Emergency Help

EN ESPAÑOL

• If you are a victim of domestic violence, please call (800) 399-4529 or visit one of our Domestic Violence Courthouse Clinics located in downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica or Long Beach. You may also visit one of our four Self Help Legal Access Centers.
• If you are facing eviction, please call our Housing/Eviction Defense Center at (800) 399-4529. For Long Beach residents, please call the Housing Line at (800) 399-4529.
• If you are in danger of losing your home due to Foreclosure, please call our Consumer Law Unit at (800) 399-4529.
• If you are facing deportation, please call our Immigration Law Unit at (800) 399-4529.
• If you are in danger of losing your Government Benefits, please call (800) 399-4529.
• Note: For Santa Monica residents only, please click for a full listing of services, or call their Intake Line at (310) 899-6200.

For Long Beach & Harbor area residents click here for a full listing of services.

LAFLA’s Self Help Legal Access Centers

LAFLA operates Self Help Legal Access Centers in Inglewood, Long Beach, Santa Monica and Torrance. The Centers are walk-in clinics that offer individuals who are representing themselves legal information, assistance in preparing legal forms, guidance on a variety of civil matters, including evictions, divorces and paternity actions, and civil harassment. Referrals to private attorneys or legal services programs are provided as needed.

Monday-Thursday: 9:00 a.m.-12 noon and 1:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m. The Inglewood Center opens at 8:30 a.m. The Centers are closed on the 3rd Wednesday of each month.

Friday: 9:00 a.m.-12 noon only.

Inglewood Courthouse 1 East Regent St., Room 107 Inglewood, CA 90301 Long Beach Courthouse 415 W. Ocean Blvd., Room 505 Long Beach, CA 90802

Santa Monica Courthouse 1725 Main St., Room 210 Santa Monica, CA 904 01 Torrance Courthouse 825 Maple Ave., Room 160 Torrance, CA 90503

Please be advised that we do not handle criminal, most civil disputes, or fee-generating cases. However, we do provide assistance to low-income residents concerning:

• Filing for compensation from the State of California fund for Victims of Violent Crime

For recorded information regarding criminal matters call the Los Angeles County Bar at (213) 243-1500.

Legal Services

Asian & Pacific Islander Services: Comprehensive legal services for monolingual clients who speak Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Japanese.

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.

Housing & Eviction Defense: Disputes with your landlord or an eviction matter.

Family Law: Domestic violence, child custody & visitation, child abduction, child support.

Employment Law: Wage-claim disputes, unfair dismissal, unemployment benefits.

Government Benefits: CalWorks, Social Security, SSI, Medi-Cal, food stamps, welfare, healthcare or General Relief.

Immigration Law: Naturalization, human trafficking, torture victims, deportation.

Community Economic Development: Environment/land use, community benefits agreements, 501 (C)(3), small business development.

Please also click on the Immediate Help and Resources & Referrals links in each legal area for additional services..

Mediation/Dispute Resolution

You may call any of the following agencies for assistance:

• Dispute Resolution Program Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney
  at (213) 485-8324.
• Center for Dispute Resolution at Loyola Law School at (213) 736-1145.
• Martin Luther King Center for Dispute Resolution at (213) 290-4132.
• Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center at (213) 250-8190.

Referrals for Private Attorneys, Small Claims Court

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.