Volunteerism
I applaud California Chief Justice Ronald M. George’s call for greater volunteerism from attorneys (Oct. 20). The Los Angeles Free Clinic has been providing legal services to people with nowhere else to turn for nearly 30 years. We assist about 1,000 people each year with simple, uncontested divorces, bankruptcies, immigration issues and responses to summonses. We are able to do all this with a relatively small volunteer commitment: 35 lawyers providing about three hours a month apiece.
Our experience echoes Public Counsel’s Steve Nissen’s. It is relatively easy for us to find students and young attorneys seeking experience in these areas. It is much more difficult to recruit volunteers with expertise.
Our clients are, for the most part, the working poor. They make enough money to put food on the table, but not enough to afford an attorney. For them, a few hours of legal services can make a difference between a life of abuse from a battering spouse or a fresh start.
MARY L. RAINWATER
Executive Director
Los Angeles Free Clinic
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