News

“I am honored to lead EBCLC as we work in partnership with our clients to navigate and disrupt the legal system, and to reimagine justice.”

Long before I joined EBCLC’s Community Economic Justice Clinic as a law student advocate, my great-uncle Alexander Hoffman, who we called “Sascha”, was showing the East Bay what true community lawyering looks like.  Sascha was an activist attorney in Berkeley during the 1960s, representing the demonstrators who opposed the House Un-American Activities Committee and the […]

Kathryn Seligman was raised by politically active parents who nurtured her lifelong commitment to work for social justice and against systematic discrimination—values she passed on to her son, Matthew Bedrick.

Low-Income Californians Get Protection From Debt Collectors Trying to Clean Out Their Bank Account.

Three years ago, during Brandon Greene’s first week working as a lawyer in a new clinic affiliated with the East Bay Community Law Center, he was handed a stack of cases to review. Each involved a client who was struggling to pay down the fines and fees that easily accumulate in California’s criminal justice system. It was his job to help. A handful of the cases were so old that he couldn’t find current contact information for the clients. He quickly realized that “some of those folks,” even if he did reach them, “could not get back on their feet at all”  because of their debt. “The folks who were being affected were mostly indigent,” he said. “Everything costs money. Every program costs money. And a lot of folks can’t afford to pay these things.”

Theresa Zhen, a staff attorney at the East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley, who is helping coordinate the advocacy effort for SB144, is already declaring victory. “The fact that even the opposition to the bill admits that it’s philosophically right is huge,” she said. “We’re finally having the real conversation: that courts have been built on the backs of the poor.”

The Health & Welfare Practice of the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) seeks an attorney for a temporary full-time position as a Staff Attorney to provide direct legal services to low-income individuals and to assist with the training and supervision of law student interns.

The ideal candidate is a strong legal advocate with excellent case management and organizational skills, experience in public benefits advocacy, interest in training law students, a passion for working with low-income people, and is committed to furthering the mission for social justice. We strongly encourage individuals from traditionally underrepresented communities to apply.

EBCLC is a non-profit legal services organization and the community-based clinical program for Berkeley Law School. We are committed to increasing justice through education and advocacy, as well as building a culturally diverse workplace centered on equity.

With over 70 staff, 150 law students, and an $8 Million annual budget, EBCLC is the largest provider of free legal advocacy in Alameda County, providing multimodal, collaborative, and holistic legal services to over 5,000 clients yearly. EBCLC supports is ground-level legal advocacy through legislative and policy advocacy at the local and state level.

Founded in 1988 by Berkeley Law students, the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) is the largest non-profit provider of free legal services in Alameda County, serving more than 5,000 clients each year delivering client-centered, community-driven and culturally-responsive services and engaging in legislative and policy advocacy.

We use legal and administrative strategies to mitigate the impact of inequitable and unjust systems on low-income individuals, families, and communities, while advocating for systemic change at the local and state level. EBCLC’s ability to address a wide range of substantive legal issues, including housing, health, immigration, consumer and court debt, community economic development, juvenile defense, school expulsion, and community reentry, enables us to build a more healthy, secure, productive, and hopeful community.

In addition to our legal advocacy work, EBCLC functions as a law school teaching hospital, serving as the community clinic for Berkeley Law and preparing over 150 law students every year to become skilled and principled advocates committed to finding innovative solutions to the causes and conditions of poverty.

Over our 30+ year history, we have grown to a staff of more than 70, organized in eight legal clinics within five broad program areas, with an $8 million annual budget, two office locations, and a deeply supportive and engaged Board of Directors.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

The Executive Assistant provides administrative support to EBCLC’s Executive Director. The position requires a good humored and extremely organized individual with excellent judgment and discretion, strong writing skills, a flexible and proactive attitude, and a commitment to EBCLC’s mission: To promote justice and build a community that is more secure, productive, healthy, and hopeful. The Executive Assistant reports to the Executive Director.