ABOUT US

In 1959, a dedicated group of lawyers and community leaders recognized an unmet need to help the less fortunate in San Mateo County. Thanks to these founders, in a small one-room office, the Legal Aid Society was born. One of the earliest cases involved a Spanish-speaking maid who was not allowed to retrieve her belongings when she resigned. Legal Aid successfully advocated on her behalf and the client was able to recover her possessions.

Since then, the Legal Aid Society has grown to become one of California’s most respected public interest law firms. A vital voice for San Mateo County’s underserved populations, the organization has received awards for excellence in the delivery of legal services.

Legal Aid continues to provide free, quality civil legal services to San Mateo County’s low-income residents. Our advocacy has evolved with the times; we fought for civil rights in the 1960s and fair wages for farmworkers in the 1980s. Today our work encompasses nine broad areas, described below either by the people served or the legal issue involved:

• Caregivers
Guardianship Pro Bono Project
Conservatorship Pro Bono Project

• Children
Peninsula Family Advocacy Program (FAP)

• Children & Adults with Disabilities
Kids in Crisis Project (KIC)
Clients’ Rights Advocate (CRA)
Special Education Pro Bono Project

• Seniors
Senior Advocates

• Survivors of Domestic Violence
New Beginnings Program
Domestic Violence Collaborative

• Teen Parents
Teen Parent Project (TPP)

• Health
Health Consumer Center of San Mateo County (HCC)

• Income Maintenance

• Housing

The need for Legal Aid is greater than ever. According to a recent study, over 16% of San Mateo County’s adults live below the federal poverty level.* In 2008 alone, our talented staff of 12 attorneys assisted over 1,500 families in finding solutions to their legal problems. Our clients’ median family income was less than $14,000 a year.

Helping those in need is only possible because of our generous donors and partners and over 300 pro bono volunteers from the Bay Area. Thanks to them, we are able to continue our work in fulfilling the Legal Aid mission:

Helping disadvantaged people improve their lives through equal access to justice, and in doing so, making our community a better place.

* 2008 Community Assessment: Health & Quality of Life in San Mateo County, Executive Summary, The Healthy Community Collaborative of San Mateo County, 2008, p. 19, available at http://www.plsinfo.org/healthysmc/pdf/2008ExecSummCommunityAssessment.pdf.