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Volunteer Legal Service Program (VLSP)Volunteer Legal Service Program NewsBelow you will find articles and press releases about VLSP volunteers, clients and programs. To access VLSP news archives, click here.
The General Counsel of a corporation and a partner at a large law firm walk into a bar. No, this is not the beginning of a joke – it’s actually the beginning of a powerful force for good. Increasingly, in-house counsel are eager to do pro bono work, and to do it in partnership with the attorneys to whom they send significant paying business...
VLSP Executive Director Goes Back to School VLSP Executive Director Tiela Chalmers recently returned from Harvard Business School, where she spent one week at an intensive training program for leaders of nonprofits. The program, entitled Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management, is conducted once a year by members of the HBS faculty, and provides the opportunity for senior executives to examine their mission and develop new strategies for the changing economy.
Medical Clinic Partners with VLSP St. Mary’s Medical Center today announced the launch of a new program that will provide legal assistance to patients at the Sister Mary Philippa Clinic through a partnership among the clinic, the Volunteer Legal Services Program (VLSP) of The Bar Association of San Francisco, the law firm Latham & Watkins LLP, and the St. Mary’s Foundation.
VLSP Receives $10,000 Award from ACC
August Volunteer Spotlight: Dr. Edward Gould
Dr. Gould was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut and moved to Los Angeles during World War II. He received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from UCLA, completing his PhD in Psychology in 1965.
VLSP Bike-a-Thon Raises $18,000
July Volunteer Spotlight: CJ Kingsley
VLSP's Housing Negotiation Project Wins National Award
June Volunteer Spotlight: Eric Casher
Each quarter, I’ll talk about something different – clients, volunteering, what it takes to set up a project – maybe even give you a little window into what it takes to keep an organization like this going.
VLSP Celebrates Outstanding Volunteers at Annual Reception
Maria Mercedes* recently contacted VLSP for assistance in obtaining a dissolution of marriage from her verbally and physically abusive husband. VLSP connected her with Devon Caroselli, a real estate and corporate law transactional attorney at Cox Castle & Nicholson LLP.
This month, VLSP is proud to announce that our Volunteer of the Month goes to two wonderful individuals at our Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP): Kaitlyn Quigley and Margaret Smith. Both are recent college graduates and have dedicated one year of service to HAP through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and the Lutheran Volunteer Corps.
Jennifer has been volunteering for VLSP’s Family Law Project since 2003, the same year she was admitted to the bar in California. The project assists low-income clients with family law issues such as divorce, custody of children, and domestic violence.
Jerome Schweich is a mediator by trade. He sees a problem and knows how to guide the problem to resolution. Not surprisingly, his skills as a mediator, and his tenacity, serve him well when he takes on the representation of an individual client.
ENH is a nonprofit organization which annually provides hands-on environmental education opportunities to enrich the lives of over 7,000 grade school children. In April 2009, they contacted VLSP’s Community Organization and Representation Project (CORP) for assistance and CORP teamed them with volunteer attorney Chiara Portner.
VLSP participated in the first annual National Pro Bono Celebration October 25-31. Sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, the week-long celebration was a national cohesive effort to address the continuing need for pro bono services in light of current economic times as well as commemorate the contributions that America’s lawyers have generously donated thus far.
VLSP participated in the first annual National Pro Bono Celebration October 25-31. Sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, the week-long celebration was a national cohesive effort to address the continuing need for pro bono services in light of current economic times as well as commemorate the contributions that America’s lawyers have generously donated thus far.
The faces of homeless individuals in San Francisco are as diverse as the population of the city itself. Men, women and transgendered; of every ethnicity and race; straight and gay; from San Francisco and beyond; from the working poor to the severely disabled; from the very young to the very old.
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A Letter from VLSP Executive Director Tiela Chalmers - August
This month the Volunteer Legal Services Program (VLSP) is privileged to honor Dr. Edward Gould, a psychologist who has volunteered with VLSP for nearly 15 years.
VLSP’s Third Annual Bike/Walk-a-thon, held on Sunday June 13, was an enormous success. Many law firms put together teams of cyclists and walkers, and many brought spouses and kids as well. 
The Volunteer Legal Services Program (VLSP) is happy to announce its July Volunteer of the Month, CJ Kingsley. While CJ has volunteered within many of VLSP’s projects including our Guardianship, Family Law, and Housing Negotiation Projects, we would like to highlight her work with the Legal Advice and Referral Clinic (LARC). 
VLSP recently announced that it received the 2010 Pro Bono Best Practices Spotlight Award at the 2010 Equal Justice Conference for its Housing Negotiation Project (HNP). 
BASF’s Volunteer Legal Services Program celebrated its most exceptional volunteers at its annual Outstanding Volunteer Appreciation Party in late March. More than 180 people were in attendance at the event, which was held at the Green Room of the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in San Francisco. Chief Justice Ronald George, California Supreme Court, Presiding Judge James McBride, San Francisco Superior Court and Judge Patrick Mahoney, San Francisco Superior Court, Family Court, were on hand to pass out the awards. 
May Spotlight: Volunteer Attorney Helps Woman Escape Abusive Marriage
March Spotlight: Margaret Smith and Kaitlyn Quigley
February Volunteer Spotlight: Jennifer Kim Letulle
January Volunteer Spotlight: Jerome Schweich 
San Francisco's Most Vulnerable Need Help