LASOC provides civil legal services to low-income individuals and promotes equal access to the justice system through advocacy, legal counseling, innovative self-help services, in-depth legal representation, economic development and community education. LASOC provides assistance in the following areas of law: family, protection from abuse, consumer protection, housing, health care, taxes, public benefits, and work. In 1984, LASOC successfully bid for a competitive grant which led to the expansion of its service area to include 18 cities in southeast Los Angeles County, where it is known as Community Legal Services (CLS). The service areas of CLS include 18 cities in southeast Los Angeles County. CLS has an office in the City of Compton and one in the City of Norwalk. LASOC was founded in 1958 by a group of local attorneys (with volunteer assistance from a group that was then known as Lawyers Wives) to respond to the needs of the County’s poor and elderly.