancel the executive action that created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program for young immigrants. The impact of these words was immediate – striking fear into the hearts of young immigrants in this country and changing the advice legal aid and volunteer attorneys must now provide.
  • And now we’ve learned that in late 2005, then-Representative Mike Pence co-authored a budget report calling for the complete elimination of federal funding for civil legal aid.  So I think we know what to expect from this administration.

So the battle lines are being drawn.  We can start to see the shape of the fights to come.

Now, more than ever, we need each other.

Our community – this brave, bold, fierce, committed justice community – is what brings me hope.  What inspires us to move forward.  Together we will rise up, stand up – and it matters.

OneJustice is all in.  We are in this for you.  For our clients.  For our volunteers. For our democracy.  For justice.

And today, more than ever, we need you.  Our very system of civil justice needs you.

Your partnership and your financial support – right now – can make all the difference.

Together, we can do this. Thank you for your fierce commitment to preserving civil legal aid and justice for all.

In solidarity,

Headshot - Julia R. Wilson

Julia R. Wilson
CEO

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You did something very special…

Last week, the OneJustice Network came together and brought help, hope, and justice to Californians in need — and we couldn’t be more grateful!

Through the generosity of donors like you, along with law firms, corporations, and our nonprofit partners, we raised over $286,000 to bring mobile legal clinics to four high priority counties: Butte, Solano, Tulare, and San Joaquin.

On behalf of the OneJustice staff, Board of Directors, Advisory Board, and most importantly, the individuals who will receive vital legal help because of your support, thank you!

In case you weren’t able to attend, below are some photos from the inspiring evening, and be sure to visit our Facebook page for the full album!

You can also click here to watch the videos we made for Honorees Suk and Chris and the Fund-A-Need Challenge.

Thank you again for bringing help, hope, and justice to vulnerable communities. We look forward to keeping you informed about the impact your generosity will make!

With appreciation,

The OneJustice Team

P.S. Didn’t get a chance to bid on any items at the event? There are still a few items up for grabs during our fire sale, which will run through July 6 at midnight! Click here to bid now!

IMAGE: Photos from Opening Doors to Justice event.

Bridging the justice gap with technology

Rural Immigrant Connect launches its first pilot case.

Over the past few years, the number of human beings fleeing horrifying violence in parts of Central America and Mexico for the U.S. has escalated dramatically. In 2014, the number of women crossing the U.S. border multiplied by more than three times compared to 2013, while the number of separated or unaccompanied children reached over 66,000 in 2014, up from an average of 6,775 children in the years 2003-2011. This stream of refugees fleeing Central America and Mexico has not ceased, and many arrive in California on a daily basis.

IMAGE: Image explaining to clients how Rural Immigrant Connect works.

Image explaining to clients how Rural Immigrant Connect works.

Unfortunately, arriving in the U.S. is only half the battle — not only do immigrants face constant worries about family left behind, but many are placed into deportation proceedings in immigration court, where even very young children are not guaranteed a lawyer. It’s even worse for immigrants who reside in California’s Central Valley, a region with few legal organizations offering services within its vast geographic expanse.

The need for innovative models to connect pro bono attorneys with immigrant clients in rural California has never been greater. Through a generous Equal Justice Works fellowship sponsored by the law firm Fenwick & West LLP, OneJustice recently launched the project Rural Immigrant Connect, putting technology to creative use by connecting pro bono attorneys in the Bay Area with immigrant clients in need in the Central Valley.

Rural Immigrant Connect addresses the dearth of legal representation for low-income immigrants in the Central Valley by tapping the resources of the Bay Area and Silicon Valley, home to law firms and corporations that can provide an incredible amount of resources to serve Central Valley clients. To bridge the geographic gap, the project uses videoconferencing for the majority of communication between pro bono attorneys and clients, following an initial in-person meeting. In addition, OneJustice places laptops at community organizations in the Central Valley to provide clients with easy access and in-person technology support.

Thanks to the wonderful work of Fenwick & West LLP attorneys Vikram Iyengar and Rajendra Panwar with support from Partner Lynn Pasahow and the mentorship of Director and Immigration Attorney Emily Abraham of Social Justice Collaborative, Rural Immigrant Connect took on its first pilot case this spring — leading the way for the marriage of pro bono and technology to bridge the justice gap for immigrant communities throughout the Central Valley.

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Rural Immigrant Connect is more than simply a means through which we can connect more Central American and Mexican refugees in the Central Valley with vital pro bono legal representation. This innovative project also provides us with a means of gathering data regarding the efficacy of videoconferencing to demonstrate a model that can be replicable throughout the U.S. A project like this can bridge the often daunting urban-rural divide separating many rural low-income communities from access to affordable legal services.

Rural Immigrant Connect is at its core a collaborative project that has only been made possible through incredible partnerships with legal services organizations Social Justice Collaborative and Centro Legal de la Raza; community organizations El Concilio and Centro La Familia; the law firm Fenwick & West LLP; and national organization Equal Justice Works. Thanks to the dedication of pro bono volunteers like Vikram and Rajendra, partnerships like those mentioned above, and the collaboration of the OneJustice network, we can work together to bring help, hope, and justice to individuals escaping the violence that continues to plague our neighbors in parts of Mexico and in regions of Central America.

IMAGE: Image explaining to pro bono attorneys how Rural Immigrant Connect works.

Image explaining to pro bono attorneys how Rural Immigrant Connect works.

To view the full infographic presented above, please click here.

Renee_Grid PicRenée Schomp is an Equal Justice Works Fellow sponsored by Fenwick & West LLP and Staff Attorney at OneJustice. She currently spearheads the Rural Immigrant Connect project in California’s Central Valley.

Meet our summer law clerks! Part 2

OneJustice welcomes four new summer law clerks in its San Francisco office.

Welcome back! This week, we are welcoming four law clerks to the OneJustice network. Each year, summer law clerks join the team to assist with current projects and apply the skills they’ve learned in law school. Today, we’re excited to introduce you to the other two summer law clerks, Kyle and Chris! Please join us in welcoming them!

IMAGE: Summer Law Clerk Kyle Edgerton will be helping with the new Rural Immigrant Connect project.

Summer Law Clerk Kyle Edgerton will be helping with the new Rural Immigrant Connect project.

Welcome, Kyle! Tell us, what drew you to the work of OneJustice and what will you be responsible for at the organization? 

One assumption underlying our adversarial legal system is that both parties make it through the courthouse doors. However, millions of people in California and beyond are prevented from vindicating their rights because of systemic barriers unrelated to the merits of their claims. The challenges of “access to justice” are diverse and dynamic, but OneJustice’s work with a large coalition of legal aid programs positions it to confront those challenges in innovative ways, to develop and workshop solutions, and to disseminate its models so all communities can thrive.

I know the unparalleled satisfaction – and hair-pulling frustration – of direct-service work. Partnering with OneJustice exposes me to a new dimension of legal aid and challenges me to reinvent myself as an agent of social change operating at a different layer of the problem.

I will be part of a team continuing to test and iterate OneJustice’s new Rural Immigrant Connect project, which uses virtual technology to bridge the gap between urban-based pro bono attorneys and the Central Valley youth who need immigration representation. The project is off to an exciting start, and we are working to expand its reach and improve its function.

Thinking big-picture, I want to work with all segments of the legal profession to create – and fulfill – opportunities for pro bono service. A disturbingly small share of California attorneys are currently pitching in to shoulder the heavy burden of legal aid needs, and I want to learn more about the barriers and bottlenecks that create this shortfall so I can help to remove them.

Can’t wait to hear about your upcoming work! What did you do before coming to OneJustice? 

I just finished my first year at UC Davis School of Law (King Hall). Before starting law school, I was the Director of the Immigration Assistance Program at Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada for almost five years; That work was engaging, meaningful, and provided a great mix of direct service and some systemic work and advocacy. My journey toward becoming an attorney grew out of my growing recognition of how great the scope of unmet legal need is, and I am excited to mark OneJustice as a waypoint along that path.

We’re excited to be working with you too! And finally, tell us something quirky about you. 

My son, Asher, will turn 2 in September 2016. I think I’ll lose major Dad Points if I don’t list him as my number-one hobby. Other recent hobbies include homebrewing, a weekly short story club, and trying to build up a bicycle from scratch. In college, I took the Flag Football course for eight semesters in a row. (Seriously.)

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IMAGE: Summer Law Clerk Chris Gordon will be assisting with the Justice Bus Project.

Summer Law Clerk Chris Gordon will be assisting with the Justice Bus Project.

And now, let’s welcome our last law clerk, Chris! Tell us, what drew you to OneJustice and what will you be doing here during the summer?

I was drawn to OneJustice’s focus on helping Californians in need by connecting rural communities with legal resources. Programs like the Justice Bus Project‘s expungement and housing clinics allow clients and their families to substantially improve their lives. Additionally, OneJustice’s commitment to forming lasting relationships with local organizations and communities is a major reason why I am excited to join this organization.

This summer, I will be working with Pro Bono Justice and the Justice Bus team to provide free legal services to underserved Californians; Groups such as California’s rural Asian Pacific Islander communities who are often not aware of beneficial legal programs or legal steps they may take. I hope to increase the availability of free legal resources within these communities.

Thank you for working on the Justice Bus Project — we look forward to hearing about your work! What did you do before coming to OneJustice?

I finished my first year of law school at the University of Michigan in May. Before attending law school, I volunteered as a teacher for homeless youth in Manila and worked as an educational consultant with students in Beijing.

Sounds like a great abroad experience! Last question: what is something quirky about you?

I attended a Cantonese elementary school here in San Francisco.

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Thank you for joining us, Kyle & Chris — and welcome to the OneJustice network! We’re excited to have you all here this summer! 

P.S. Missed our other two law clerks, Grant and Erika? Click here to meet them!