The clinic operates on a premise that is easy to state and hard to deliver: three hours a month in which anyone who needs a lawyer and cannot afford one can sit down with an experienced attorney.
The Community Legal Clinic returns to the Jackie Robinson Community Center, 1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave., on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. It runs the second Saturday of every month, staffed by volunteer attorneys handling housing, family law, bankruptcy and consumer debt, probate, civil matters, public benefits, expungements and other issues.
Attendees are asked to bring every document related to their case. That instruction is not a formality — the value of a single consultation depends almost entirely on whether the attorney can see the notice, the lease, the filing or the correspondence in question.
The clinic is a partnership among Public Counsel, All Saints Church and the City of Pasadena’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department. It is free and open to individuals and families who need legal help but lack the means to hire counsel. The center sits on North Fair Oaks and is reachable by public transit.
Two companion programs run at the same address. The Homelessness Prevention Legal Clinic, held the third Tuesday of each month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., pairs a “Know Your Rights” presentation on housing or public benefits with one-on-one attorney consultations; it is walk-in and first come, first served. Separately, community services staff at the center assist year-round with restraining orders — obtaining them and responding to them — and with landlord-tenant questions including repairs, safety violations and health and safety code complaints.
Anyone unable to attend Saturday can reach Public Counsel directly at (213) 385-2977.
The Community Legal Clinic will run on Saturday, August 8 from 9 a.m. to noon. Jackie Robinson Community Center, 1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave. in Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 744-7300. Admission is free.
