Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass scored another win for a JDC client facing questionable debt collection efforts with no means to fight back. The National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts (NCSLT) had sued the client and alleged he owed $115,000 on…
Fenwick & West Achieves a First in JDC Pro Bono Cases
Congratulations to Fenwick & West attorneys Lynn Pasahow; Amy Hayden and Abby Wald who won actual and punitive damages for a prison inmate assaulted by correctional officers:. For the Justice & Diversity Center, this is the first trial of a…
BASF Honors Gap’s Marie Ma and Adobe at Annual In-House Counsel Diversity Awards
More than 60 people attended The Bar Association of San Francisco’s annual In-House Counsel Diversity Awards reception on July 12 at the law firm of Polsinelli. BASF Executive Director Yolanda Jackson presented the individual award to Marie J. Ma, Senior…
Annual Food From the Bar Campaign Sets Record by Raising $726,000 in Six Weeks
BASF and the SF-Marin Food Bank celebrated the results of the annual Food From the Bar (FFTB) campaign at an awards ceremony at the Merchants Exchange Club on June 20. FFTB is the legal community’s annual fundraising drive to benefit…
Summer Interns Assist Most Vulnerable
This summer JDC’s Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP) was fortunate to have two full-time summer interns from local law schools. Brigette Latno-Mosunic is going into her third year of law school at the University of San Francisco and Ian Jacobster is…
Pro Bono Lawyer Jumps Into Advocacy With JDC Mentorship
The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) applauds Lara Palanjian’s enthusiasm for her pro bono case. Palanjian is defending a low-income tenant against eviction. Her client’s landlord had been harassing him until Palanjian won a mini-trial for a civil harassment restraining…
Housing Cases: How Lawyers Change Lives Through Limited-Scope Representation
Pro bono lawyers represent tenants facing eviction on a limited-scope basis at pre-trial settlement conferences. For many vulnerable San Francisco residents, this assistance is the last defense against homelessness. The Justice & Diversity Center thanks these firms whose attorneys have…
Volunteer Interpreter Steps Up For Immigrants Seeking Justice
The Justice & Diversity Center’s (JDC) Volunteer of the Month is Jared Malakouti, who interprets for our Spanish-speaking clients and their pro bono lawyers. With dedicated volunteers like Malakouti, JDC can provide meaningful access to justice for monolingual people at…
Housing Cases: How Lawyers Make a Difference Through Full-Scope Representation
Landlords often use owner move-in (OMI) eviction notices to pressure tenants to give up their long-term tenancies. It is critical that a tenant moving out pursuant to an OMI notice have a lawyer both to do adequate discovery to determine…
JDC Joins New Coalition to Help Bring Voices of Low-Income Consumers to the Capitol
The California Low-Income Consumer Coalition (CLICC), launched this year, is already at work keeping the interests of low-income consumers front and center in policy debates in Sacramento. Eleven legal services and advocacy groups from across the state, including the Justice…
JDC Gala Sponsor Spotlight: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Thank you, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, for your support! The Justice & Diversity Center invites your firm to become a sponsor of the JDC Gala too. The 2017 gala takes place on September 28 – it is the San Francisco legal community’s biggest annual…
Leaders Come Together to Discuss Police Reform and Changing Police Culture
Well over 100 lawyers and law enforcement representatives from throughout the Bay Area attended a two-hour panel discussion organized by BASF’s Criminal Justice Task Force that focused on the important and timely topic of police reform and changing police culture.…