News from the 2d DCA pro bono clinic

Appellate specialist Tyna Orren provides the following news about the 2d District's pro bono Appellate Self-Help Clinic, run with the Court, Public Counsel. and LACBA's Appellate Courts Section:

General Clinic News

The Clinic operates in the Court of Appeal’s Conference Center. We are open most Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. the last Wednesday of each month.  We assist approximately 12 self-represented litigants each full day of operation (6 on the half days). We could help more litigants if we had more lawyers; we always end up needing to turn away from 3 to 5 people who need help.   Thus, one of the many ways to get involved is to spend a Wednesday morning or afternoon or both helping out.

You Can Get Involved

“Post-mortems” after the October brief writing clinics (see below) indicated that the project was successful, so the Clinic and the Law Library will be experimenting with offering the clinics on an ongoing monthly basis. 

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS.  We have tentatively scheduled clinics for Friday, January 12, 2018 and Friday, February 9, 2018. It would be great if we could have six volunteers for each session.  Volunteers will be provided with a brief template for the litigants to use, and with hints on the aspects of briefing that are most important to cover with lay brief writers.  Also, based on something learned from experience at the October clinics, all of the participating litigants will have been pre-screened through the Appellate Self-Help Clinic to ensure that each one is really ready to begin drafting a brief. 

PLEASE CONTACT ME (Tyna.Orren@OrrenLaw.com or 626-793-7989) if you’re interested in starting off the new year with an interesting new challenge by participating in this new Clinic venture.

Congratulations, Sarvenaz Bahar!

Sarvenaz just obtained a published writ of mandate (Rhue v. Superior Court, ___Cal.App.5th___ [2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 1046]) in behalf of a Clinic patron. The patron appealed from an adverse judgment; there was no court reporter at the determinative hearing, so the patron, with the Clinic’s assistance, moved in the trial court to use a settled statement.  The trial court denied the motion. Representing the litigant pro bono through Public Counsel, Sarvenaz sought and obtained a peremptory writ of mandate in which Division Seven (1) directed the trial court to prepare a settled statement, and (2) explained in detail why a settled statements is positively required where there was no court reporter.

Thanks, Barry Wolf, Richard Nakamura, Michelle Peña, Marc Poster and Joseph Watson!

Barry has undertaken, pro bono through Public Counsel, the representation of a Clinic patron whose employment case was dismissed after the client’s attorney, who was disbarred while the case was pending, abandoned the case without telling the client.  Best of success, Barry, in getting this seemingly meritorious action reinstated!

Richard, Michelle, Marc and Joseph undertook the daunting task of helping a group of self-represented litigants prepare appellate briefs. The assistance was offered at a brief writing clinic co-sponsored by the Appellate Self-Help Clinic and the Los Angeles County Law Library during the Library’s Pro Bono week in October.