Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco

The Justice & Diversity Center of The Bar Association of San Francisco (JDC) has been making meaningful change in people's lives, using our unique blend of legal services and social work, since 1977. JDC provides pro bono legal services to underserved San Francisco residents, communities, and organizations that serve these populations. We provide these services through the use of volunteer attorneys, paralegals, law students, college students, social workers and other qualified professionals. JDC takes a holistic approach to legal services, seeking to address the full range of legal and social services issues that prevent our clients from retaining stability in their lives. Last year, JDC staff and over 1,800 VLSP volunteers, assisted nearly 8,000 clients with legal consultation and representation in nearly every area of civil law.

Justice & Diversity Center from JDC BASF on Vimeo.

Pro Bono Opportunities

JDC offers a variety of projects for volunteers to get involved with, providing free CLE trainings for most of our projects. To begin the volunteer process or get more information, please email probono@sfbar.org.

Family Law

JDC's Family Law Project assists low-income individuals and families with family law matters including marital dissolutions, child custody, and child support.

Eviction Defense

Our full scope Eviction Defense Project provides representation to clients during their eviction proceedings.

Housing Negotiation Project

Through this limited-scope project, volunteer attorneys represent low-income individuals and families being evicted during their mandatory settlement conferences.

Tax Project

JDC's Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) assists low-income taxpayers who have tax issues with the IRS, including taxpayers in controversy with the IRS, individuals who have filed a petition with the U.S. Tax Court and individuals who need help in obtaining other relief for a tax obligation.

Business Law Project

The Community Organization Representation Project (CORP) assists nonprofit community-based organizations throughout Northern California in a range of transactional business law matters.

Federal Pro Bono Project

The Federal Pro Bono Project provides assistance to litigants in federal court who do not have legal representation, through the Legal Help Center at the Federal Court.

Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP)

HAP assists individuals or families who are homeless or at serious risk of becoming homeless. The primary areas of service given at HAP are Eviction Defense, SSI Advocacy, and Social Service assistance.

Tort Defense

JDC's Tort Defense Project provides full-scope representation to clients defending themselves against a tort claim. We do not offer training and rely solely on the expertise of the attorney.

Consumer Project

This limited-scope project advises low-income clients facing collection defense and/or bankruptcy issues at JDC's semi-monthly Consumer Debt Defense and Education Clinic (CDDEC).

Legal Advice and Referral Clinic (LARC)

LARC is a walk-in clinic that occurs twice a month on Saturdays. At these clinics, low-income clients are able to receive legal advice and/or referrals from experienced attorneys in various areas of the law.

Medical-Legal Project
The Medical-Legal Project is the newest component of JDC's Community Lawyering Project, which brings legal services to San Francisco's Southeast Health Center in the Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood and St. Mary's Medical Center in the Upper Haight neighborhood.

JDC's calendar for pro bono and legal services trainings in the SF/Bay Area can be found on-line at: http://www.sfbar.org/calendar/list.aspx?type=lsjdc.