LRS History
The organization began as a Nevada County Bar Association project started by Retired Honorable Frank D. Francis and attorneys Bill Wetherall and Jim Hunt. The organization was incorporated in 1977 by members of the Bar Association, including current Nevada County Superior Court Judge Sean Dowling, with a primary purpose of providing legal services for low income residents of Nevada County. Tax-exempt status for the non-profit was granted in December 1977. The staff consisted of volunteer pro bono attorneys at first, but later an attorney and a part-time secretary were hired using federal revenue-sharing money.
In 1980, the agency was renamed Nevada County Legal Assistance, Inc. (“NCLA”) by the Board, at the suggestion of staff attorney Joseph Bell. Later, the Lawyer Referral Service (“LRS”) was formed to serve more of the public with referrals to participating Panel Attorneys. The LRS was certified by the California State Bar as LRS no. 48, effective January 1, 1997, and was authorized to operate in 19 Northern California counties.
When federal government policies consolidated funding for legal services in favor of larger, regional agencies, the mission of the LRS was refined by a new Board of Directors formed in 2003. A new service model was designed using staff and volunteers at the Helpline Information and Assistance office in Grass Valley, California. Retired Honorable Frank D. Francis, and current Nevada County Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderson (who was then the Nevada County Public Defender), were among the attorney and community members who joined the Board which defined NCLA’s mission as promoting access to attorneys for those unable to locate or afford legal representation and providing the public direct referrals to qualified counsel.
The 30th Anniversary event held at the Nevada City Winery on June 25, 2007 celebrated the surviving founding members Honorable Sean Dowling, Ron Wolfson and Patricia Kepler and set the course to expand our membership and services far beyond Western Nevada County.
The Agency updated its incorporation documents in 2008 with a name change to Northern California Lawyer Access, Inc. (“NCLA”) to reflect the goal of expanded operations to all of the 19 rural Northern California counties where NCLA is certified by the State Bar to provide services.
With a new logo clearly identifying the State Bar LRS certification, and new offices at 120 North Auburn Street in Grass Valley, the LRS began recruiting additional Panel Attorneys. We discovered that a barrier for many attorneys was the State Bar requirement that all LRS members have malpractice insurance coverage. Generous grants from the Nevada County and Placer County Bar Associations funded the initial premium for a malpractice insurance policy to cover Panel Attorneys for cases referred by the LRS, as well as for pro bono matters serving our clients.
Active recruitment of local attorneys, with the benefit of available malpractice coverage, has grown our membership to over 50 Panel Attorneys serving clients in nearly 20 different types of law in our rural Northern California area.
An average of 300 callers each month contact the LRS for legal resources and attorney referrals. Our two paid staff employees are assisted by many knowledgeable volunteers, including Joyce Wilson who has been an LRS volunteer since 2004. The LRS office serves as an approved internship program for the California Paralegal College in Auburn, California, providing hands-on experience in assisting clients needing information and attorney services.
Our clients seek Attorney referrals for cases involving Family Law, Wills and Trusts, Probate, Contract disputes, Bankruptcy, Personal Injury litigation, and many other types of matters. NCLA further provides a resource for information on the availability of legal and alternative resolution services, and strives to provide no- and reduced-cost legal services to low-income residents of the communities in which we operate lawyer referral services.
For the future, NCLA-LRS will continue to expand available services in rural Northern California fulfilling our mission “to promote access to attorneys for those unable to locate or afford legal representation and to provide the public direct referrals to qualified counsel.”
Current goals include offering ‘limited scope’ representation, partnering with other organizations, and seeking grant funding to support additional legal services to those in need. The decades-long history of our organization demonstrates the commitment of Attorneys and Judges in our region
to improving ‘Access to Justice’ for rural areas in California.
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