A Good Day for Taking Law to the Malls
If you have a serious financial, business or personal problem, a lawyer may be the person with the answers to your questions. Of course, a lawyer may not be the right person. You may need a business adviser, an accountant or a psychiatrist.
Besides, you may not want to bother with a lawyer, because they are expensive, right? Not this week.
Wednesday is law day, a national event first established in 1958 by then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s proclamation. It celebrates the importance of law in the life of our country and in everyday life. Perhaps more important, it is a day that the legal establishment has historically used to reach out to the community.
Bar associations throughout Southern California will conduct free legal seminars, send lawyers to speak in classrooms about the Bill of Rights, operate telephone lines with free legal advice, conduct mock trials and send lawyers to shopping malls to answer your questions.
Who wants to talk to a lawyer, even if it is free? What would you ask about? Plenty. Lawyers can be a potential source of valuable information, helping you make decisions that can reduce, postpone or avoid serious problems.
The list of possible topics and questions is long: You may want to know about filing for personal bankruptcy, when you need to have a written contract, how escrow works, what you can do to get your noisy neighbors to shut up, whether your lease is still good if your landlord sells his apartment building, the rights of grandparents or the legal responsibilities of parents.
You may not even know if your question is a legal one. Many practical questions overlap various subjects, some personal, some legal.
Law Day is the time to ask. Any given lawyer won’t have all the answers; in fact, you may get different answers from different lawyers to the same question. But now is your chance to ask for free.
Here are some of the places you can find a lawyer during the next 10 days of celebration. From South to North:
* The San Diego Bar Assn. is providing local attorneys at numerous shopping mall locations on May 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Fashion Valley, La Jolla Village Square, Market Place at the Grove, Mira Mesa Mall, Mission Valley, North County Fair, Plaza Camino Real, Plaza Bonita and University Towne Center.) For a complete schedule of Law Week activities (April 26-May 4), phone (619) 231-0781.
* The Orange County Bar Assn. offers a free “Call a Lawyer” service on May 3 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Call (714) 541-6222.
* The San Bernardino County Bar Assn. is making lawyers available at shopping malls on several days: Central City Mall, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Island Center Mall, Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. and the Redlands Mall, next Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m.
* The Santa Monica Bar Assn. will have an “ask-the-lawyer” clinic at the Santa Monica Place Mall May 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
* The Beverly Hills Bar Assn. will have lawyers at Westside Pavilion, Fox Hills Mall and Farmer’s Market on May 4.
* The Los Angeles County Bar Assn., in conjunction with other local associations, will sponsor its “come talk to a lawyer” program May 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at these locations: Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, Carson Mall, Chinatown Service Center, Glendale Galleria, Monterey Park Library, Northridge Fashion Center, Panorama Mall, Plaza Pasadena, Sherman Oaks Fashion Center, Santa Monica Place, Topanga Plaza, United Citizens Bank (Olympic Boulevard and Vermont Avenue), Westside Pavilion and Olvera Street (May 5).
* The Ventura County Bar Assn. will have lawyers available May 5 at “First Sunday in the Park” at the Plaza Park in downtown Ventura.
So take a chance, give a lawyer a chance and help yourself a bit. There should be plenty of lawyers to choose from. Most of these activities are happening on a Saturday, when lawyers don’t have to be in court.
Klein is an attorney and president of The Times Valley and Ventura County Editions. Brown is professor of law emeritus at USC and chairman of the board for the National Center for Preventive Law. They cannot answer mail personally but will respond in this column to questions of general interest about law. Do not telephone. Write to Jeffrey S. Klein, The Times, 9211 Oakdale Ave. Chatsworth, Calif. 91311.
