Bet Tzedek Legal Services

In 1974, a small group of lawyers, rabbis, and community activists came together to assist aging, low-income residents who were being displaced from their homes as their neighborhoods gentrified. The group individually contributed $5 per month to rent a small storefront where, one night a week, they offered free legal assistance to the community. They named the organization Bet Tzedek - Hebrew for "House of Justice" - after a central precept of Jewish law and tradition: "Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof" - "Justice, justice you shall pursue." Through the decades, Bet Tzedek has continued its work to close the justice gap for low- income community members, with a growing reputation and expertise in elder law, employment rights, and rapid response programs to meet emerging needs. Today, Bet Tzedek is an internationally-recognized force in poverty law. Harnessing an award-winning pro bono model of service, Bet Tzedek has provided expert legal assistance to more than 500,000 people. Bet Tzedek's mission is to provide free legal services to those who need them most, helping people of all communities and generations secure life's necessities. Bet Tzedek focuses on areas including elder justice, workers' rights, and rapid response work in transgender legal rights, immigration, and homelessness. Its legal work encompasses a range of community outreach and education, pro bono legal assistance, direct legal services, and public policy work and has featured groundbreaking class action litigation in the areas of employment rights and housing. Bet Tzedek's pro bono programs are central to the delivery of services - and have received awards from the California State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the National Law Journal, the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Pro Bono Institute. Last year, 1,200 attorneys, law clerks, and paralegals volunteered, performing a substantial portion of the legal work for clients. Bet Tzedek's Holocaust Survivors Justice Network, a collaboration of more than 100 law firms, corporate counsel offices, and social service agencies nationwide, is one of the largest pro bono efforts in U.S. history.