San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, Inc.
Pursuing Justice | Transforming Lives
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Domestic Violence Prevention Project
Victims of domestic violence receive assistance in completing and filing restraining orders, related legal relief, and referrals to social support agencies and shelters. Services are provided at project clinics located throughout the County.
Guardianship Clinic
In cooperation with the Probate Court and Probate Examiner's Office, and funded in part by the County of San Diego, SDVLP operates weekly clinics to assist in obtaining guardianship for children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned.
Children & Youth Law Project
IMMIGRATION LAW SERVICES FOR CHILDREN
SDVLP provides direct representation to dependent children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned, and who are eligible for legal permanent residency under the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) provision of federal law.
EDUCATION LAW ADVOCACY PROJECT
Operated in coordination with the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency and other donors. This project offers direct representation to students who are dependents or whose parents are receiving voluntary CWS services, who have unmet special education needs, difficulty with enrollment, or who are facing school discipline proceedings.
North County Unlawful Detainer Clinic
The North County Unlawful Detainer Clinic provides legal information to litigants in unlawful detainer cases. Clinics operate weekly and are provided on a walk-in basis.
HIV/AIDS Legal Services Project
Provides comprehensive legal services to HIV positive individuals who meet certain income requirements. Staff and volunteer attorneys provide assistance in a variety of areas including, but not limited to, estate planning, landlord/tenant disputes, bankruptcy and other debtor/creditor problems, insurance difficulties, family law questions, employment discrimination, confidentiality concerns and Social Security and benefit problems. SDVLP does not handle criminal matters or fee-generating cases, such as personal injury actions.
Assistance to Non-profit Organizations
SDVLP provides legal services and technical assistance to non-profit community organizations and groups, whose primary purpose is to serve disadvantaged, low-income San Diegans, and who do not have the financial resources to retain private counsel.
Federal Pro Bono and Civil Rights Project
The Federal Pro Bono Project is a joint effort between the United States District Court, SDVLP, and participating law firms and lawyers to provide free legal assistance to indigent plaintiffs in meritorious civil rights actions in federal court. The client must have filed a claim in propria persona. Referral is made to SDVLP by the Federal Court.
Women and Families Resource Fair
Families in need receive free legal assistance, and free health and social services resources in one day, under one roof.
Veteran's Stand Down
SDVLP assists in the organization and operation of the civil legal component for Operation Stand Down, sponsored by the Veterans Village of San Diego. Shelter, food and clothing are provided at the annual event where homeless veterans are also afforded access to a wide range of services including physical and mental healthcare, assistance with benefit issues, information on training and employment opportunities, and help in resolving civil and criminal legal matters.
Vision for Justice Collaborative
The Vision for Justice Collaborative* (VJC) helps immigrants and refugees, who are victims of crime, with civil legal issues that arise as a result of the crime.
Assistance is provided with issues such as: Restraining orders, divorce, custody, child support, immigration, employment, and housing benefits.
Where we work
Awards
Service Award, Distinguished Organization 2013
The San Diego County Bar Association
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients assisted with legal needs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people, Immigrants and migrants, Victims and oppressed people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
SDVLP aspires to promote equal access to justice by involving private attorneys in the provision of free civil legal services to indigent and disadvantaged San Diego County residents. SDVLP's services are directed to children in foster care, domestic violence victims, persons with HIV/AIDS, broken families, and other vulnerable groups. By engaging volunteer support, SDVLP is able to provide representation and other services to its target populations in legal practice areas which directly impact their health, safety and well-being. SDVLP's work with these populations is ongoing, and long-term success will be measured by its ability to effectively respond to the growing demand for service.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
SDVLP's approach to service delivery is two-fold: 1) offer services at locations that are convenient and are easily accessible to the client population; and 2) encourage and support volunteer involvement by providing State Bar accredited training programs. To this end, SDVLP has several long-standing court-sited or court-affiliated legal clinics. It also collaborates with community partners in San Diego's North, South, East and Central San Diego Counties to conduct outreach targeting potential clients in those respective areas. This strategy was successfully employed in the implementation of the Law Library Family Law Clinic. Resources from the participant agencies are combined to offer a unique and effective response to the need for direct representation family law services. This new component is further enhanced by an hour-long substantive family law training from which volunteers can glean helpful information that can be immediately applied during the clinic session that follows. Similar initiatives will follow as financial resources and other partnership opportunities become available.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
SDVLP has a dedicated team of staff attorneys and support staff, a large and active network of volunteer attorneys, a presence in the courts in the form of court-sited clinics, a robust relationship with the private bar, strong ties to all of the local law schools, an established network of funders, and a strong reputation for credibility, stability, and efficiency.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The ultimate goal of San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program is to close the justice gap in San Diego and fully meet the need for civil legal assistance for all low income and disadvantaged San Diego County residents. In order to achieve that goal we will strive to increase the number of cases being referred to volunteer attorneys, obtain additional funding from more sources, and continue to expand program services.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 03/18/2024
Edward Vogel
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, LLP
Term: 2022 - 2024
Benjamin Morris
Foley & Lardner
Term: 2025 - 2023
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data