| Our mission | DRLC’s mission is to champion the rights of people with disabilities, cancer and serious illness through education, advocacy and litigation. |
|---|
Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC)
| Ways to help |
Junior and Summer AssociatesDRLC is looking to work with Junior and Summer Associates to focus on potential high impact court cases affecting people with disabilities. This experience may range in scope from discrete projects to comprehensive early case assessment and may include initial legal research and memo drafting, early stage fact finding and investigation, strategic assessment of case value, and crafting long-term strategies. Opportunities may include service animals, mobility access to parks and concerts, transportation access, and juvenile justice issues.Special EventsDRLC also needs volunteers to assist with planning and staffing outreach events (health fairs, open houses, training events). Work on the entire event or just one part.Pro Bono Attorney OpportunitiesThe Pro Bono Program gives attorneys interested in disability civil rights law, special education law and other related opportunities a chance to hone their advocacy skills and to make a difference in the community. Our main programs are the Disability Litigation Program and the Education Advocacy Program.Intake VolunteerReturn phone calls regarding disability related disputes, consult with attorneys on recommendations and write letters to callers providing resources and referrals. This does not require legal knowledge or a law degree, just the ability to ask a set of questions, listen sympathetically, take notes of the caller’s issue and consult with an attorney regarding what course of action DRLC will take. This is a great opportunity to help someone in a difficult situation.Cancer Rights Program OpportunitiesStudents or volunteers working with DRLC’s Cancer Legal Resource Center gain hands-on experience assisting people with cancer, cancer survivors, their families, friends and others affected by cancer, primarily by providing assistance via a national hotline.Community Advocacy ProgramVolunteers for the Community Advocacy Program (CAP) gain hands-on experience assisting persons with disabilities and their advocates with disability related issues via the intake line. They also gain case management experience and may develop community outreach and education experience. The CAP Program accepts undergraduate, graduate, and law student volunteers and well as community volunteers.Administration VolunteerAssist with operations, financial/statistical projects, administrative work, filing documents, organizing press packets, putting together resource packets, creating address labels and data entry. DRLC also needs paralegal assistance with case files.Civil Rights Program ExternshipStudents working with DRLC’s Civil Rights Program will have the opportunity to: (1) work on class action and individual impact cases with the Disability Litigation Program and Education Advocacy Programs, allowing them to develop legal research and writing skills, and actively participate in all phases of litigation; and (2) conduct intake and provide limited scope advocacy services under the Community Advocacy Program. Students can enroll in as low as two units per semester for the Civil Rights Program. Given the nature of this externship, students schedule their own in-office hours to fulfill their requirements. |
|---|
| How you help | The organization provides the highest quality legal representation and counseling to people with disabilities and those affected with cancer and other serious illness. We would not be able to provide this level of representation without the assistance of our volunteers! |
|---|
| About us | Throughout its 40-year history, DRLC has stood at the forefront of achieving equal rights for people with disabilities. DRLC promotes beneficial change through its precedent setting individual and class action court cases that challenge discriminatory practices by government agencies, businesses and educational institutions. We provide all of our services cost-free; most of our clients are at or below the poverty level. DRLC’s goal for success is to eradicate discrimination through impact litigation affecting large numbers of people with disabilities, cancer and other serious illness. |
|---|
;
DRLC staff enjoyed returning to the @AbilitiesExpo in Los Angeles last week, where over 7,600 people gathered.
Candace Cable, DRLC’s Director of Community Outreach, Resources & Education, captured these images of the event. We look forward to our next live event!
#AbilitiesExpo
Save the date! The FDR Dinner returns to Los Angeles this fall.
Join us on Saturday, September 23, for an evening dedicated to connecting our community and honoring those who share our values for inclusivity, justice and equality.
Members of our team were privileged to know Judy Heumann personally. When we last spoke with her, Judy gave us the gift of sharing part of her story with us.
As we remember Judy together, we want to share a selection of her interview with DRLC: https://youtu.be/0ApEWqoNTVM
We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Judy Heumann. Because of her lifelong advocacy, commitment to equity, and countless achievements, the landscape of life for those with disabilities across the globe has been changed for good.
https://thedrlc.org/blog/2023/03/07/remembering-judy-heumann
Earn free MCLE credit this Wednesday, March 1st, at 12:00 PST by attending a virtual presentation by Lita Abella, JD, Senior Program Analyst at the State Bar of CA.
This presentation provides one hour of competency credit to attorneys barred in CA.
https://bit.ly/3IIZrI4
