Legal Assistance and Lawyer Referral Guide
This guide provides a listing of legal assistance organizations, web sites, and self- help books in the following areas of law: general legal services; employment, housing, family, health, and immigration. Also included is a listing of lawyer referral services in the Bay Area.
Lawyer Referral Services
Most referral services will conduct a phone interview as to the legal question before making an attorney referral. The County Bar Referral Services charge an administrative fee to set up a half hour visit to a qualified attorney specializing in your area of law. Call the office in your county for details, as the exact amount (which ranges from $25.00 to $35.00) of the administrative fee and exactly how it is to be paid varies from county to county.
The California State Bar Association provides a toll-free number to help people find the nearest lawyer referral service. In the state, call 1-866-442-2529. Out of state, the telephone number is (415) 538-2250.
S.F. Bar Association Lawyer Referral and Information Service
http://www.sfbar.org/lrs/general.html
301 Battery Street, Third Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8:30 - 5:30
Phone: (415) 989-1616
Online Form:
$35.00 for an attorney consultation payable by check or money order. Free for personal injury cases.
Alameda County Bar Association Legal Referral Service
70 Washington St., Suite 200
Oakland, CA 94607
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8:30 - 4:00
Phone: (510) 302-2222
Online Form: https://www.acbanet.org/lrs/
$30.00 for up to a half hour consultation. Free for personal injury, workers' compensation, sexual harassment or medical malpractice cases.
Contra Costa County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
http://www.cccba.org/lawserv.htm
704 Main Street
Martinez, CA 94553
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 9:00-4:00
Phone: (925) 825-5700
Online Form: http://www.cccba.org/community/find-a-lawyer/request-form.php
$30.00 for a half hour consultation. Free for personal injury, workers' compensation, or Social Security disability cases.
Marin County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
http://www.marinbar.org/community/find_a_lawyer.shtml
30 N. San Pedro Rd., Suite 140
San Rafael, CA 94903
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 9:00-4:00
Phone: (415) 499-1813
Online Form: http://www.marinbar.org/community/contact-LRS.shtml
$50.00 for a half hour consultation. Free for personal injury and workers' compensation cases.
San Mateo County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
333 Bradford Street, Second Floor
Redwood City, CA 94063
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9:00 - 4:00
Phone: (650) 369-4149
This service provides a half-hour appointment with a lawyer specializing in your area of need. The fee for this service is $30.00, payable in cash only. Attorneys will not review papers, so please review your paperwork prior to the meeting, and prepare a list of questions to ask.
Santa Clara County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
31 N. Second Street, Fourth Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Hours: Mon.- Thur. 9-4:30, Fri 9-3:30
Phone: (408) 971-6822
Online Form: https://m360.sccba.com/admin/forms/ViewForm.aspx?id=21157
$41.00 administrative fee; free half hour consultation with an attorney; workers' compensation or modest means individuals may call to request fee waiver.
Solano County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
http://www.solanobar.org/LRS.htm
744 Empire Street, Suite 201
Fairfield, CA 94533
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8:00 - noon
Phone: (707) 422-0127
$45.00 for a half hour consultation. Free for personal injury cases.
Sonoma County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
http://www.sonomacountybar.org/?page_id=150
37 Old Courthouse Square, Suite 100
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 546-5297 x12
Email: win@sonomacountybar.org
Online Form: http://www.sonomacountybar.org/controller.cfm?view=public.lrsForm
$50.00 for a half hour consultation. Free for personal injury, workers' compensation, or Social Security disability cases.
Law Help California
LawHelpCalifornia.org
This service is a clearinghouse referral service for low and middle income Californians. Online
referrals and access to self help information.
General Legal Service Providers
ACCESS Center
http://www.sfsuperiorcourt.org/index.aspx?page=24
San Francisco Superior Court
575 Polk Street, Room 001
San Francisco, CA 94102
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8:30 - noon,
Mon. - Thurs. 1:30 - 4:00
Phone: (415) 551-5880
Email: ACCESS@sftc.org
Drop-in clinic for litigants. Information and materials available in many languages. Free help with Small Claims, Small Claims and limited Civil Mediation, Civil Harassment Restraining Orders, Conservatorships, Evictions, Name Changes, Gender Changes, and Guardianships.
Asian Law Caucus
http://www.asianlawcaucus.org/
Hours Mon.- Fri. 9:00 - 5:00
55 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 896-1701
The Asian Law Caucus was established to promote, advance and represent the legal and civil rights of the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. It focuses on the areas of labor/employment, housing, immigration and immigrant rights, civil rights and hate/violence, and senior rights. Immigration Clinic offered on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Bay Area Legal Aid
50 Fell Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (800) 551-5554
This service provides free civil legal services for low-income persons. Services include housing, domestic violence, public benefits, and health services access.
Consumer Action
http://www.consumer-action.org
221 Main Street, Suite 480
San Francisco, CA 94105
Complaint Hotline: (415) 777-9635
Consumer Action is a non-profit organization that assists consumers with marketplace problems. It offers a multi-lingual consumer hotline, free information on long-distance telephone companies and consumer education materials in Chinese, English, Korean, Spanish, Vietnamese and other languages.
General Assistance Advocacy Project
276 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
Clinic Hours: Mon., Tue., Thur., Fri.: 9-12, 1:30-4. Closed Wed.
Phone: (415) 928-8191
Fax: (415) 928-1410
Sponsored by Hastings College of the Law, GAAP offers free assistance with obtaining government benefits, food stamps and SSI. It also advocates for clients in credit and landlord-tenant disputes.
Legal Advice and Referral Clinic
http://www.sfbar.org/volunteer/larc.aspx
Phone: (415) 989-1616
LARC is a free service sponsored by the Volunteer Legal Services Program of The Bar Association of San Francisco. The clinic offers free consultations in various libraries on the second and fourth Saturday of the month. Call or check their website for upcoming locations, and sign up between 10:30 and noon for same day appointments. Attorneys are available for consultations on a variety of topics, including bankruptcy, collection defense, family, criminal, consumer, immigration, labor, housing, personal injury. The clinic also offers an attorney referral service.
Office of the S.F. District Attorney Consumer Protection Unit
http://www.sfdistrictattorney.org/page.asp?id=61
Criminal Division, Hall of Justice
850 Bryant Street, Room 322
San Francisco CA 94103
Phone: (415) 551-9595
The Consumer Protection Unit serves the public primarily through civil litigation, criminal prosecution, mediation of consumer complaints, and an extensive community outreach and consumer educational program. The unit provides a variety of services, including: free complaint service, investigation and mediation of consumer complaints, education, and prosecution of civil and criminal consumer fraud violations.
Small Claims Legal Advisor
http://www.sfsuperiorcourt.org/index.aspx?page=145
San Francisco Superior Court
400 McAllister Street, Rm. 103
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415) 292-2121
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 8:30 - noon, 1:30 - 4:00; Fri. 8:30 - noon
Drop-in advisor for help with small claims matters.
Swords to Ploughshares-Veterans' Rights
1060 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Walk-in hours: Mon. - Fri. 9:00 - 12:00, 1:00 - 5:00
Phone: (415) 252-4788
FAX: (415) 252-4790
Offers free assistance to veterans dealing with VA, SSI and other government benefits, housing, medical benefits & military discharge review and upgrade.
Youth Law Center (Children's Legal Protection Center)
200 Pine Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 543-3379
The Youth Law Center is a non-profit, public interest law office that works to protect abused and at-risk children. They focus particularly upon the problems of children living apart from their families in child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The goal of the Youth Law Center's work is to ensure that vulnerable children are provided with the conditions and services they need to grow into healthy, productive adults.
General Self-Help & Legal Information Websites
CaliforniaCourts Self-Help Center
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp
A very informative self help page.
LawHelpCalifornia.org
http://www.lawhelpcalifornia.org
Legal information on housing, public benefits, health, consumer and small claims, individual and civil rights, disability, life and estate planning, families and kids, protection from abuse, work, immigration, seniors, and Native American issues.
Your Public Law Library
http://www.publiclawlibrary.org/index.html
Provides links to numerous self-help services, as well as mini legal research tutorials.
General Self Help Books
101 Law Forms for Personal Use, by Robin Leonard & Ralph Warner (Nolo Press): 2009 [KF170.L46 ReferenceDesk]
The Court TV Cradle-to-Grave Legal Survival Guide: a Complete Resource for Any Question You May Have About the Law, by the editors of Court TV and The American Lawyer (Little, Brown): 1995 [KF387.C62 5th Stacks]
Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court in California, by Shae Irving (NoloPress): 2010 [ KFC976.W34 Reference Desk]
Law 101: Everything You Need to Know About the American Legal System, by Jay Feinman(Oxford Univ. Press): 2006 [KF387.F45 5th Floor Stacks]
Nolo's Encyclopedia of Everyday Law: Answers to Your Most Frequently Asked Legal Questions, by Ralph Warner (Nolo Press); 2011 [KF387 .N65 Reference Desk]
Your Little Legal Companion (Nolo Press): 2006 [KF387.Y67 Reference Desk]
Legal Research Databases in Local Law Libraries
Alameda County Law Library
125 Twelfth Street
Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: (510) 208-4800
Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 8:30 - 6:00; Tue. & Thu. 8:30 am - 9 pm
The library provides free onsite access to HeinOnline, Westlaw, CEB's OnLaw, and Shepard's.
Contra Costa County Law Library
1020 Ward Street, 1st Floor
Martinez, CA 94553
Phone: (925) 646-2783
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8 - 5
The library provides free onsite access to Westlaw, Lexis/Nexis, and Judicial Council forms.
San Francisco Law Library
http://www.sfgov.org/site/sfll_index.asp
401 Van Ness Avenue, Room 400
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415) 554-6821
Financial District Branch:
685 Market Street, Suite 420
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 882-9310
Courthouse Reference Room:
400 McAllister Street, Room 512
San Francisco, CA
Phone: (415) 551-3647
The library provides free onsite access to HeinOnline, FastCase, California Judicial Council Forms, San Francisco Local Court Forms, Westlaw and Shepard's.
San Mateo County Law Library
710 Hamilton Street
Redwood City, CA 94063
Phone: (650) 363-4913
The library provides free onsite access to AccessLaw California cases and U.S. Supreme Court opinions, CEB OnLaw, HeinOnLine, LegalTrac, LexisNexis, Bender California Law & Practice, Shepard's, Martin Dean's Essential Forms and Xspouse.
Santa Clara County Law Library
http://www.sccll.org/collection.html
360 North First Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Phone: (408) 299-3567
The library provides free onsite access to Westlaw, Lexis/Nexis, CEB OnLaw, HeinOnline and Judicial Council forms.
Employment Law Services
Legal Aid Society of San Francisco Employment Law Center
http://www.las-elc.org/index.html
180 Montgomery Street, Suite 600San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (415) 864-8848
Provides free legal advice to low-income Bay Area workers at workers' rights clinics throughout the Bay Area. See http://www.las-elc.org/clinics.html for clinic schedules and addresses or call (415) 864-8208.
Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA)
P.O. Box 29435
Oakland, CA 94604
Phone: (510) 271-8443
Provides legal advice over the phone and in person on foreclosure prevention, homeownership, and predatory or unfair mortgage lending. Phone advice available at (510) 271-8443, or email inquiries@heraca.org.
Self-Help Books
The Essential Guide Family and Medical Leave, by Lisa Guerin (Nolo Press): 2009 (KF3531 .G84 Reference Desk)
The Essential Guide to Federal Employment Laws, by Lisa Guerin (Nolo Press): 2009 (KF3455 .G84 Reference Desk)
Every Employee's Guide to the Law, by Lewin Joel (Pantheon Books): 1993 (KF3319.6J64 4th Floor Research Alcove)
Your Rights in the Workplace, by Barbara K. Repa (Nolo Press): 2010 (KF3455.Z9 R47 Reference Desk)
Housing Legal Services
Assessor-Recorder's Office
http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/assessor/
City Hall, Suite 190
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102-4689
Phone: (415) 554-5596
Call for property tax relief assistance for the elderly and disabled.
East Bay Community Law Center
2921 Adeline Street
Berkeley, CA 94703
Phone: (510) 548-4040
Provides free legal services to eligible East Bay clients. Specific service criteria vary by subject matter; contact the office for details. EBCLC also offers free weekly workshops for low-income tenants regarding repairs, subsidized housing, security deposits, eviction, rent increases, lead paint, and other tenant concerns.
Homeless Advocacy Project
http://www.sfbar.org/volunteer/opportunities.aspx#anchor05
1360 Mission Street, Room 201
San Francisco, CA
Hours: Tues 1-4.
Phone: (415) 575-3130 or (800) 405-4427
Offers legal services to homeless & those at-risk of becoming homeless.
Low Income Eviction Project
http://www.ebclc.org/lowIncome.php
Wiley Manuel Self-Help Center
661 Washington Street, 2nd Floor
Oakland, CA
Hours: Mon. & Wed. 9:00 AM to Noon
Phone: (510) 548-4040
Sponsored by the EBCLC, the clinic provides free legal help to low-income tenants in Alameda County who have received an unlawful detainer summons and complaint (eviction papers).
San Francisco Rent Stabilization & Arbitration Board
http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/rentboard/
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 320
San Francisco, CA 94102-6033
Counseling Drop-In Hours: Mon.- Fri. 8-5
Phone Counseling Hours: Mon.- Fri. 9-12, 1-4
Prerecorded Info Line: (415) 252-4600
Counseling Line: (415) 252-4602
Offers a touch-tone informational service on over 70 issues relating to landlord-tenant issues and personal service by phone or in person. The website includes PDFs of Rent Board forms.
Tenderloin Housing Clinic
126 Hyde Street
San Francisco CA 94102
Phone: (415) 771-9850
Tenant counseling for persons with landlord-tenant issues in the Tenderloin and surrounding communities. Provides legal counseling to low income tenants. Call for information and appointments.
San Francisco Tenants Union
558 Capp Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 282-6622
The Tenants Union operates a drop-in counseling clinic for non-members. Counselors are trained to answer questions regarding tenant or sub-tenant rights. Hours for the clinic include daytime, evening and weekend hours.
Since the actual hours can vary each week, tenants should check the hours at www.sftu.org/sched.html or call 415-282-6622 for the schedule.
Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/DepartmentHome.aspx?id=9546
2125 Milvia Street
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 981-7368
Information is available on tenant's rights, landlord complaints, eviction, habitability and repairs, and rent ceilings. Petitions and forms are available, including some forms that are downloadable from the Rent Board's website.
Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity, Inc. (ECHO)
http://www.echofairhousing.org/
770 A Street
Hayward, CA 94541
Phone: (510) 581-9380
ECHO is a HUD approved counseling agency, providing default foreclosure counseling, rental counseling and mediation services for landlord/tenant disputes, and housing pre-purchase counseling. ECHO also provides low income families counseling about various types of home equity conversion options.
Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco
http://www.hrcsf.org/index.html
417 Van Ness Ave.,
San Francisco CA
Phone: (415) 703-8644
Counseling Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 1-5 PM
Free phone and drop-in counseling for tenants in rent-controlled apartments, non-rent controlled apartments, section 8 and public housing.
Self-Help Books
The California Landlord's Law Book: Evictions, by David Wayne Brown (Nolo Press): 20011 (KFC145 .B76 Reference Desk)
The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities, by David Wayne Brown (Nolo Press): 2009 [KFC145 .B763 Reference Desk]
California Tenants: A Guide to Residential Tenants' and Landlords' Rights and Responsibilities (Cal. Dep't of Consumer Affairs): 2010 [available online at: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/catenant.pdf]
California Tenants' Rights, by Janet Portman (Nolo Press): 2010 [KFC145 .P67 Reference Desk]
Every Tenant's Legal Guide, by Janet Portman (Nolo Press): 2009 [KF590.Z9 P67 Reference Desk]
Family Legal Services
Legal Services for Children
1254 Market Street, Third Fl.
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415) 863-3762
Warm Line Hours: Mon.-Fri. 1:30-5 PM
Drop-In Clinic Hours: Wed. 4-6 PM
LSC's pro bono attorneys provide free legal assistance to children and youth.
CORA
P.O. Box 4245
Burlingame, CA 94011
Legal Information Line: (650) 312-8515
24-Hour Hotline: (800) 300-1080
Provides free and confidential emergency, intervention and prevention services to victims of domestic violence.
Family Law Facilitator
http://www.sfgov.org/site/courts_page.asp?id=3790
San Francisco Superior Court
400 McAllister Street, Rm. 009 Lower Lvl.
San Francisco, CA 94102
Recorded Info: (415) 551-3991
Hours: Mon.-Thu. 8:30-12; 1:30-4
The Office of the Family Law Facilitator helps people who do not have private attorneys with child support, spousal support, child custody, divorce, establishing paternity, annulment, and restraining orders.
Self-Help Books
Building a Parenting Agreement that Works, by Mimi Lyster (NoloPress): 2010
[KF547 .Z46 Reference Desk]
Do Your Own California Adoption, by Frank Zagone (Nolo Press): 2003
[KFC1088.Z9 Z3 Reference Desk]
How to Do Your Own Divorce in California: Everything You Need for an Uncontested Divorce of a Marriage or Domestic Partnership: A Guide for Petitioners and Respondents, by Ed Sherman (Nolo Press): 2009
[ Reference Desk]
Prenuptial Agreements, by Katherine Stoner & Shae Irving (NoloPress): 2008
[KF529 .S76 Reference Desk]
Health Law Services
Legal Assistance to the Elderly
995 Market Street, Suite 1400
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: (415) 538-3333
Offers legal advice to persons 60 & older who live in San Francisco and persons 18-59 who are disabled. Call for an appointment.
California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform
650 Harrison Street, Second Floor
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 974-5171
(800) 474-1116
Offers advice on social security benefits, pension rights, lawyer referrals, information on family councils, and information about preventing elder abuse. The website maintains detailed information about every nursing home in California, including information on complaints filed against the nursing home.
California Senior Legal Hotline
http://www.seniorlegalhotline.org/
444 North Third Street, Suite 312
Sacramento, CA 95811
Phone: (800) 222-1753
Provides free legal advice to Californians 60 or older concerning pensions, CalFresh (the program formerly known as food stamps), foreclosure counseling and reverse mortgages.
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
http://www.dredf.org/index.shtml
3075 Adeline Street, Suite 210
Berkeley, CA 94703
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9-5
Phone: (510) 644-2555
REDF takes on very few cases each year. They select cases that will have a substantial impact, either through class action or by furthering disability rights laws. If they cannot take your case they can provide you with referrals to other organizations.
AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP)
1663 Mission Street, Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: (415) 701-1100 (S.F.)
Phone: (510) 451-5353 (Oakland)
e-mail: info@ALRP.org
ALRP serves persons living with HIV disease or AIDS who reside in the San Francisco Bay Area Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano and Sonoma. Referrals address a broad range of legal problems, including health coverage and eviction.
Immigration Legal Services
Asian Law Caucus
http://www.asianlawcaucus.org/
Hours Mon. - Fri. 9 - 5
55 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 896-1701
The Asian Law Caucus was established to promote, advance and represent the legal and civil rights of the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. It focuses on the areas of labor/employment, housing, immigration and immigrant rights, civil rights and hate/violence, and senior rights. Immigration Clinic offered on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
La Raza Centro Legal
474 Valencia Street, Suite 295
San Francisco, CA 94103
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9-12, 1-5
Phone:(415) 575-3500
La Raza Centro Legal provides free legal services, community organizing, and advocacy to low income, indigenous, immigrant, and Latino residents of the San Francisco Bay Area. Employment, housing, immigration, naturalization, senior, and youth law services are provided.
Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach
http://www.apilegaloutreach.org/
1121 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: (415) 567-6255
Offers referral counseling regarding elder abuse, domestic violence & immigration issues by phone or appointment. Counseling available in Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Mandarin & Cantonese.
International Institute of the Bay Area
657 Mission St., Suite 301
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 538-8100
Offers a variety of immigration consultations and legal immigration procedures in such areas as Legal Permanent Residency, Citizenship, Family Visa Petitions, Adjustment of Status, Consular Processing, Family Unity, NACARA (Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act), and TPS (Temporary Protected Status).
Self-Help Books
Fiancé and Marriage Visas: A Couple's Guide to U.S. Immigration, by Ilona Bray (Nolo Press): 2004 [KF4819.6 B73 Reference Desk]
United States Immigration Laws: Working, Living, and Studying in America, by Steven Mukamal(Hein): 1999 [KF4819.6 W54 5th Floor Stacks]
U.S. Immigration and Citizenship: Your Complete Guide, by Allen Wernick (Prima Pub.): 2002 [KF4819.6 W54 5th Floor Stacks]
Last updated April 14, 2011. Originally prepared by Susan Nevelow Mart. Revised and updated by Layna Moysich, Reference Intern.