)
Community Legal Aid SoCal is home to a vibrant volunteer and intern community! We host several volunteer positions year-round. Volunteer duties range from simple clerical and support work to hands-on legal and organizational work.
We welcome volunteers with varying expertise and experience to better serve our clients and support our efforts to deliver our mission. We make every effort to match individuals with opportunities based on their qualifications and indicated areas of interest, and strongly encourage individuals who are fluent in foreign languages to apply. Please review the following positions carefully, as requirements differ greatly between positions.
Please be advised that volunteer applicants for the Health unit positions must be willing to undergo a Live Scan background check to be considered for a position. This process can be lengthy so we recommend you apply for a volunteer position 2-3 months in advance of your desired start date.
When your application is submitted, it is sent through our network of attorneys and department heads to see if your skills and availability match their needs. Please note that we receive several applications each day and are not always able to find a place for everyone. If you are not selected, we encourage you to try again in 30 days.
Applications are kept active for 30 days. If you are selected, you will either receive a call or email from one of our interested departments. Please note that our Human Resources staff does not make selections on volunteers but rather serve only as custodians of volunteer records.
The average time it takes to complete this application is 10-15 minutes.
Unpaid opportunities are below. (If you are looking for employment opportunities, click here.)
The Anaheim office is a small satellite office serving Northeast Orange County located at 250 E. Center Street. We seek smart and dedicated volunteers to help us with our demanding workload. Casework includes divorce/family, civil, landlord/tenant and more.
Do you have a passion for justice? Are you established in, in the pursuit of, or interested in a legal career? Become a volunteer for justice in Southeast Los Angeles County, in our Compton office! Areas of law include family, domestic violence, housing issues, government benefits, and more!
Qualifications:
To Apply:
We are seeking community members and law students who are interested in an unpaid volunteer opportunity or internship with LASOC’s Compton Self-Help Center and Restraining Order Clinic. Learn about family law, restraining orders, unlawful detainers and civil matters.
Qualifications:
To Apply:
Do you have a passion for justice? Are you established in, in the pursuit of, or interested in a legal career? Become a volunteer for justice in Southeast Los Angeles County, in our Norwalk office! Areas of law include family, domestic violence, housing issues, government benefits, and more!
Qualifications:
To Apply:
Are you passionate about social justice? Are you looking for a meaningful experience that will allow you to make a difference in the lives of those who are voiceless? If so, then join our team at the Legal Aid Society of Orange County (LASOC) as a Marketing & Communications Intern in the Fund Development department.
Qualifications:
To Apply:
Hotline intake representatives perform a critical role to support the LASOC/CLS mission. This is where the action begins. This is a call center environment. Hotline volunteers performing intake interviews on applicants seeking to qualify for legal services.
Duties Include:
We offer flexible scheduling for students and professionals interested in transitioning into the legal field. Shifts are typically 3-4 hours, two to three days per week. The Hotline is open Monday-Thursday (9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) and Friday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.). Because of the important role of this position, please serious inquiries only. This position requires a minimum of 3 months commitment due to heavy training component. While this position is entry-level, it offers a fantastic learning opportunity for law and paralegal students looking to gain knowledge about diverse areas of law and serving a low-income community.
Qualifications:
To Apply:
Learn about family law, civil matters, housing law, tax law, government benefits, and more under the supervision of LASOC’s Litigation Department. Clerks get an opportunity to get hands-on experience that they can apply in their careers.
Qualifications:
To Apply:
We are looking for volunteer attorneys who would like to help with Coordinated Care Initiative (CCI) health cases and gain valuable legal experience. CCI is a cutting-edge demonstration program rolling out in Orange County that will integrate Medicare and Medi-Cal benefits into one health plan called Cal MediConnect (branded as OneCare Connect in Orange County).
Qualifications:
To Apply:
Please note that all Health Consumer Action Center volunteers are required to submit to a Live Scan background check and complete security training requirements of the Department of Managed Health Care. The costs of these requirements will be covered by CLA SoCal.
The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic at the Legal Aid Society of Orange County is looking for a motivated volunteer to work in the tax unit. Ideal candidates would be retired tax attorneys or CPAs. However, a legal, tax or CPA background is not required so long as the individual has in interest in IRS tax issues and a commitment to assist the low income community. Under the supervision of the tax supervising attorney, the duties will include client intake, call backs, and general case work to help resolve the taxpayer problem before the IRS or Tax Court.
Qualifications:
To Apply:
The OC Seniors Legal Advocacy Program accepts aw student volunteers and retired attorneys to assist with the legal needs of Orange County’s senior citizen community. Duties include callbacks, legal research, advocacy, legal writing, and more. Learn elder law and help advocate for one of Orange County’s more vulnerable populations, helping senior citizens to maintain dignity, stability, and economic independence.
Qualifications:
To Apply:
Vietnamese-speaking interpreter needed for assisting the needs of our intake and clinic services. Job may require local travel. Should be proficient in written and spoken Vietnamese and English.
Qualifications:
To Apply:
The Legal Aid Society of Orange County & Community Legal Services of Southeast Los Angeles (LASOC-CLS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was founded in 1958 for the purpose of providing civil legal services to low income individuals in Orange County. LASOC has a staff of 80 employees and operates on a $8 million-dollar budget. There are two offices in Orange County and two offices in Southeast Los Angeles County.
LASOC-CLS seeks an experienced, knowledgeable, and compassionate intern to assist and contribute to the fund development process. As a Fund Development Intern, you will have the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of how a non-profit organization functions by interacting with entire teams as well as the communication and cross functionally with other departments. This opportunity is especially beneficial, but not limited, to those pursuing a career in non-profit management, event planning, communications, marketing and/or the non-profit sector.
Assignments may include:
Qualifications:
To apply: Complete the application below and submit a cover letter, resume, and one writing sample to ymartinez@legal-aid.com with the email subject line: Fund Development Internship Application.
This is an unpaid internship and can be applied towards school credit. Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year.
