In celebration of National Pro Bono Week, the Riverside County Law Library hosted a variety of programs from October 23^rd-27^th at their three locations. Programs included family and immigration workshops, free MCLEs and legal clinics.

On October 23, 2017, the Temecula Law Resource Center hosted a family law workshop presented by family law facilitator Patricia Rich. Dissolution, legal separation, child support and services provided by the Family Law Facilitator’s office were discussed with the 18 people in attendance. One person noted that, “The information really helped to clear up some questions.” Patricia Rich has presented several family law workshops at our law library locations and has always done a great job. We’re glad that she was able to make the trek down to Temecula.

For Pro Bono Week, the law library decided to highlight immigration as a topic at all three locations. Russell Jauregui presented at the Riverside County Law Library. He discussed DACA and due process rights of immigrants. Marie Wood hosted “Immigration Law: Mistakes to Avoid” workshop at the Temecula Law Resource Center. She stressed family-based immigration and common mistakes in applying for citizenship. Lastly, the Indio Law Library hosted United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) community relations officers for a presentation on the naturalization process and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. In total 24 people attended the programs. Marie Wood noted that low turnout if unfortunately a common theme for immigration programs because of the fear of attending such workshops.

On Tuesday, October 24^th, the Riverside County Law Library hosted “Disability Discrimination and the Law” presented by Elizabeth F. Eubanks. She discussed disability laws under the American Disability Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. She also touched on the various volunteer opportunities and other resources in the Inland Empire. The Indio Law Library hosted their own MCLE, “Starting From Scratch: How to Build a Law Practice Giving Free Advice.” Retired Judge Frank Gafkowski Jr discussed his own experience of starting and running a decade long practice as well as the rewards of giving of your own time. 23 people attended these free MCLE events.

All three locations hosted free legal clinics. 76 people attended and 20 attorneys participated. Each one of these clinics provided a free consultation with a local attorney on a wide variety of subjects such as estate planning, family law, civil, immigration, criminal and other areas of law. People left such amazing feedback on our surveys. The best line came from pro bono attorney Antoinette Jauregui who said, “Thank you for inviting me to participate in the clinic. I only met a few people and it was only for 20 minutes each time. But to see the smiles on people’s faces at the end was amazing. Please let me know when you have another legal clinic.”

Thank you to all the attorneys, volunteer and patrons who participated in our National Pro Bono Week celebration.  If you missed this event, there will be others.  Just be sure to check out our Calendar of Events for upcoming programs so you can know what’s next!