Christian Legal Aid of Los Angeles

As we mark the start of the new year, we continue to recognize the dedication of our amazing volunteer attorneys who consistently help low income clients at our monthly CLA-LA Phone Conference Legal Aid Clinics. Ryan Mannix is our first CLA-LA Volunteer Attorney Spotlight of 2021! Ryan is the solo practitioner of "Fallow Field Legal Services" (Hosea 10:12) in Siskiyou County, California (just on the border of Oregon along the 5 freeway). His practice includes criminal defen...se, family law, court appointed dependency, traffic tickets, and everything in between! After graduating from Dartmouth College in 2002, Ryan attended Pepperdine University School of Law and was the first student to complete the joint JD Master of Divinity program He also received a certificate in dispute resolution from Straus Institute. While in law school Ryan met CLA-LA Board President, Terry Steinhart and became involved with our ministry. Ryan drafted the first CLA-LA Legal Aid Manual and gave the opening prayer at the first CLA-LA Prayer Breakfast. Recently, CLA-LA’s telephone conference legal aid clinics necessitated by COVID have given Ryan the ability to participate in the legal aid clinics remotely. He values meeting and encouraging clients. Ryan highlights prayer as the most effective remedy to apply to a legal problem. Thank you Ryan Mannix for your continued support of our mission and ministry to provide free legal services to low income clients!

We continue to recognize the dedication of our amazing volunteer attorneys who consistently help low income clients at our monthly CLA-LA Phone Conference Legal Aid Clinics. This month we are featuring John Chou in our CLA-LA Volunteer Attorney Spotlight! Mr. Chou is a licensed attorney and practicing urgent care physician. Motivated to utilize his medical and legal expertise to assist others, in 1992 Mr. Chou established his law firm, John S Chou, MD, JD & Associates. The go...al is to use insights in both medical and legal fields to better resolve medicolegal problems. Mr. Chou specializes in medical negligence, personal injury and healthcare law. He represents clients who suffer injury from medical malpractice committed by healthcare professionals, injury from automobile accidents, and other personal injury matters. Mr. Chou also serves as a Judge Pro Tem for Small Claims and Traffic Court. Mr. Chou graduated from UCLA with a B.S. Degree in Biochemistry and received his M.D. degree from the University of Illinois, Chicago. His post-doctoral training was at U.S.C. Medical Center. Mr. Chou later graduated from Loyola Law School. Thank you John Chou for your continued support of our mission and ministry to provide free legal services to low income clients!

This is the season for giving so please consider a donation to Christian Legal Aid of Los Angeles this Giving Tuesday, Dec 1. Our clients need our free legal counseling now more than ever. Legal crises do not take the holidays off and CLA-LA needs your help to continue to provide such services! To give, please click on the link. http://www.cla-la.org/donate.html Blessed is he who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him.... Psalm 41: 1-3.... May you and yours receive the gifts of Love, Peace and God's grace this holiday season. From all of us at Christian Legal Aid of Los Angeles

CLA-LA Volunteer Attorney Spotlight! We continue to recognize the dedication of our amazing volunteer attorneys who consistently help low income clients at our monthly CLA-LA Phone Conference Legal Aid Clinics. This month we are featuring Lauren McAllister in our CLA-LA Volunteer Attorney Spotlight! Ms. McAllister is passionate about family law and providing the highest level of representation to clients. Ms. McAllister recently passed the Certified Family Law Specialist Ex...am and is awaiting final certification from the California Board of Legal Specialization, which she expects to receive later in 2020. She has extensive litigation and negotiation experience in all aspects of Family Law, including restraining orders, child and spousal support, custody and visitation, and property division. Ms. McAllister is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Santa Clarita Valley Bar Association, and San Fernando Valley Bar Association. She also provides pro bono legal services as a volunteer attorney for Christian Legal Aid. Ms. McAllister graduated summa cum laude from California State University, Northridge with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, minoring in English Literature. She attended law school at Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, where she graduated cum laude. In addition to her J.D., Lauren received her Certificate in Dispute Resolution and her Certificate in Criminal Legal Practice. She also served as an Executive Editor of the Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal. Outside of work, Ms. McAllister enjoys Scuba Diving and travel, both domestic and international. She has a special love of London, England, where she spent her study abroad during law school. She volunteers as the Webmaster for a local dive club in her free time. Thank you Lauren McAllister for your continued support of our mission and ministry to provide free legal services to low income clients!

CLA-LA Volunteer Attorney Spotlight: Suzette Douglas-Butler is a bankruptcy and debt solutions attorney who helps individuals and small businesses get rid of debt and stop collection activity. She is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and has a BA in English & Psychology from the University of Michigan. Suzette has been practicing law for over 29 years. She believes that what sets her apart from other attorneys is first and foremost, her love for God and her clients and second, her skills, knowledge, and experience. She also believes the practice of law is not just a profession but a calling to help those in need.

SAVE THE DATE! 14th Annual Christian Legal Aid of Los Angeles Prayer Non Breakfast Video Event. Saturday Morning, November 7, 2020. Keynote Speaker: Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer, Senior Pastor of Faithful Central Bible Church.

A HUGE thank you to our amazing volunteer attorneys for helping low income clients with legal matters this weekend at our remote pro bono legal aid clinic! We appreciate you and thank you for your support of our ministry!

Sadly, the elderly are being hit from multiple fronts during this coronavirus pandemic. Not only are they the most susceptible to contracting the virus, the social isolation leads to greater loneliness, makes it harder for them to get needed help, and makes them more susceptible to physical abuse and financial manipulation. Legal aid for seniors is now needed more than ever to combat various forms of abuse, scams, and injustices, as well as to assist with a host of general legal needs such as wills, powers of attorney, medical directives, and government benefits. CLA-LA is here to provide free legal assistance to our low income seniors. For more information, please contact our office at (323) 319-3559.

We are beyond excited to share that this year Christian Legal Aid of Los Angeles hosted the second largest CLA-LA Summer Internship Program in the history of the organization! We were blessed with 17 amazing legal interns from schools throughout Southern California, including several international students. They gained valuable insight into the work we do at CLA-LA in providing free legal advice and counsel to low income clients in our communities. The summer legal interns participated in our pro bono legal clinics, legal webinars, engaged in group discussions about social justice, and presented policy proposals to eliminate the justice gap. Additionally, they were introduced to prominent members of the legal community.