A Message from Board Chairman Robert A. Goodin

Supporting Bay Area Legal Aid gives you the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of Bay Area residents most in need. Through our free services, even the poorest person can access legal information and representation, often resulting in employment training, needed healthcare, housing, or protection from violence. In fact, with help from committed individuals like you, nearly 20,000 men, women, and children received assistance last year.

A gift to BayLegal is an important way to improve our legal system by providing services to those who cannot afford representation. Each year thousands of Bay Area residents face homelessness, hunger, domestic violence, and lack of basic health care. A simple phone call or letter from a legal advocate on behalf of a client can solve many of these challenges. Some clients, however, face hurdles requiring more extensive legal help such as obtaining restraining orders to protect themselves or fighting illegal evictions.

BayLegal is the primary legal services program in the Bay Area with full-time professional poverty law expertise. Our staff takes on the cases that are too difficult, complex, and lengthy for pro bono legal assistance programs. They are cases that require intimate familiarity with complicated Social Security regulations, public housing rules, and other specialized laws. They are cases that demand an understanding of the unique problems clients face because of their poverty.

In addition to serving individual clients, BayLegal trains and provides extensive technical assistance to pro bono attorneys, police officers, district attorneys, judges, and many other members of the justice system on prevention and awareness. Local government officials routinely call on our staff for policy analysis and recommendations.

Many community-based groups, ranging from battered women's shelters to senior citizens' programs, turn to BayLegal for information and training. They also refer their clients to BayLegal on a daily basis. They know that from providing relief from domestic violence to preventing homelessness through the legal process of the courts, our advocates will help clients solve their complex web of poverty-related problems.

Please join me by becoming our Partner in Justice. Generous gifts to our annual Partners in Justice Campaign help BayLegal carry out its mission to ensure equal access to justice for all. We hope you will support an institution that is a critical resource for the Bay Area's low-income community. Thank you in advance for your help.

-Robert A. Goodin
Chair, Bay Area Legal Aid Board of Directors