Beloved Legal Aid Society Staffer Dies : Longtime Paralegal Spent Her Career Lending Hand to Immigrants, Women in Bad Relationships

Paralegal Jennie Mercado dedicated her career to helping others, many of them poor immigrant women who found themselves trapped in abusive relationships with nowhere else to turn.

But she did more than just provide them with legal assistance: “You gave me the strength I didn’t know I had,” reads one of the dozens of letters and notes that line her office wall in testimony to her contribution to their lives.

Mercado was to be honored this week with a lifetime achievement award for helping more than 10,000 people during her 26-year career with the Legal Aid Society of Orange County. Instead, the honor will be awarded posthumously. The 64-year-old Orange resident died Saturday, just two weeks after she was found to have brain cancer.

Mercado’s unexpected death shocked and saddened her family, co-workers and the many clients who say they owe her their safety and well-being.

Colleagues said the vibrant, hard-working Mercado was committed to helping her clients negotiate the labyrinthine court system. Often, they were poor immigrants with limited English-language skills fearful of breaking with abusive husbands.

“She gave people confidence to go ahead through very difficult times,” said Bob Cohen, director of the Legal Aid Society. “She was always there for them and did a lot of hand-holding to get them through the proceedings.”

Said Gary Mucho, another paralegal who worked with Mercado: “There is no way that she could ever be replaced. There will never be another Jennie Mercado in terms of what she did for the community.”

Mercado’s primary duty was to handle the paperwork necessary to resolve child-custody, divorce and child-support cases. She carried the office’s heaviest case load, her colleagues said, and was so familiar with the court system that attorneys often trained under her. Mercado did everything for her clients except appear in court for them.

“You come in knowing the theoretical, but the actual day-to-day stuff is what you need to know,” Cohen said. “That, Jennie knew better than anyone.”

Mercado’s job extended beyond paperwork. She kept in constant touch with clients, taking a personal interest in their well-being and going out of her way to keep them updated on their cases.

“She called over the holidays when she got news that it went through,” a 28-year-old Tustin woman said of her divorce from her abusive husband. “She was always compassionate and made a very difficult time easier for me.”

Katheren Garcia, a former Orange County resident, tried for two years with no success to get divorced on her own. Within two months of meeting Mercado, she said, her divorce was final.

“She was so caring and attentive,” Garcia said.

Around the office, Mercado was known for her diligence and hard work. “She was always willing to help and learn new things,” said Crystal Sims, the office’s director of litigation. “She was a good friend to everybody here, and clients just loved her.”

Mercado’s eldest daughter, Candy LeBoutillier, said the family had wanted her to retire, but the work was too important to her. “She just loved helping people,” she said.

Mercado, who was born in Santa Ana, had lived in Orange for 35 years.

She is survived by her husband of 41 years, Gilbert; her children, LeBoutillier, Yvette Westphal and Jayson Mercado; and grandchildren Don Jarred Westphal IV, Justin Westphal and Chelsea LeBoutillier.

A wake service will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday at Saddleback Chapel Mortuary in Tustin. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the chapel. Burial will be at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Orange.