BayLegal’s 2020 Annual Campaign Launches: A Note from Our Executive Director

| By BayLegal
Categories: Announcements, eNewsletter Story, Executive Director blog, Fundraising, Homepage, News
Genevieve Richardson, Executive Director
Dear friends and supporters of Bay Area Legal Aid,   As we launch BayLegal’s 2020 Annual Campaign, I am so grateful that with your support we are able to address the critical needs of our clients.  As the public health and economic stresses intensify and deepen our clients face increased housing instability, exposure to predatory lending …

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Bay Area Legal Aid Reaches Settlement to Protect Survivors of Domestic Violence

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Attorneys, Client Story, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, Litigation, News
This fall, Bay Area Legal Aid reached a final settlement in a lawsuit filed in 2019 to compel the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) to fulfill its legal and ethical responsibilities to survivors of domestic violence. The lawsuit was filed in response to SFPD’s long-term failure to comply with California Family Code § 6228, a …

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BayLegal’s Systems Advocacy During the Pandemic: An Overview and Update

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
group of lawyers or corporate businessmen and businesswomen crossing two cliffs with the help of a justice scale acting as a bridge to legal services
Our expertise in advocating for clients’ individual legal needs while simultaneously identifying and pursuing opportunities for broader systemic change has been critical in response to the pandemic. I hope you will read more about our specific advocacy initiatives since the world changed in March 2020 and anticipated needs – it is because of your support that we are able to …

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Advocating for Low-Income Latinx Consumers Against Aggressive Collection Practices

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
| Tags: ,
Rubber stamp with the text past due over an invoice document
An August 2nd investigative story by Raheem Hosseini in The Guardian puts a spotlight on the scale and depth of debt burden facing low-income primarily Latinx consumers in California through the practices of a single company. Oportun Inc emerges in the investigation as “one of the most litigious debt collectors in California,” with its high-interest …

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Bay Area Families Continue to Face Eviction Threat During the Pandemic

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
| Tags: ,
Gavel And Small Model House On Wooden Table
This August 3rd KPIX story by Susie Steimle profiles one family’s struggle with eviction, and the housing insecurity still facing many low-income Bay Area families during the COVID-19 pandemic. BayLegal attorney Jia Min Cheng is quoted, reminding tenants to seek legal advice before moving out. Throughout the pandemic, BayLegal has worked to advocate in regional …

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Highlighting BayLegal’s Senior Legal Services in Napa County

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
| Tags: ,
Two cartoon seniors stand under an umbrella, one holding large cut-out heart and the other a chart
Free legal services for seniors were a longstanding core component of practice for Legal Aid of Napa Valley, and a tradition that BayLegal is proud to have sustained following the 2015 agreement that made LANV part of our firm. Our attorneys partner with community organizations throughout the county to provide outreach, legal clinics, and individual …

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As COVID-19 Disrupts Higher Education, Students Find Themselves Trapped in Long Term Leases

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
| Tags: , ,
College dorms overlooking a lawn
Louis Hansen’s story in the July 26th San Jose Mercury News, “Bay Area college students trapped in pre-coronavirus leases,” helps to illuminate how the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Bay Area’s overheated rental markets are creating housing insecurity for students whose lives have already been deeply changed by the ongoing public health emergency. …

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The New Republic Covers Barriers to Equal Justice and the Importance of Legal Aid—Including BayLegal

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
| Tags: ,
group of lawyers or corporate businessmen and businesswomen crossing two cliffs with the help of a justice scale acting as a bridge to legal services
An in-depth, long-form article appearing online at The New Republic offers compelling reading for anyone interested in the history, current issues, and future development of civil legal aid. We’re proud to highlight the participation of BayLegal attorneys Steven Weiss and Raegan Joern, and client Kevin Green*, along with the range of other legal aid organizations …

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Spotlight on Extended Foster Care in California

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
| Tags:
Seven young people lounge against a wall smiling
We are pleased to share with BayLegal friends and partners an extensive, four-part series on the state of extended foster care in California, “Fostering Adults: The State of Care,” published in The Chronicle of Social Change by Karen de Sá, Sara Tiano, and Katarina Sayally. The series presents a closely detailed, critical examination of the …

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Executive Director’s Blog, April 2020

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, Executive Director blog, Homepage, News
| Tags: , , ,
Genevieve Richardson, Executive Director
Dear Friends of BayLegal, Welcome to the April issue of our 2020 Storytelling Project, in which we reconnect with our history to show how our advocacy in the present day has continued our mission to break the cycles of family and community poverty. The Covid-19 public health crisis further exposes the institutional structures in our …

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Fighting for Second Chances: BayLegal’s Reentry Unit

| By BayLegal
Categories: 20th Anniversary, Anniversary Interview Series, Anniversary Timeline, Client Story, eNewsletter Story, News
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A cartoon figure stands behind bars with the barriers to reentry listed in red around them
“Fear isn’t holding me back as much”   Luke is the father of two boys. One is three years old, the other seven. He works for a subcontracting company in the East Bay, where he spoke to us by phone from the company’s warehouse. “We’re still working during the pandemic,” he explained. “A lot of …

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Pro Bono Spotlight: Rob Biniaz

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, News
| Tags: , ,
Rob Biniaz has volunteered as a pro bono attorney with BayLegal’s Reentry Unit since 2018. He heard of our work from our partners at the East Bay Community Law Center. We asked him to share his thoughts on his experience working as a vital member of the Reentry Unit, and about what it was like …

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