About LAAC

The Legal Aid Association of California (LAAC) is the statewide membership organization of nonprofit organizations that provide legal services to California's indigent and underrepresented communities. LAAC was founded by a group of legal services programs in the early 1980s, in response to a community-wide resolution that a statewide legal services organization was needed to help programs collaborate and coordinate on issues of mutual concern.  LAAC was created to be an active voice in the need for legal services funding, to provide a forum for legal services program to coordinate activities, and to provide training for legal services advocates. 

LAAC provides vital services to legal services program and individual frontline advocates in the areas of: advocacy, training, and statewide coordination.

Each year LAAC undertakes a variety of advocacy efforts on behalf of the legal services community, including legislative work on issues affecting access to justice, amicus briefs on cases that would affect the delivery of legal services, and on-going work voicing the need for additional funding for legal services. LAAC's advocacy efforts at the end of 2005 and in early 2006, included: Cash On Hand advocacy with the IOLTA Commission; legislative hearing testimony on the need for additional funding; and work with the Bench Bar Coalition on access issues.

Every year LAAC organizes high-quality trainings for legal services staff around the state on issues that are relevant to legal services practice. In 2005, those trainings included the highly successful Pathways to Justice Conference in collaboration with the State Bar of California, the Sacramento Traveling Training, the Trial Skills Training in conjunction with the Public Interest Clearinghouse, and two well-attended meetings of the Directors of Litigation and Advocacy. 

The 2006-2007 calendar includes:

• Traveling Trainings in Fresno (Spring) and the San Diego/Inland Empire area (Fall)
• Meetings of the Directors of Litigation and Advocacy ( Los Angeles on February 2nd and 3rd, and San Francisco in the Fall)
• A statewide Family Law Conference, in coordination with the Administrative Office of the Courts.

LAAC also exists to help individual legal services programs work together to form a cohesive, effective, and holistic legal services delivery system.  In 2005, the CALegalAdvocates.org website was created to facilitate an on-line community serving legal services and pro bono advocates around the state. The site enables legal aid advocated, pro bono attorneys, and law students to share information, access training opportunities, and match pro bono needs with volunteer attorneys throughout California.

LAAC's statewide coordination work also includes the following:

• Annual Awards of Merit, to acknowledge and honor the work of leaders in the legal services field.
• Work to Support Law Students interested in public interest and legal services.

For more information, visit LAAC's website: www.CALegalAdvocates.org