Representing yourself in Stanley Mosk's court in downtown Los Angeles can be daunting, whether it's filing paperwork or filing a case in small claims court.
You can visit or call the court's self-help center if you have questions about submitting documents for your case or understanding legal terminology. But you may have to wait some time in line or wait to get the answers you need.
To find another source of free help, just stand on the courthouse steps, look across Hill Street and you'll find it there: the Los Angeles County Law Library.
The Law Library, second in size only to the Library of Congress in the United States, is full of legal information focused primarily on California, although you can find materials there from all 50 states and more than 250 foreign countries.
It is home to legal encyclopedias, appellate briefs, legislative history information, law reviews, and law journals and newspapers.
Librarians at the reference desk can direct you to books that can help you understand the legal issues related to your case and support your research.
What makes the library unique is its listings for classes and workshops—whether in person, by phone, or online—which the public can sign up for for free.
Her offerings include classes on the basics of civil litigation, landlord-tenant issues such as wrongful detainer lawsuits, and a basic course on common areas of law and how to take the next step in your case.
Unlike other free legal resources or organizations, all of the services offered by the Los Angeles Law Library are available to anyone who wants them, said Katherine Chiu, the library's executive director.
Organizations and programs that provide free legal assistance often have income eligibility requirements, and typically allocate their assistance to residents with low or very low income.
“There is this huge portion of the population [who makes] “I have a lot of money and they don't qualify for legal aid and they don't have enough money to hire a lawyer,” Chiu said.
“These are the people who live in the justice gap,” she said. “They have nowhere else to go, so the library is a kind of safety net for them.”
Most people don't realize that the library is available to them, and they mistakenly believe that the library is only for lawyers, Chiu said.
Typically, people trying to represent themselves in court discover the library walk-out outside the courtroom or are directed to the library by court personnel.
“And we meet them where they are,” Chiu said.
Of the 600 classes and workshops the library offers, one stands out: “Lawyers in the Library.” This service provides free legal advice from volunteer lawyers.
Library volunteers will help you connect with one of the Library's 17 volunteer attorneys for an in-person or telephone consultation; Their various specialties include civil litigation, family law and personal injury. Anyone can sign up once for one, but only twice a month.
In consultations that are limited to about 20 minutes, an attorney can answer your questions, provide information, and discuss your legal options. But what volunteers can't do is provide the kind of legal advice you might get from the attorney you hired. They can only help explain the issues in your case and help determine if you should hire an attorney instead of representing yourself.
During these hearings, attorneys often explain how to overcome obstacles within the court system, as well as what paperwork must be filed, said Maria Hall, a Long Beach-based attorney and director of the Los Angeles Incubators Association.
“The library is seeing that the questions people come in with are becoming more complex because people's legal issues are much more complex,” Chiu said.
During this process, your attorney may direct you to one of the on-site Community Connections social workers for another layer of assistance.
Hall, who has volunteered with the library's attorneys' program since 2015, said the program has evolved and grown since its early days, when about eight attorneys would meet with people once a month. Small teams of lawyers from different areas of expertise will now often work together to provide one person with answers, she said.
“Seeing so many legal minds in one place, at one time, all dedicated to helping people is truly magical, and we have gotten some amazing results,” she said.
Volunteers may not be able to solve everyone's problems, Hall said, but “we can at least give you a better road map of what your options are, what the process might be, and look at your paperwork.”
