What We Do

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"And I will restore your judges as at the first,
    and your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you shall be called the City of Righteousness,
    the Faithful City.” Isaiah 1:26

With one legal aid attorney in Los Angeles to assist 8,361 potential clients in civil matters, the number of clients who need assistance can be overwhelming. CLA-LA seeks to bridge this justice gap by focusing on personalized legal services that depend largely on training clients to represent themselves.  CLA-LA works with faith-based charities and churches to provide the following legal services:

Legal “urgent” care services– CLA-LA attorneys and volunteers provide clients 60-90 minutes of free legal advice through telephone consultations and clinic meetings regarding the client’s specific legal issue.  Clients are educated as to their rights and trained on how to file court documents, prepare documents and pleadings and negotiate to protect their own rights.

Referrals to other legal aid organizations or private attorneys – CLA-LA will generally refer clients to other attorneys and legal aid organizations when clients need ongoing representation.

Mediation services – CLA-LA will refer clients who should consider mediation to Christian and/or free mediation services, including those offered by our local law schools.

Education seminars for clients – CLA-LA offers education seminars to give clients an overview of their general legal rights.  These seminars are not specific to one client’s legal issues, and they are infused with common sense doctrines that undergird any justice issue.

CLA-LA does not provide on-going assistance.  CLA-LA is able to educate 70% of our clients to handle their own legal matters.  For more information about our client services, please email [email protected].

CLA-LA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation, and we assist clients regardless of their religion, race, color, creed, national original, ancestry, disability, gender, sexual orientation or age.  Clients, however, must satisfy our income guidelines, derived from California’s housing guidelines for very low income families in Los Angeles.  For example, for 2022, very low income means that a single person cannot earn more than $41,700 on an annual basis.  Please contact us for more information about our income guidelines.