In Memory of Shirley Gibson

We are grieving the loss of Directing Attorney Shirley Gibson, who passed away November 4, 2021, after a long battle with cancer.

A warrior to the end, Shirley worked full-time until just weeks before her death; filing motions to keep families from being evicted, meeting with tenant groups afraid of being displaced, and working with cities on policies to protect low-income households.

Shirley came to Legal Aid SMC in 2007 to revitalize our housing practice. When she arrived, more than half of the eviction lawsuits in San Mateo County were uncontested, meaning tenants received default judgments and were rapidly displaced. Shirley built a team to change that. Within a few years, the default rate in eviction cases had fallen to 35%, on par with other counties with comprehensive eviction defense programs.

In the fourteen years Shirley led our housing team, she affected the housing landscape in San Mateo County and California in countless ways, impacting court procedures and precedents, local ordinances, and state legislation. During the foreclosure crisis, she fought for tenants who were being displaced by national banks who had no stake in our community. She was there when tenants were displaced by fires and when mobile home park residents faced floods. She gave a voice to immigrant tenants whose landlords threatened to report them to ICE if they complained about unsafe living conditions.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Shirley conceived and implemented a fundamental strategy shift from a high-volume eviction defense practice to an upstream approach focused on helping low-income tenants access new tenant protections and rental assistance. As always, she based her strategy on collaboration, building and nurturing strong partnerships with other housing advocates, cities, the County, tenant advocates, and community organizations. She made sure her team stood ready to enforce those tenant protections in court when necessary.

The Western Center on Law & Poverty honored Shirley with its Mary Burdick Advocates Award in 2019 for her contributions to housing justice. Shirley received Legal Aid SMC’s 2021 George R. Corey–Linda M. Gemello award in recognition of the selflessness and generosity of her work for justice for all. Shirley received countless thank you cards from the many clients she served over the years.

Shirley was a brilliant visionary, weaving together complex strategies involving litigation, tenant outreach, community organizing, and public policy advocacy to further housing equity. She was a fierce advocate, a badass who loved to tell the story of the time an attorney for one of the biggest national banks called her the “Biggest Pain in the Ass in the Entire State of California.” She was a superb teambuilder, the kind of leader who took her team to hear a nationally known author on eviction and put together adorable gift bags for Administrative Professionals Day. She cared deeply for each member of her team. She was kind and generous while always holding everyone accountable, especially herself. And she was funny—how we’ll miss her humor!

We were honored and privileged to work with Shirley, and we miss her terribly. Our hearts are aching.