Seeking Innovative Ways To Volunteer: The Courthouse Landlord/Tenant Project

Since November 2005, Farella attorneys have volunteered and participated each month in the Courthouse Landlord/Tenant Project: Attorney of the Day program. This program is a joint project of the Volunteer Legal Services Program (VLSP), the Eviction Defense Collaborative (EDC) and the San Francisco Superior Court.

Each month, the firm associates, supervised by a partner, staff the mandatory settlement conferences for unlawful detainer cases for which jury trials have been requested. Our clients are the pro per litigants in the actual settlement conferences. These conferences usually take place on Wednesday or Thursday of the week. If the matter does not settle, we take the case to trial which usually occurs the following Monday.

So far, the firm has handled over a dozen cases for various clients and achieved excellent results in all of them. This program has been mutually beneficial for the firm and the people whom we represent: The litigants get top-flight legal assistance and our attorneys get hands on experience in settling and trying cases.