CRS has partnered with Legal Aid at Work and the Black Worker Center (BWC) to establish this once-a-month employment law project serving low-wage workers and members of the BWC. Student volunteers will act as student-counselors who will interview clients one-on-one, discuss the clients’ legal issues with a supervising attorney, and then provide the clients with their rights and legal options. This project is available only to 2Ls and 3Ls through a separate application. This project is only available to 2Ls and 3Ls through a separate application. Please email the co-chairs listed below for more information.. 

Community Partners:
Critical Race Studies Program, UCLA Law
Legal Aid at Work
Black Worker Center

​Project Chairs:
Maria Trubetskaya, JD ‘25
Kaya Van Dyke, JD ‘25

Confidentiality Notice: Confidential information received via email is not subject to lawyer-client confidentiality.

Through a community partnership with ACLU SoCal, the Education Rights Project will offer the following volunteer opportunities for the school year:

1. Monitor school board meetings for CRT, LGBTQ+, school police issues
2. Youth Liberty Squad Arts Justice Festival
3. Youth Liberty Squad Saturday convenings
4. Research LAUSD Archives for mentions of Black students

Community Partner:
ACLU of Southern California

Project Chair:
Clover Li, JD ‘26

Confidentiality Notice: Confidential information received via email is not subject to lawyer-client confidentiality.

The Labor & Economic Justice Project (LEJP) works in partnership with UNITE HERE Local 11, the Los Angeles-based hotel workers union that engages in innovative labor campaigns, as well as Strippers United, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit advocating the interests of strippers. LEJP volunteers will observe and take notes on bargaining meetings, participate and support any striking and picketing events, assist with intake and know your rights trainings for strippers, and conduct research on labor violations and legal protections.

Community Partner:
UNITE HERE Local 11

​Project Chairs:
Alex Austin, JD ‘26
Victoria Calderon, JD ‘26

Confidentiality Notice: Confidential information received via email is not subject to lawyer-client confidentiality.

LGL is a name and pronoun change project. LGL hosts multiple name and gender change meetings with the Trans Lounge each semester. Students support individuals seeking to align their names and pronouns with their authentic selves by filing court petitions.

Community Partner:
Trans Lounge
L.A. LGBT Center

​Project Chairs:
Kat Black, JD ‘26
Lauren Frey, JD ‘26
Derek Song, JD ‘26

Confidentiality Notice: Confidential information received via email is not subject to lawyer-client confidentiality.

The Section Eight Acceptance Project (SEAP) assists investigations and litigation by the Housing Rights Center, which is the nation's largest non-profit civil rights organization dedicated to securing and promoting Fair Housing, against LA landlords who illegally deny housing to potential tenants based on source of income.

Community Partner:
Housing Rights Center

Project Chairs:
Jacob Moore, JD ‘25
Frances Parker Hale, JD ‘26
Derek Song, JD ‘26

Confidentiality Notice: Confidential information received via email is not subject to lawyer-client confidentiality.

The Skid Row Legal Project partners with LAFLA (Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles) and LACAN (LA Community Action Network) to assist unhoused individuals living in the Skid Row area with a variety of legal issues, including housing, domestic violence, consumer issues, government benefits, and other related issues.

Community Partners:
LACAN (Los Angeles Community Action Network)
LAFLA (Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles)

Project Chairs:
Lauren August, JD ‘25
Kimberly Welch, JD ‘25

Confidentiality Notice: Confidential information received via email is not subject to lawyer-client confidentiality.

The Tenants' Rights Project partners with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) in Santa Monica to advocate for low-income tenants facing possible eviction, habitability problems, rent increases, and other housing related issues.

Community Partner:
LAFLA-Santa Monica (Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles)

Project Chairs:
Ian Bertrando, JD ‘26
Diego Loew, JD ‘26
Stephanie Milbrodt, JD ‘26
Benjamin Wu, JD ‘25

Confidentiality Notice: Confidential information received via email is not subject to lawyer-client confidentiality.

The Bruin Food Access Project partners with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) and the UCLA Community Programs Office (CPO) to advocate for UCLA undergraduate, graduate, and professional students requiring legal aid in accessing the food assistance program, CalFresh, including navigating the appeals, application, and recertification process. Participants interview clients, identify legal issues, and help to resolve their problems. The project will meet remotely on Zoom from 1 pm to 4 pm on Wednesdays.

Community Partners:
LAFLA
UCLA Community Programs Office (CPO)

Project Chairs:
Maria Beaucage, JD ‘25
Denae Romero, JD ‘26

The collateral consequences of contact with the criminal justice system are far-reaching and create serious barriers to basic necessities such as securing employment, housing, education, vocational training, and loans. As a result, criminal records interfere with people's ability to support themselves and their families, which disempowers these people and their communities and increases recidivism. The UCLA Reentry Legal Project prepares expungement petitions and takes advantage of existing legal means to clear criminal records. Because of the vast number of people who come in contact with the criminal justice system every year, there is overwhelming demand for these services. The Reentry Legal Project is partnered with A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project, a trusted community resource that provides legal services and advocacy to alleviate the burdens of mass incarceration. Our volunteers work directly with clients preparing petitions and declarations that will be submitted to a judge. They are trained by attorneys from A New Way of Life on how to analyze complex court dockets, conduct effective client interviews with compassion and sensitivity, prepare expungement petitions, and write client declarations. Students then have the opportunity to apply these skills at our monthly clinics on Saturdays while receiving continued support from experienced volunteers and supervising New Way of Life attorneys.

Community Partner:
A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project

Project Chairs:
Grace Clerk, JD ‘26
John Dover, JD ‘26
Blake Krawl, JD ‘26
Niki Nguyen, JD ‘25
Indiana Schnicer, JD ‘25
Beck Williams, JD ‘26

Confidentiality Notice: Confidential information received via email is not subject to lawyer-client confidentiality.

As a joint effort between the Immigration Law Society and El Centro, the Immigration (VAWA) Project helps undocumented immigrants who have left abusive relationships or been victims of serious crimes submit VAWA or U-Visa applications. These applications allow them to stay in the country, receive a work permit, and obtain permanent residence. Eligible applicants are also placed on the path to US citizenship.  Volunteers work directly with clients, including survivors of domestic violence, as survivors of sexual abuse, felonious assault, and attempted murder. Project volunteers work in pairs and meet face-to-face with clients to interview them for their applications. Volunteers then draft a VAWA or U-Visa declaration and review it with the client.

Community Partner:
CARECEN (Central American Resource Center)

​Project Chairs:
Nina Harris, JD ‘26
Gina Sheeks, JD ‘26

Confidentiality Notice: Confidential information received via email is not subject to lawyer-client confidentiality.

Veterans have made immeasurable sacrifices while serving our country, often enduring significant trauma in the process. Despite their sacrifice, the government often fails to provide veterans with the protection and care they were promised. UCLA Law students have the unique opportunity to give back to those who have served our country while honing valuable advocacy skills by joining LAFLA’s Veterans Justice Center on two distinct projects. Students can contribute to general intake on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. There, students will be exposed to a wide variety of legal issues (including VA benefits, housing, military discharges, and more) and will develop their interviewing skills through client interactions. Students can also contribute to the expungement project each Thursday to assist veterans in clearing their criminal records and removing barriers to employment and secure housing. Through this project, students will have the opportunity to gather evidence from criminal records, draft declarations, and prepare expungement applications all while making a meaningful impact on veterans' lives.

Community Partners:
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) Veterans Justice Center

Project Chairs:
Alex Dang, JD ‘26
Zane Gonzalez, JD ‘26
Devyn Nordstrom, JD ‘26

Confidentiality Notice: Confidential information received via email is not subject to lawyer-client confidentiality. Therefore, chairs cannot conduct intake interviews with potential veteran clients via email. 

While the student-run El-Centro Veterans Legal Project cannot conduct intake interviews via email, the UCLA Veterans Legal Clinic does conduct phone intake interviews according to a regularly updated schedule on the clinic's homepage.

The Workers’ Rights Project works with Bet Tzedek’s Employment Rights Project to assist people with employment issues. Project participants interview workers about issues they are facing including wage theft, discrimination and sexual harassment, unemployment insurance, unsafe working conditions, and retaliation.

Community Partner:
Bet Tzedek - Employment Rights Project

Project Chairs:
Jaqueline Favors, JD ‘26
J.T. Keane, JD ‘26

Confidentiality Notice: Confidential information received via email is not subject to lawyer-client confidentiality.

El Centro Legal was originally founded in 1973 by UCLA La Raza Law Students Association (now the Latinx Law Students Association) as an experimental academic program involving its members and low-income residents of Santa Monica. The program took on the name of El Centro Legal de Santa Monica, placing special emphasis on addressing the needs of the Latino population. The El Centro program proved successful in meeting the needs of low-income people in the community, while at the same time providing practical experience for UCLA Law students.

Over the years, El Centro broadened its scope to provide volunteer legal clinics throughout greater Los Angeles in many different areas of law. El Centro Legal is currently one of the largest student organizations at UCLA School of Law and an integral part of the local community.