This summer, I’m interning at the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, a nonprofit organization that seeks to assist San Diego County residents and provide free legal representation, advice, and information. As the right to an attorney does not exist in legal cases, many litigants have to navigate complicated processes and forms, which can make it much more difficult for them to achieve their desired result in a case than parties with an attorney. The LASSD seeks to bridge that gap. The goal of the self-help clinics is not to provide representation, but to make the civil legal system more accessible for litigants.

Beyond the self-help clinics, the LASSD helps the San Diego community in various ways. The organization hosts monthly Civil Appellate Self Help Workshops, to help litigants file appeals in San Diego. LASSD also has a Consumer Protection and Bankruptcy team, which helps low-income San Diegans with business disputes—including student loans. The Education Rights team helps students with disabilities and their families ensure access to education. LASSD also connects community members with various emergency resources as well as resources to stay housed, and resources for those facing domestic violence. 

As an intern on the Pro Bono team, I work out of four different self-help clinics throughout San Diego County, assisting pro se litigants with filling out form-based pleadings. I help clinic participants request temporary restraining orders, answer eviction actions, petition the court for name or gender marker changes, and file ex parte (that is, an action filed by one party) requests to stay a lockout. 

Entering this summer, I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of help I would be able to provide. How can I assist someone with their unlawful detainer answer, when I learned what the term unlawful detainer meant at the internship itself? (“Unlawful Detainer” is the legal term for an eviction case in California.) The learning curve was steep — even with helpful training resources, the best way (for me at least) to learn something is by doing it. 

As I continued working I noticed at the most general level, a lot of the work I do at the clinics is work that I am familiar with. When conducting interviews with participants or reading through evidence, I am issue spotting, whether that be determining what restraining order best matches the relationship between protected and restrained parties, or determining what defenses a participant can use if their pay or quit notice was improperly served. 

Working at the LASSD also allows me to put my research skills into practice. Currently, I am researching a specific type of elder abuse restraining orders, which allow interested parties to sue for access to an isolated elder or adult. The goal of these restraining orders is to prevent elder or dependent adult abuse via isolation, and allow those with a prior relationship to the elder or dependent adult to remain in contact with them. 

My time at the LASSD has been extremely interesting. Every day at the clinics is different, and brings new questions to navigate. Furthermore, working at the clinics, it is clear the positive impact legal aid organizations have. While many of the problems LASSD aids clinic participants with have no easy fix, self-help clinics can empower residents to assert their legal rights in a given situation. For example, filing a restraining order allows participants to take an active role in ensuring their own safety, and filing an answer to an eviction case can mean an extra month in one’s home, providing valuable time to find a new residence. Working at the LASSD underscores the ways in which helping people on the individual level can create large positive changes in a community over time.

Samantha Torre is a 1L student at BC Law. Contact her at torrs@bc.edu.