When you finalize your next class action settlement agreement, please consider the Legal Aid Association of California (LAAC).
If you name LAAC as a recipient of your cy pres residual funds, you will strengthen the whole legal aid sector in providing help when it’s needed most.
LAAC is dedicated to advancing justice for underserved communities across California. As the statewide membership organization for nonprofits that provide free legal services to low-income people, seniors, and people with disabilities, LAAC supports the legal safety net. We work to secure funding, encourage collaboration between organizations, and facilitate communication. We also coordinate private lawyers, legal academics, and court partners on access to justice issues.
LAAC member organizations provide legal assistance on a broad array of substantive issues, ranging from general poverty law to civil rights to immigration, and also serve a wide range of low-income and vulnerable populations.
With cy pres awards, we will:
- Increase access to justice for low-income Californians
- Expand LawHelpCA.org, the statewide civil legal resource and legal aid referral website, visited by over 20,000 users each month
- Provide training for legal aid attorneys
- Fund summer law student fellowships to work in rural California
The efforts of our small, dedicated staff regularly generate oversized impact.
Since 2016, our advocacy has resulted in over $50 million in funding to provide services to victims of crime and over $400 million in new funding for general civil legal aid.
Resources
- Template language to use in your agreement (Google Docs)
- Template language to use in your agreement (Microsoft Word)
For more information about designating LAAC as your recipient, contact LAAC’s Executive Director, Salena Copeland, at scopeland@laaconline.org.