Ten years ago, when Santa Clara law students decided to use their legal skills to help their community, they could not anticipate the tremendous success of their efforts. Today, their vision, represented by the East San José Community Law Center (aka, Santa Clara University Community Law Center) touches the lives of thousands of clients in the Valley who could not otherwise obtain legal representation. At the same time, as a result of an evolving relationship with Santa Clara University’s Law School, the Law Center has become a practical training ground for the law students who serve the Center’s clients under the supervision of expert attorneys. As a way to acknowledge this 10-year milestone, it seems fitting to celebrate the efforts of the many individuals who participated and continue to participate in the success of the Law Center.
The Law Center finds its beginning in 1993, when a number of SCU’s La Raza law students decided to add practice to theory for the benefit of their community and their own education. Ruben Pizarro, a second-year law student at the time, recalls sitting right next to Professor Jim Hammer during a La Raza event. Having expressed his dismay at the theoretical nature of his curriculum, Ruben found a good ally in Professor Hammer, then a Jesuit with a very practical commitment to the community. “We had a passion to serve and our legal training gave us the tools to help those in need,” recalls Ruben. Sandra Pizarro, his sister and also a law student at the time, agrees: “We wanted law school to have more meaning for us. We wanted to help real people with real problems.” They did not have to look hard or far to realize that East San José, with its concentration of day workers, could use their legal expertise. After some initial planning, Jim Hammer, the Pizarros and other students ventured to the former Home Base do-it-yourself store on Story and King, to speak to the workers in the store’s parking lot. “It took a while for them to feel comfortable with us, but eventually they opened up and started sharing their problems,” remembers Sandra. The case of workers José O., Ricardo V., and Nehemias S. was a typical one. For weeks they laid tile, poured cement, built kitchen cabinets, but at the end were not compensated for their hard work. Under the supervision of SCU Law Professor Eric Wright, the students were able to recover their unpaid salaries in the amount of $1,110.00 each.
The students’ first break came that same year, when Sister Mary McCusker of Most Holy Trinity Parish helped to set up a Day Workers’ Job Center in a former bakery in the historic Tropicana Center, on Story and King. Suddenly, the students had a place where they could offer their valuable expertise. Their initial success, however, soon revealed a need for an operational budget and a more structured relationship with SCU’s Law School, their source of legal supervision. Professor Hammer and the students approached Professors Eric and Nancy Wright. The Wrights immediately saw the potential for the students and the community in a viable Law Center. On the academic front, they started offering credit to those students involved in the Center. On the financial side, the Wrights approached two major sources of funds. “We had never put together a grant proposal, but selling the idea was easy because the concept was so good,” recalls Professor Eric Wright. The Wrights’ work paid off when the California Department of Education and the Legal Services Corporation approved grants of over $200,000 for the Law Center. “We could not believe it. We actually got both grants; we were ecstatic!” remembers Professor Nancy Wright.
The money was put to use immediately to pay the rent of badly needed office space, and to hire two attorneys, a law fellow, and an office manager. So, on its second anniversary, the Law Center moved to its new location on 1765 Alum Rock, still in the heart of East San José. Kristin Nevarez, then a second-year student, recalls the transition: “The place was in horrible condition, but we decided that it was not going to interfere with our work.” Sandra agrees: “It was hard work, but it was exciting. We all became painters, found some donated furniture, and fixed up the place.” For years, portable fans and heaters mitigated the extreme summer and winter temperatures inside the offices, where activity never ceased. “It was a place where I could find solace during my law school years. That’s where things made sense to me; it became my second home,” confides Kristin Nevarez, who signed up for a semester during her second year and worked there as a volunteer her entire third year of law school. In fact, it was this location that saw the addition of Immigration, Consumer Law, Workers’ Compensation and Small Business advice to the Center’s roster of services. With additional funding from SCU and other private and public grants, the Center also added support staff to its payroll. By 2002, under the leadership of Law Professor Cynthia Mertens, its current Director, the Law Center was seeing over 1,100 clients per year (with varying levels of advice and representation) and employed five attorneys and a seven-person staff, including a multilingual interpreter.
In 2002, the Law Center received notice that the sale of its building was pending. Faced with a lack of affordable and suitable office space in East San José, Professor Mertens turned to the University for help. In May 2002, Santa Clara University closed escrow on the Center’s new location on the Alameda, away from East San José. Many people, including some of the founders, had reservations about moving the Law Center out of its intended focus of operation. “Being in the community added to the comfort level of the clients, and now the Center was moving – yes, I was worried,” confesses Ruben. Kristin concurs: “Initially, I worried that the Law Center was going to lose its original meaning.” Fortunately, these concerns were soon put to rest when the clientele attended the new Center in its usual numbers. Says Professor Mertens, “We faced some constraints with our relocation, but I think that we made the best of it. Thanks to our new building, we have achieved greater confidentiality for our clients, suitable work areas for students, and greater comfort for all. But really, we could not have done it without Dean Mack Player and the University behind us.” In fact, the Law Center’s continued success is due in great part to the attention it pays to its community through its regular advice clinics, its mobile Consumer, Small Business, Employment and Immigration workshops given in various locations throughout the community, and its growing collection of up-to-date legal brochures. Kristin, who now serves as the Law Center’s Advisory Board Chair, acknowledges with confidence that, “I am no longer worried. I’m happy to see that the Law Center continues to be the springboard for students to become socially-conscious attorneys and that the community continues to be served.” When asked about her new role as the Board’s Chair, Kristin responds: “I see myself as a liaison between the Center’s staff and the community to ensure that the community’s needs are met.” Given her own history as a Law Center student, Kristin’s response inspires confidence that the Center’s community-based legacy will continue.
Today, the Law Center is a thriving institution that maintains its original commitment to the community and its students. Not surprisingly, the Center’s excellence continues to draw national and even international attention as similar teams from Watsonville, and from as far as Brazil and Australia, strive to emulate some aspects of the Law Center. The Law Center drew additional national attention when Scott Maurer, the supervising attorney for the consumer law area, received the “Clinical/Legal Services Attorney of the Year” Award from the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) for his accomplishments in helping curb abusive and predatory business practices. Trevor Caudle, a returning second-year student, augurs the Law Center’s continued success when he expresses his enthusiasm: “At the risk of students overloading holiday registration on E-Campus and flooding the Center with add slips on the first day of “class” at the Center next semester, every Santa Clara law student should experience the East San José Community Law Center.”
Written by Sergio Lopez
ESJCLC Staff
