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Centro Legal de la Raza *




Organization Description


Founded in 1969 by Latino law students and located in the Fruitvale district of Oakland, Centro Legal de la Raza (Centro Legal) is a comprehensive legal services agency protecting and advancing the rights of immigrant, low-income, and Latino communities through bilingual legal representation, education, and advocacy. The agency provides direct services and quality legal referrals to 9,000 individuals each year in the areas of housing, employment, immigration, family law, and consumer protection. Centro Legal's Youth Law Academy helps low-income youth of color prepare for college and explore careers in law.


Pro Bono Project Description:


The Tenants' Rights Program

-promotes safe, stable, and healthy housing by helping individuals and families fight bad housing conditions, unlawful rent increases, and eviction.
The Workers' Rights Program

-promotes lawful, fair, and safe working conditions and employment practices by helping low-wage workers defend against wage theft, discrimination, wrongful termination, and retaliatory termination.
The Pathways to Citizenship Project

provides holistic immigration services for immigrant families, including the areas of U Visas, Violence Against Women Act self-petitions, Family-based immigration, Consular processing, Permanent Residency, Citizenship & Naturalization, Deportation and Removal Defense, Asylum, and Detention.
The Consumer Protection Project

fights fraud against low-income community members by educating them about their rights as consumers and providing legal aid and advocacy for victims of unlawful consumer practices.

Worker's Compensation, Personal Injury, and Family Law
Worker's Compensation, Personal Injury, and Family Law services are provided by volunteer attorneys and law firms on a monthly basis.

The Youth Law Academy

-is building a diversity pipeline to higher education and the law by empowering disadvantaged youth to graduate high school and transition to college by providing professional mentoring, college preparation, leadership opportunities, mental health development, and academic and professional skills development.


For more information regarding Centro Legal pro bono projects, please contact Angelica Guevara, Youth & Volunteer Coordinator, at 510-437-1554 or angelicaguevara@centrolegal.org.



Please report any corrections to this organization's information.
  • Malpractice insurance is provided for volunteers
  • Training Provided
  • Training Required
  • CLE credit for trainings
  • CLE credit for pro bono
  • Mentoring or supervision offered
  • Volunteer lawyers need to meet a caseload or hours requirement
  • Volunteers may participate long-distance
  • County(s) of Volunteer Opportunity
    Alameda
  • Area of law
    Consumer, Employment, Foreclosure, Housing, Immigration & Naturalization
  • Populations Served
    Asylum Seekers, Children, Communities of Color, Domestic Violence Victims, Elderly, General Public, Immigrants, Low Income, Persons with Disabilities, Women, Working poor and unemployed
  • Opportunities For
    Interpreters, Law Students, Lawyers, Mentors, Mentors/consultants, Nonlitigation Projects, Paralegals, Senior Lawyers
  • Need for non-English services
    Spanish, indigenous dialects like Mam.
  • Hours for Pro Bono Opportunities
    Evenings, Flexible, Monday-Friday 9am-5pm