SOUTH-CENTRAL : Lawyers Make Case for the Working-Class

Ricardo A. Torres begins his day like most high-powered lawyers, discussing new cases, reviewing briefs and preparing for court dates.

But unlike attorneys who charge hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees, Torres is busy preparing cases for clients whose incomes are slightly above the poverty level.

Torres is co-founder of Legal Corps of Los Angeles, a nonprofit group of attorneys and law students who provide low cost legal assistance to residents who make $13,069 to $20,000 annually.

“I wanted to do something meaningful with my law degree while I still had the interest and idealism to do it, so I helped start the group,” said Torres, 29. “And in South-Central there is no legal assistance to help working-class people.”

In May, 1993, Torres and Robin J. Lozoya founded the group that now includes eight law students from various law schools.

Housed at the Florence-Firestone Neighborhood Service Center, 7807 Compton Ave., the Legal Corps provides clients with legal help in housing, employment, family and disability law, and consumer law.

While Torres said the group is prepared to take on a wide array of issues, most cases involve elderly residents and consumer fraud.

“There doesn’t seem to be a great level of sophistication,” he said. “So you’ll see bad contracts drawn up where the person will pay the contractor but never have any repairs done to their home and the contract doesn’t specify what type of repairs were supposed to be done.”

Among the group’s clients are a couple who face foreclosure after unknowingly signing a $5,700 lien on their home. Their case is expected to go to trial this fall, Torres said.

Such cases are all too common in South-Central, according to Torres and Robert Crockett, director of the Florence-Firestone center that refers clients to the group.

“This is a common occurrence in this area and I try desperately to tell my seniors here not to sign anything,” Crockett said. “From what I hear from my seniors, it’s common for different types of salespeople to come out offering loans or paint jobs to people’s homes. We’ve had incidents here where people will sign things because they are badgered by the salesperson once they get in the home.”

While the Legal Corps has drawn praise from attorneys and community groups, including Crockett, who praised the group for providing badly needed legal assistance to the community, the group is struggling to raise funds. An initial fund-raising drive only netted $3,000.

Torres takes on private cases in addition to his work with Legal Corps to supplement the organization as well as meet his own living expenses.

For now, the group is focusing on getting through the more than 60 cases, building links with area organizations to provide low-cost legal help, and training for law students like Deanna Ellis.

“This has exposed me to hands-on work dealing with clients rather than just researching in libraries,” said Ellis, a third-year student at Loyola Law School. “And there is a joy in helping someone who has been victimized by a system that isn’t always protecting some of their basic rights.”

Information: (213) 588-7200.