LAFLA can provide emergency legal help to low-income people in Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Santa Monica, especially concerning housing eviction and domestic abuse.

If you need immediate legal assistance and cannot find help by following these links, call the LAFLA hotline at (800) 399-4529. However, much of the information is provided on the following pages.

Please be advised that we do not handle criminal, most civil disputes, or fee-generating cases.

To determine eligibility for our services, please be prepared to provide information about your legal problem, income, assets, people in your household, and race. You must also be either:

1. A U.S. citizen; or
2. A lawful permanent resident; or
3. A non-citizen who is married to a U.S. citizen, is the parent of a a U.S. citizen, or is the unmarried child of a U.S. citizen and has filed an application such as a visa petition, application for adjustment, cancellation of removal, or suspension of deportation or an I-360 under VAWA; or
4. A non-citizen who has been abused by a spouse or a parent.

Other legal services organizations serve residents in Compton, Pasadena, Glendale, Norwalk, or the San Fernando or San Gabriel Valleys. To get contact information for other legal services, click here.

Please follow these links if you need immediate legal assistance for:

Community Economic Development including representation of a nonprofit organization, development of housing, or other transactions.

Consumer Law problems such as vocational school fraud, a problem with a contract, loan, purchase, unfair sales or banking practice, debt collection, debt consolidation, repossession, wage garnishment, or homeownership issues such as foreclosure, home improvement loan problems, and liens placed against your home.

Employment Law issues including wage-claim disputes, unfair dismissal, and unemployment.

Family Law including custody, visitation, support or spousal abuse.

Government Benefits including AFDC, CalWorks, Social Security, SSI, Medi-Cal, Food Stamps, welfare, healthcare or General Relief.

Housing and Eviction Defense problems including disputes with your landlord or an eviction matter.

Immigration issues and rights of aliens.

Asian Pacific Islander for dealing with any of the above problems with someone who speaks Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin, or Cambodian.

Santa Monica for dealing with any of the above problems if you are a Santa Monica resident.

Criminal Cases
LAFLA does not handle criminal cases. However, we do provide assistance to low-income residents concerning:

• Expunging or sealing criminal records
• Filing for compensation from the State of California fund for Victims of Violent Crime
• Police misconduct

Please call (800) 399-4529 to speak to an intake screener.

If you are an indigent defendant in a criminal case, you will be assigned a public defender at your first court appearance. If you can afford to pay for an attorney, please call the LA County Bar Lawyer Referral Service at (213) 243-1525. For recorded information regarding criminal matters call the information line of the Los Angeles County Bar at (213) 243-1500.

Mediation/Dispute Resolution
LAFLA must set set priorities in the cases it handles, and we therefore cannot handle every civil dispute. Some matters are most efficiently handled through mediation, which is a way of resolving disputes through mutual agreement. For information, call the Dispute Resolution Program Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney at (213) 485-8324. You may also try the Center for Dispute Resolution at Loyola Law School at (213) 736-1145, the Martin Luther King Center for Dispute Resolution at (213) 290-4132, or the Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center (APADRC) at (213) 250-8190.

Fee-Generating Cases
LAFLA does not handle fee-generating matters such as personal injury, medical malpractice, or auto accidents. To obtain referrals to attorneys in private practice, please contact the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service at (213) 243-1525.

If you have spoken with an attorney and have been told that your claims are worth less than $500 or if you have not been able to convince an attorney to take your case, you may want to call the Small Claims Court Advisor at (213) 974-9766 or go to the courthouse nearest you for information about suing in Small Claims Court. The Small Claims Court is designed for people who are not attorneys and do not have attorneys.

State Bar of California
The State Bar of California is the organization that regulates the practice of law in California. It also investigates complaints against lawyers. Contact the state bar at (213) 765-1000.

Other Legal Services Contact Information

Compton
Community Legal Services
725 W. Rosecrans Ave.
Compton, CA 90222
Tel: (310) 638-5524
Website: www.legal-aid.com

Norwalk
Community Legal Services
11834 E. Firestone Blvd.
Norwalk, CA 90650
Tel: (562) 864-9935
Appointment hotline: (800) 834-5001

San Fernando Valley, Antelope Valley, San Gabriel Valley, Glendale, Pasadena, Pomona
Neighborhood Legal Services of L.A. County
13327 Van Nuys Blvd.
Pacoima, CA 91331
Tel: (818) 896-5211