May 30, 2025

Dear LACBA members and friends -

In the aftermath to the wildfires in January 2025, LACBA launched its on-line library of legal resources and coordinated relief efforts with other bar associations, non-profits and interested parties.  One of our goals in setting up the library was to identify areas where there is a need for pro bono legal assistance and help recruit volunteers to meet this need.  More than five months after the fires, there continues to be an urgent need for volunteers. Please consider volunteering.

Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles (NLSA), one of the primary organizations that has been working directly with impacted communities, has asked for LACBA’s assistance in recruiting pro bono lawyers to address the following two areas of need:

1. Volunteers are needed to assist tenants regarding habitability issues. Many tenants are still unable to move back into their rental units because their homes have not been remediated. Some of these tenants have decided to relocate permanently. Tenants are seeking pro bono assistance with demand letters to their landlords for remediation and return of their security deposits and rent and, if necessary, with representation in lawsuits to recover damages. Training video for tenants’ rights is posted on the LACBA library.
2. Volunteers are needed to provide assistance and advice in in-person FEMA Appeals clinics. The clinics are held at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena twice a month, on Thursdays, from noon to 2 p.m. Training videos regarding FEMA relief are posted on the LACBA library.

If you are interested in volunteering, contact Skip Koenig, Director of Pro Bono at NLSA, at skipkoenig@nlsla.org.

Please check out the library for other volunteer opportunities and spread the word regarding the legal resources posted there. See library here: https://lacba.org/?pg=emergency-resources-library

 

 

 

Sarvenaz Bahar
President, 2024-2025
Los Angeles County Bar Association