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The following resources were compiled by the Access to Justice and Civics Engagement Committee of the CLA’s Litigation Section in the interest of the public.  The California Lawyers Association is not a legal referral service provider, so we hope these resources may be of assistance.

FreeLegalAnswers 
https://ca.freelegalanswers.org/
California’s Free Legal Answers platform is a virtual legal advice clinic that answers questions from low income Californians on a variety of employment, housing and family issues caused by COVID-19 and the recent Californian wildfires.    

Disaster Legal Services California
https://disasterlegalservicesca.org/
DLAC is a coalition of organizations and law firms in Northern California working together to offer free legal services to the communities in the aftermath of  natural disasters.  Survivors of disasters such as wildfires face a wide variety of legal and financial needs ranging from insurance claim assistance to requests for government programs such as FEMA assistance.  Visit the DLAC website to learn about the free legal services they currently offer in addition to resources on recent and active disasters.

Legal Services & Legal Aid Programs throughout California
https://www.lawhelpca.org/
LawHelpCA.org is a comprehensive site to help you find a legal aid or legal services program in your area for your specific legal issue.  The site also provides legal information and is available in seven languages (English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino (Tagalog) and Russian).

Law Libraries  
https://www.publiclawlibrary.org/
Many county law libraries offer clinics and other services to assist the public.

Bar Associations
Bar Associations across the state also offer a variety of services to help the public.  Many regional bar associations operate certified Lawyer Referral and Information Service programs.  These programs often offer up to 30 minutes of free consultation with an attorney if you are referred.  Some Bar Associations also offer legal services programs in their community and/or incubator programs that match newer lawyers to the public.  Listed below are several regional bar associations in California. You can also view a full directory of California Bar Associations here.  

Alameda County Bar Association:  https://www.acbanet.org/need-a-lawyer/ and https://www.acbanet.org/pro-bono-legal-services/
Contra Costa County Bar Association:  https://www.cccba.org/for-the-community/legal-workshops-and-events/ and https://www.cccba.org/for-the-community/find-a-lawyer/
Bar Association of San Francisco:  https://www.sfbar.org/jdc/ and https://www.sfbar.org/lris/ 
El Dorado County Bar Association: http://eldoradocountyattorneys.org/
Fresno County Bar Association:  http://www.fresnocountybar.org/ and http://www.fresnocountybar.org/services/attorney-referral
Humboldt County Bar Association: http://www.hcbar.net/
Kern County Bar Association:  http://www.kernbar.org/ and https://kernbar.org/about/programs/indigent-defense-program/
Lake County Bar Association: http://www.lakecobar.com/
Los Angeles County Bar Association: https://www.lacba.org/benefits/smartlaw-lawyer-referral-service and https://www.lacba.org/counsel-for-justice
Marin County Bar Association: https://marinbar.org/resources/lawyer-referral-service/
Monterey County Bar Association: https://marinbar.org/resources/lawyer-referral-service/
Napa County Bar Association:  http://napacountybar.org/directory/
Nevada County Bar Association:  https://nevadacountybar.com/ncba-member-directory/
Orange County Bar Association: https://www.ocbar.org/ and http://www.lrisoc.org/
Placer County Bar Association:  https://www.placerbar.org/Directory/
Riverside County Bar Association:  http://riversidelrs.org/
Sacramento County Bar Association:  https://sacbar.org/ and https://sacbar.org/services
San Bernardino County Bar Association: http://www.sbcba.org/public
San Diego County Bar Association:  https://www.sdcba.org/index.cfm
San Joaquin County Bar Association:  https://www.sjcbar.org/ and https://www.sjcbar.org/public/lrs
San Luis Obispo County Bar Association:  http://slobarlris.org/
San Mateo County Bar Association:  https://www.smcba.org/ and https://www.smcba.org/for-the-public/
Santa Barbara County Bar Association:  https://sblaw.org/about-the-sbcba/ and https://sblaw.org/lawyer-referral-service/
Santa Clara County Bar Association:  https://sccba.community.lawyer/
Santa Cruz County Bar Association:  https://lawyerreferralsantacruz.org/
Solano County Bar Association:  http://www.solanobar.org/lawyer-referral-service/
Sonoma County Bar Association: https://www.sonomacountybar.org/?page_id=150 and https://sonomacountybar.org/find-lawyer
Tulare County Bar Association:  https://www.vcba.org/public-lawyer-referral/
Ventura County Bar Association: https://www.vcba.org/public-lawyer-referral/
Yolo County Bar Association: http://108.81.248.177/yolobar/yololawyers.php

California Law Schools (Clinical Programs)
Many law schools have clinical programs that take on cases or assist with representation.  Below is a list of law schools in California and a link to their web page:

California Western School of Law, 225 Cedar Street, San Diego, CA 92101-3046
Chapman University School of Law, 370 North Glassell Street, Orange, CA 92866-1032
Golden Gate University School of Law, 536 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-2921
Loyola Law School, 919 S. Albany Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015-1211
Pepperdine University School of Law, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90263-4655
Santa Clara University School of Law, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053-0001
Southwestern Law School, 3050 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90010-1106
Stanford Law School, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA 94305-8610
Thomas Jefferson School of Law, 1155 Island Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101
University of California at Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law, 270 Simon Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
University of California at Davis King Hall School of Law, 400 Mrak Hall Drive, Davis, CA 95616-5201
University of California at Irvine School of Law, 401 E. Peltason Drive, Suite 1000, Irvine, CA 92697-8000
University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, P.O. Box 951476, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1476
University of California Hastings College of the Law, 200 McAllister Street, San Francisco, CA 94102-4707
University of La Verne College of Law, 320 East “D” Street, Ontario, CA 91764
University of San Diego School of Law, 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110-2492
University of San Francisco School of Law, 2130 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
University of Southern California Gould School of Law, University Park, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0071
University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, 3200 Fifth Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95817-2705
Western State University College of Law, 1111 North State College Blvd., Fullerton, CA 92831-3014
Whittier Law School, 3333 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, CA 92626-1501
Cal Northern School of Law, 1395 Ridgewood Drive, Suite 100, Chico, CA 95973-7802
Empire College School of Law, 3035 Cleveland Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95403-2122
Glendale University College of Law, 220 North Glendale Avenue, Glendale, CA 91206-4454
Humphreys College Laurence Drivon School of Law, 6650 Inglewood Avenue, Stockton, CA 95207-3861
John F. Kennedy University School of Law, 100 Ellinwood Way, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523-4817
Lincoln Law School of Sacramento, 3140 “J” Street, Sacramento, CA 95816-4403
Lincoln Law School of San Jose, One North First Street, San Jose, CA 95113-1227
Monterey College of Law, 100 Col. Durham Street, Seaside, CA 93955-7300
Pacific Coast University School of Law, 1650 Ximeno Avenue, Suite 310, Long Beach, CA 90804
San Francisco Law School, 20 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94102-5802
San Joaquin College of Law, 901 5th Street, Clovis, CA 93612-1312
Santa Barbara College of Law, 20 E. Victoria Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101-2606
Southern California Institute of Law-Santa Barbara, 1525 State Street, Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA 93101-2500
Southern California Institute of Law-Ventura, 877 South Victoria Ave., Suite 111, Ventura, CA 93003-5377
Trinity Law School, 2200 North Grand Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92705-7016
University of West Los Angeles School of Law-San Fernando Valley, 9201 Oakdale Avenue, #201, Chatsworth, CA 91311
Ventura College of Law, 4475 Market Street, Ventura, CA 93003-7774
University of West Los Angeles School of Law – West Los Angeles, 9800 South La Cienega Boulevard, 12th Floor, Inglewood, CA 90301-4423

Court Self-Help Resources  
Most courts have resources that assist individuals in representing themselves in court proceedings.  Below are a few examples where you can find court-sponsored self-help resources:

California Judiciary Self-Help Center: https://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp.htm 
(Sample areas of law include: Adoption, Child Custody, Immigration Resource Directory, Criminal Law, Debt Collection, Families and Children, Name Change, Divorce, Problems with Money, Domestic Violence, Eviction & Housing, Small Claims, Traffic, and more.)

California Superior Courts, self-help centers for all counties:  https://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-selfhelpcenters.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: http://prose.cacd.uscourts.gov/

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California: http://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/cmecf-e-filing/representing-yourself-pro-se-litigant/

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California: https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/pro-se-litigants/

U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit:  https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/forms/pro_se_litigants.php

Mediation Services

Statewide
List of mediation programs, by county, statewide.
https://www.dca.ca.gov/consumers/mediation_programs.shtml

Los Angeles County
Loyola Center for Conflict Resolution: https://www.lls.edu/academics/centers/loyolacenterforconflictresolution/
Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center: https://apadrc.org/
California Academy of Mediation Professionals: https://campmediation.org/
Center for Conflict Resolution: https://ccr4peace.org/
Centinela Youth Services, Inc. (family mediation): http://www.cys-la.org/our-programs
Korean-American Coalition Alternative Dispute Resolution Center: https://www.kacla.org/429-dispute-resolution-center.html
LA County Department of Consumer & Business Affairs: https://dcba.lacounty.gov/mediation-small-claims/
California Lawyers for the Arts, Arts Arbitration & Mediation Services: https://calawyersforthearts.org/arts-arbitration-mediation-services.html

Orange County
OC Human Relations: https://www.ochumanrelations.org/conflict-resolution/
Waymakers: https://waymakersoc.org/resolving-conflicts/

San Diego County
National Conflict Resolution Center, West Coast Resolution Group: https://www.ncrconline.com/mediation-conflict-resolution/mediation-services/west-coast-resolution-group

Riverside County
Community Action Partnership of Riverside County, Dispute Resolution: https://www.capriverside.org/program/disputeresolution1

Ventura County
Conflict Resolution Institute: http://conflictresolutionvc.org/services/

Santa Barbara County
Conflict Solutions Center of Santa Barbara: http://www.cscsb.org/mediation/mediation_services.html

San Francisco County
California Lawyers for the Arts, Arts Arbitration & Mediation Services: https://calawyersforthearts.org/arts-arbitration-mediation-services.html

Sacramento County
California Lawyers for the Arts, Arts Arbitration & Mediation Services: https://calawyersforthearts.org/arts-arbitration-mediation-services.html

Family Law Self-Help Videos 

As part of the Family Law Section’s Access to Justice program, the Family Law Executive Committee (FLEXCOM) is pleased to announce that eight instructional videos have now been uploaded to the California Lawyers Association YouTube page. The videos were written and created by current officers, members, advisors and liaisons serving on FLEXCOM.

The videos form the beginning of an instructional library available to assist self-represented parties in addressing issues commonly faced in family law matters. The initial library consists of videos on the following topics:

  • Domestic Abuse and Restraining Orders
  • Divorce and Legal Separations: An Overview
  • Handling the Emotional Aspects of your Divorce or Legal Separation
  • How to Complete Your Petition for Dissolution
  • Starting Your Divorce: Beyond the Petition
  • Requests for Orders: How to Ask the Court for Help
  • Preliminary Declarations of Disclosure: What Is It and How to Prepare One
  • Your Day in Court
  • Using A Guardianship to Plan For Possible Absence of Parents

You can access the videos on Youtube or watch them directly on our website below.

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