News and Events

 

The Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center Extends a Cordial Invitation to its Annual Celebration

September 4, 2009

 

The KGACLC is holding its annual Community, Commitment and Courage Celebration on October 1, 2009.

 

Each year, the KGACLC takes advantage of this opportunity to recognize exemplary firms and individuals who help the Community Law Center accomplish its dual mission of educating law students and serving the community with competence, conscience and compassion. Read about this year’s honorees and winners of the Community, Commitment and Courage awards.

 

Since 1992, the Community Law Center has been the merging point for the many communities it serves. Every semester, the practical experience that law students gain at the KGACLC gives them the tools they need to launch successful legal careers upon graduation. At the same time, the Community Law Center’s clients receive legal assistance of the highest caliber thanks to its students and its regionally and even nationally-recognized attorneys. The Community Law Centers offers legal services in the areas of Consumer Rights, Debtors’ Rights, Workers’ Rights and Immigration. All of its services are free. You may find additional information on the KGACLC website.

 

Come join the Community Law Center on October 1st at the Adobe Lodge, on the Santa Clara University campus. As is tradition, winners of the Relaxation Packages will be announced at the end of the program.

 

 

Alexander Community Law Center Reaches Thousands in Bay Area Through Radio Partnership

June 10, 2009

 

The Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center (KGACLC) in partnership with KLOK-AM, reaches thousands of Spanish-speaking Bay Area residents with general legal information. Twice a month during the early morning commute, Celina Rodriguez, Host and Executive Producer of the NOTICIAS Y MAS CON CELINA RODRIGUEZ (News and More) show, elicits basic information from a Law Center representative in the areas of Consumer Rights, Workers' Rights and Immigration. Ms. Rodriguez, also the owner and CEO of Rodriguez Media Productions, is a well-known media personality with a long history and an established reputation as an organizer and supporter of the Latino Community. Thanks to her generous donation of prime air time during her show, thousands of people learn about their basic rights throughout all the Bay Area counties and those in the Central Valley. KLOK is the largest Spanish-speaking radio station in Northern California, reaching between 1.5 and 1.7 million listeners daily. Read more...

 

 

 

 

 

 

KGACLC Alumnus Sends a Strong Message with a $500,000 Consumer Protection Verdict

April 13, 2009

 

On April 3rd, Balam Letona, a 2003 Santa Clara Law alum, secured a $500,000 jury verdict in a debt collection harassment trial. The award is one of the highest ever reported for such a case.

 

While at SCU, Letona was a student at the Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center (KGACLC), where he represented low-income residents in consumer disputes. Letona credited his time at the KGACLC as his source of inspiration to focus on consumer law after graduation from Santa Clara. "I hope collectors around the country will take notice of this verdict” said Letona "and spare consumers from the kind of grief the Faustos had to endure”. Read more...

 

 

 

 

 

 

The KGACLC Welcomes Armenian Legal Contingent

April 8, 2009

 

A group of American law professors and attorneys visited the Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center (KGACLC) on March 26th as part of their visit to Santa Clara University School of Law and other legal institutions in California. Their 10-day tour was part of an effort to explore the benefits of legal clinical work as an integral part of the education of future attorneys in Armenia.

 

The contingent included faculty members from Yerevan State University, "Progress” University of Gyumri and the head of Syunik Society Development Center in Armenia. Gavar State University and "Progress” University of Gyumri are part of the Legal Clinical Project (LCP), an effort launched in 2001 by The Armenian Representative Office of the American Bar Association. Through their participation in LCP, these universities encourage their students to "provide legal aid to poor members of their communities.” The LCP follows a model that is similar to the KGACLC’s. According to Liana Haroyan, an attorney from Yerevan University, "students work under the close supervision of clinical attorneys and are encouraged to identify and pursue their own learning goals while providing essential representation to a wide range of clients. Students become counselors, mediators, litigators, and educators as they learn to apply the legal knowledge they have gained in law school to their clients' diverse concerns.”  Read more...

 

KGACLC Student Makes a Difference for Asylum Seeker

February 26, 2009

 

David Major, a 3L Santa Clara Law School student, successfully represented an African man who was imprisoned by his government and tortured for over a year on account of his religious beliefs and practices. The case involved many hours of research and preparation. As a result of David’ s hard work and dedication, the Immigration Judge granted political asylum to the client and to the client’s minor daughter. The client will be able to bring his wife and other children to the United States, where they will be able to practice their religious beliefs without fear of persecution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KGACLC Receives Commendation From the City of San José

January 28, 2009

 

The City of San José honored the Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center (KGACLC) during the city’s January 27th Council Meeting. Mayor Chuck Reed, through the recommendation of Councilmember Nora Campos, awarded a plaque to Professor Angelo Ancheta, the Community Law Center’s Director.

 

The award recognized the KGACLC 15th anniversary, in the course of which the Law Center has labored to "provide pro-bono advice and representation to hundreds of individuals, utilizing Santa Clara law students under attorney supervision [and] affecting social change to improve the lives of low-income individuals.”

 

Accompanied by KGACLC staff members Marisol Escalera and Sergio Lopez, Professor Ancheta accepted the award on behalf of the Law Center and Santa Clara University, and underlined the KGACLC’s crucial participation in providing free legal services to those in need. He also stressed the Law Center’s unique role as a springboard for socially-conscious attorneys who contribute to their own communities by acting with competence, conscience and compassion.

 

 

KGACLC Students Negotiate $88,000 Settlement

February 6, 2008

 

Workers’ Rights students at the Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center recently negotiated an $88,000 settlement for their client. The client, a low-income, produce delivery driver worked six days per week, eleven hours per day for nearly four years, earning $400 per week. The client, Mr. L, attended the Worker’s Rights Clinic in early 2005 seeking one week of vacation pay. The clinic student identified claims for overtime, meal periods and rest breaks, and referred the case to the students in the litigation skills class for representation. Kevin Metti (’06), a Skills I student, calculated the compensation due and filed a claim for $60,000 in unpaid wages. Jacquetta M. Lannan (’06) represented Mr. L in settlement negotiations during which the employer refused to pay more than a nominal amount to resolve the claim. Thereafter, a hearing was held before the Labor Commission, resulting in an award of $77,000 in wages, penalties and interest.

 

The employer appealed the decision to the Superior Court, where students Tumara Dew (‘07), Sara Dabkowski, 3L, and Cody Knight, 3L, tried Mr. L’s case. After a day of trial in March 2007, Judge Marc Poche issued his judgment in favor of Mr. L in the amount of $82,000.

 

The employer responded with a Motion to Vacate Judgment. JR Bagnas, 2L, prepared the Community Law Center ’s response to the motion. When the court denied the employer’s motion, the employer then filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal for the Sixth District.

 

Cody Knight prepared and filed a cross-appeal and managed the case as the record on appeal was prepared and transferred to the Court of Appeal. Mike Wahlander, 3L, joined the case to write the opening brief for the cross-appeal, while Cody drafted the response to Appellant’s Opening Brief. As they began their brief-writing, the employer re-opened settlement negotiations. Over a period of three weeks in December 2007, Cody negotiated a settlement agreement in the amount of $88,000.

 

Most recently, Mike Wahlander has been preparing documents to formally conclude the case. When he met with Mr. L at the Community Law Center this week, Mr. L was effusive in his expressions of gratitude for the services he received from the staff and students of the Center. The KGACLC will receive $13,000 in attorney fees.

 

Congratulations to all the students, volunteer attorneys and Law Center staff who helped bring this case to a successful conclusion for the KGACLC’s client.