BayLegal’s Advocacy

Bay Area Legal Aid works both on our own and in partnership with a broad array of other advocacy organizations and public systems to address the systemic inequities facing our clients and their communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic this work has grown along with the need to help mitigate the pandemic’s disproportionate impacts on low-income families and communities in areas of housing, economic security, healthcare and public benefits access, and other issues. Public health should mean all of us!

The list on this page is dynamically updated, so check back frequently.

Get a refund for bills from Santa Clara Valley Medical Center—ACT NOW!

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Announcements, Homepage, News, Resources
Our colleagues at the Western Center on Law and Poverty (WCLP) recently settled a lawsuit against the County of Santa Clara related to notices and implementation of their charity care policy. The settlement requires the County to review bills that were sent to collections between October 28, 2018 and December 31, 2021.  The attached PDF flyer from WCLP …

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Bay Area Legal Aid, Texas Advocacy Project and Allies File Amicus Brief to Safeguard Domestic Violence Survivors from Lethal Firearms Access

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News, Other
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BAY AREA LEGAL AID CONTACT Taylor Brady tbrady@baylegal.org (510) 250-5234 Bay Area Legal Aid, Texas Advocacy Project and Allies File Amicus Brief to Safeguard Domestic Violence Survivors from Lethal Firearms Access Section 922(g)(8) focuses on preventing individuals who have committed or threatened family violence from accessing firearms during the period they are …

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California Court of Appeal Declares San Francisco’s Poverty Tows Unconstitutional As Legislature Confronts Towing Policies Statewide

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Announcements, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, Litigation, News
Car being towed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 24, 2023 PRESS CONTACT: Raya Steier, 530-723-2426, rsteier@lccrsf.org ***PRESS RELEASE*** San Francisco, CA– Last Friday, the California Court of Appeal held that San Francisco’s policy of towing lawfully and safely parked vehicles without a warrant, solely due to unpaid parking tickets, violates the California Constitution. San Francisco’s towing policies permanently deprive thousands …

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BayLegal Files Amicus Brief in CA Supreme Court Case: Cal. Capital Insurance Co. v. Hoehn

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
[We are pleased to share the press release from OneJustice on our amicus brief in this critically important case for California consumers]. CONTACT: Leigh Ferrin – OneJustice – (415) 834-0100 ext 422, lferrin@one-justice.org San Francisco – Today, OneJustice, along with Bay Area Legal Aid, and the Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice at UC Berkeley Law School, filed an …

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BayLegal Launches Our 2022 Annual Report

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Announcements, Attorneys, Client Story, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News, Publication
Dear BayLegal friends, Working Together for Justice is much more than a tag line—it is about the expertise, resources and partnerships that are needed to address the deep socioeconomic and civil legal inequities in our country. Legal Services Corporation (LSC) issued an updated Justice Gap Report in 2022, which like the California State Bar Justice …

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PRESS RELEASE: Rent Thefts Target Low-Income Communities in Napa

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Announcements, Attorneys, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 12, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Consuelo Amezcua, 707-603-1374, camezcua@baylegal.org ***PRESS RELEASE*** Rent Thefts Target Low-Income Communities in Napa Download a PDF copy of this release. Napa, CA- Local community organizations, including Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal), Fair Housing Napa Valley (FHNV), On the Move (OTM), and Puertas Abiertas (PA) along with Napa …

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Reporta Univision 14 sobre robo de rentas en Napa | Univision 14 reports on rent thefts in Napa

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Attorneys, Homepage, News
Esta historia transmitida por Univision 14 el viernes pasado informa sobre una serie reciente de robos organizados en la ciudad de Napa, en los que los ladrones apuntaron a los buzones de alquiler en 25 propiedades de alquiler. La mayoría de los cientos de inquilinos afectados son familias latinas de bajos ingresos, muchas de las …

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Litigation Victory Signals End to California Courts’ Illegal Late Fees That Penalized Poverty for Profit

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Announcements, Attorneys, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, Litigation, News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 25, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Raya Steier, 530-723-2426, rsteier@lccrsf.org   ***PRESS RELEASE*** Litigation Victory Signals End to California Courts’ Illegal Late Fees That Penalized Poverty for Profit.   San Francisco, CA- The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, and Bay Area …

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Highlighting the Impacts of Inequitable Parking Enforcement

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Attorneys, Client Story, Homepage, News
Car being towed
This March 6th story by Eliyahu Kamisher in the Mercury News digs into the data on parking enforcement practices in the Bay Area’s largest cities. The picture that emerges is one of significant  disparities in the number and likelihood of citations from city to city, with citation and enforcement often inseparable from municipal revenue considerations …

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Victory! San Mateo Ends Collection of Illegal Court Fees that Penalize Poverty; Settlement Talks With California’s Statewide Judicial Council Continue

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, Litigation, News
Bay Area Legal Aid, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, and the law firm of Fenwick & West LLP, are celebrating a significant victory this week in our ongoing litigation against the Judicial Council of California and the San Mateo Superior Court. In …

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California Discharges $500 Million in Illegal Court Fees in Response to Litigation, but Lawsuit Against the Courts Will Press On

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Announcements, Homepage, Litigation, News, Other
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, July 1, 2022 PRESS CONTACT Joe Rivano Barros, joe@theworkeragency.com, 510-798-0730 CALIFORNIA DISCHARGES $500 MILLION IN ILLEGAL COURT FEES IN RESPONSE TO LITIGATION, BUT LAWSUIT AGAINST THE COURTS WILL PRESS ON The Governor agreed on major relief, but ultimately failed to eliminate the needless court fee, known as the “civil assessment,” that …

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California Judicial Council Sued for Illegal Scheme to Fund Courts through Late Fees; San Mateo Court Stops Collecting Millions in Outstanding Debts and Waits for Governor and Legislature to Act.

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Homepage, Litigation, News
MEDIA UPDATES “San Mateo court agrees to stop collecting debt from unpaid fees in light of lawsuit,” Maria Dinzeo for Courthouse News Service, 5/25/2022 “San Mateo Courts Pause Late Fees in Response to Suit,” Dave Simpson for Law360, 5/25/2022 (requires paid subscription) “Civil Rights, Legal Aid Groups Pause Lawsuit Over $300 Civil Assessments,” The Recorder, …

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