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Recent News & Articles

New Resources for Tenants Available on BayLegal Website

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Announcements, Homepage, News, Other, Resources
Someone's hand holding a pen over a legal form
New resources for tenants facing eviction are available on Bay Area Legal Aid’s website. The new Self-Help Eviction Unlawful Detainer Answer Packet is designed to help tenants represent themselves in unlawful detainer actions and has been updated according to current state law and Judicial Council policy during the pandemic. The answer packet is part of …

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BayLegal Files Suit to Force the US Department of Education to Remove Barriers to Predatory Student Loan Debt Relief

| By BayLegal
Categories: Homepage, Litigation, News
On January 4, 2021, Bay Area Legal Aid, represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  The lawsuit seeks to force the Department to disclose information related to the misconduct of the now defunct Corinthian Colleges, Inc.  This information is critical …

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Youth Justice Team Receives Unsung Heroes Award

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Attorneys, Homepage, News, Other
Screenshot of Youth Justice Team on Zoom
Bay Area Legal Aid’s Youth Justice Team received Youth Law Center’s (YLC) 2020 Unsung Heroes Award for their work advocating for youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. YLC celebrated the tireless work the Youth Justice Team has done to protect vulnerable young adults in the Bay Area, especially during these critical times. …

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BayLegal Reaches Settlement To Protect Housing Rights

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Homepage, News, Other
apartment complex
Bay Area Legal Aid finalized a housing discrimination case in which a client was denied a reasonable accommodation for more time to pay her rent. Without the accommodation, she was regularly at risk of fees for late payment of rent due to her disabilities and at risk of eviction due to late rent payments. The …

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Susan Li Interviews BayLegal Attorney Fawn Jade Korr on Issues Facing Domestic Violence Survivors

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Homepage, News, Other
the word "justice" engraved on the front of a court building
Update: The San Francisco Examiner quoted Fawn Jade Korr’s interview in an article about services for domestic violence survivors during the pandemic. Susan Li interviewed Bay Area Legal Aid Senior Staff Attorney Fawn Jade Korr on the barriers domestic violence survivors face to accessing legal services during the pandemic. Korr talked about the significant delays …

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Marin County Agrees To End Driver’s License Suspension Practice

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Homepage, News, Other
Traffic ticket with moderate vehicle damage checked
Marin County has agreed to stop a traffic court practice that disproportionately affects low-income drivers and exacerbates racial inequalities. The county traffic court had not been releasing driver’s license suspensions for failure to appear in court, even after the driver had appeared. Instead, they lifted suspensions only when a ticket had been paid in full. …

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Contra Costa County Superior Court Announces Limited Closure

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Homepage, News
An uneven scale sits on a wooden table
The Contra Costa County Superior Court announced a limited closure effective Monday December 7 because of the spike in COVID-19 cases. With the exception of criminal preliminary hearing witnesses, attorneys, and defendants, the Court will be closed to the public and jury trials suspended. For hearings that need to be reset, the Court will notify …

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Pause in SF Sheriff Enforcement of Eviction Judgments

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Homepage, News, Other
Judge gavel sits next to a keychain shaped like a house
The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department put a hold on enforcing court-ordered evictions last Friday after new shelter-in-place orders were announced. The Sheriff’s Department had not enforced evictions between March and November 12, and it is unclear why they began enforcing evictions again last week. As part of a group that included Eviction Defense Collaborative, Asian …

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Advocating for the Rights of the Formerly Incarcerated Under the Fair Chance Act

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Advocacy, Homepage, News
someone's hand holding a pen over a job application
Bay Area Legal Aid attorneys submitted public comments this month on the Fair Chance Act, a California law that prevents employers from asking about a person’s conviction history during the job application process. BayLegal applauded the protections the Act extends to formerly incarcerated individuals while also urging the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) …

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Advocacy Win for MUNI Riders in San Francisco

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Homepage, News
Update: As follow up to last week’s great news on creation of the SF Access Pass, BayLegal attorney Raegan Joern gave public comment to the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) thanking it for the Access Pass and asking that it to go further by extending the moratorium on fare evasion citations until shelter in place …

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BayLegal Hosts First Remote Name and Gender Marker Change Clinic

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Homepage, News, Other
Person holds trans flag, which flies behind them in the wind
On November 21, Bay Area Legal Aid hosted its first remote Name and Gender Marker Change clinic and information session. In partnership with the UCSF Child and Adolescent Gender Clinic and with volunteers from PayPal, we worked with 21 individuals to answer general questions about the name and gender marker change process and health access …

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ALERT: Social Security Benefits Suspension Scam

| By BayLegal
Categories: Homepage, News, Other
We are receiving reports from the Social Security Administration of ongoing attempts to defraud Social Security recipients via letter and phone. In some cases these fraudulent communications try to convince recipients that their benefits are in danger of suspension due to the Economic Impact Payment (EIP) received during the pandemic. In all cases, if you …

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