Bay Area Legal Aid

Ariella Hyman, BayLegal’s Director of Program and Advocacy, has been named this year's recipient of NLADA's Kutak-Dodds Award — an honor given to just one civil legal aid attorney in the entire country. National Legal Aid & Defender Association recognized Ariella for her extraordinary contributions to advancing access to justice and racial equity. She joins a lineage of legal aid legends who have championed equal justice for marginalized communities.   This award reflects a career built alongside BayLegal staff, clients, and community partners. Ariella began as a direct services attorney representing domestic violence survivors while also helping win statewide protections that improved countless survivors’ lives in areas ranging from family law to welfare policy, healthcare system responsiveness, housing law, clemency for survivors imprisoned for killing their abusers, and more.   Ariella then helped shape BayLegal's evolution from neighborhood offices to an integrated regional law firm that tripled in size and expanded access to holistic legal services for thousands living in poverty. She has also mentored countless attorneys to carry forward the work of equal justice.     Congratulations, Ariella. Our clients, our community, and our team are better because of you. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gesvPiwu

Proud to have worked with Lani Levine and Family Violence Appellate Project to achieve this fantastic result for survivors across the state!

On Friday September 18th, we celebrated a win for domestic violence survivors across California! Last month, BayLegal and pro bono co-counsel Levine Advocacy filed an amicus brief in Irvine v. Irvine, urging the California Court of Appeal to end a practice that was quietly harming survivors: automatic delays of restraining order hearings whenever the abuser faced related criminal charges. Friday September 18th, the Court issued a published decision largely adopting the test we proposed and it cited BayLegal directly. Here's why it matters. Before, protection depended on geography. Some courts delayed hearings automatically. Others delayed them for months, even years. Survivors returned to court again and again, arranging childcare, losing wages, facing their abuser one more time. In one BayLegal case, a client's hearing was continued five times in five months. She shook every time she walked in to share her story. Now, trial courts across California must weigh those harms. Delays are no longer automatic, and our clients will be treated the same no matter which courtroom they're standing in. Read the full story below: https://lnkd.in/gKnR8WrN

🎉 BayLegal has received techbridge's 2026 Nonprofit Innovation in Technology Award! We were one of three finalists at TechBridge's Digital Ball this year, the first time in the award history that all three finalists were legal aid organizations. It's a strong sign of how central technology has become in advancing access to justice. Our partnership with TechBridge spans nearly a decade. BayLegal was an early adopter of JusticeServer and has helped shape features now used by legal aid organizations nationwide, sharing what we've learned and building tools others could use too. This award isn't just about one platform. It reflects how we use technology across the board to reach clients, support our advocates, and make our work more effective and accessible. And it's a testament to our staff, who've tested solutions, flagged challenges, and kept pushing our systems to work better, year after year. Thank you, Techbridge for acknowledging our hard work with this award! 

Congratulations to Lisa Newstrom! BayLegal is thrilled to share that Lisa Newstrom, Managing Attorney of our Santa Clara County regional office, has been named as the recipient of the 2026 Mary Burdick Advocates Award by the Western Center On Law & Poverty. Lisa has spent her career championing low-income Californians through mentorship, systems advocacy, and tireless leadership in our Santa Clara County office. This recognition from Western Center is well-earned, and we couldn't be prouder to celebrate her.

Great work, Kim Alexis Adversario! We were grateful to have you at BayLegal this summer☀️

BREAKING: Across California litigants who cannot afford a private court reporter now have the right to the record they need. Learn more about the landmark California Superior Court Decision on Thursday September 10th, 2026. Hear how the legal team built their petition and won and stay till the end to join the Q&A. You will hear from BayLegal's Director of Litigation, Brenda Star Adams alongside our partners at Covington & Burling LLP, Community Legal Aid SoCal Community Legal Aid SoCal and Family Violence Appellate Project. Join: https://lnkd.in/ghdYWEQx

Join us at the San Francisco Law Library TOMORROW for our free consumer rights clinic! Appointments are required. 📍San Francisco Law Library - 1145 Market St 4th floor, San Francisco, CA 94103 ⏰August 27, 2026 - 9:00am - 5:00pm 📅Call to make an appointment (415) 982-1300

Today the Court of Appeal granted our request to file an amicus brief in Irvine v. Irvine — a case before the California Court of Appeal that could shape how domestic violence survivors are treated in courtrooms statewide. The question at the heart of the case: should courts automatically delay a restraining order hearing whenever the respondent is also facing related criminal charges? Right now, there's no clear statewide standard, and therefore, survivors get different outcomes depending on which county or judge they land in. BayLegal's brief lays out what's really at stake in those delays: survivors forced back into courtrooms again and again, unsafe custody arrangements that take hold before a judge ever rules on the abuse, lost wages, and the trauma of repeatedly facing an abuser. As BayLegal Regional Counsel Erin Orum puts it, "Each time a survivor is forced to face their abuser in court, they re-experience the trauma caused by the abuse." BayLegal isn't asking courts to stop granting continuances. We're asking for a clear and consistent standard that weighs a respondents Fifth Amendment right against the real and serious harm that delay causes survivors and their children. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g7ihFZJU

This past Sunday, while most of Oakland was dancing in the streets for Pride, two BayLegal attorneys, Rebecca L. and Camila Valdivieso, Esq. were answering questions about eviction notices, benefits denials, consumer issues and more. That's where our work actually happens. The national battles over federal policy get the headlines. But those policies are tested every day in local housing courts, benefits hearings, immigration proceedings, and quiet conversations at our booth. Someone worried about losing their apartment. Someone unsure if they still qualify for health care. Someone just wanting to know their rights before they need them. That's what we're here for: making sure landlords, government agencies, and other powerful institutions can't disregard the law just because the person across from them doesn't have the funds for a private attorney. So thank you to everyone who stopped by, asked a question, or just said hi. And thank you to our attorneys for showing up on a Sunday to remind our community: BayLegal is here, all year long. Happy Pride, Oakland. 🌈