Public Interest Grant

The WLALA Foundation is a non-profit charitable corporation established by the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles ("WLALA") to increase the utility of the law as an instrument of social justice.  The Foundation awards the WLALA Fran Kandel Public Interest Grant (formerly known as the WLALA Foundation Public Action Grant) to law students for projects that make governmental and social institutions and agencies more accessible and responsive to members of society whose interests are not otherwise adequately recognized or asserted.  Since its incorporation in 1985, the Foundation has funded projects with a strong emphasis on public service.  Through its activities, the Foundation seeks to achieve three specific goals:

   1.  Provide help to the disadvantaged by funding project that will directly benefit the under-represented in the greater Los Angeles area:

   2.  Educate and expose law students to legal concerns affecting the disadvantaged in areas outside of traditional legal practices; and

   3.  Encourage the legal community's involvement in public interest law by funding students who show the capability of and commitment to assisting those in need.

Recent representative grant projects have included:

   - A coloring book for children waiting in Children's Court that explains to them who lawyers are, why they have one, and eases the often lengthy wait to be called for their appearance;

   - Creation of a flyer informing expecting parents about a 2003 California law permitting parents to surrender babies within three days of birth without any negative legal ramifications to the parents;

   - Production of a manual informing parents of children with medically induced learning disabilities of their rights to special educational benefits under California law;

   - Creation of a pamphlet entitled: "Straight Talk to Teens in Foster Care About Mental Health Options in Los Angeles County";

   - Development of a resource manual for child victims of sexual abuse;

   - Preparation of materials informing AIDS-afflicted workers of their rights in the workplace;

   - Production of materials to help homeless families receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits to provide temporary shelter and permanent housing;

   - Development of a concise Spanish-language booklet to educate Central American refugee women about their legal rights and available resources; 

   - Production of "know your rights" brochures in English, Spanish, and Chinese addressing the needs of, and community resources available to, immigrant and refugee battered women;

   - Production of a resource guide for domestic violence survivors;

   - Production of an educational brochure on the rights of disabled children and the special education resources of the California public school system;

   - Development of a "Breast Cancer Patient’s and Survivors’ Guide to Employment and Debtor Rights";

   - Development of a brochure for parents describing the dependency court process;

   - Development of documentary evidence packets for pro per Guatemalan and Salvadoran immigrants to use to prove "extreme hardship" in applying for resident status under VAWA and NACARA; and

   - Creation of a comprehensive guide to legal, mental health and community resources for homeless and runaway youth with mental health concerns.

The WLALA Fran Kandel Public Interest Grant program enables law students to devote time to public interest projects and exposes them to legal and social concerns of disadvantaged citizens that are not ordinarily experienced in traditional law practices.  The Grant program is designed not to support a summer public interest job, as worthy as one is, but rather to fund a particular project with a tangible outcome.

Funds raised by the Foundation also provide support to the WLALA Jail Project, through which lawyers visit Twin Towers in downtown Los Angeles to assist prisoners with non-criminal legal matters, and the WLALA History Project, which advances the interests of women in the legal profession by chronicling the history of local women lawyers and preserving their recollections to enable us to recognize and remember the importance of a truly integrated justice system and the reality of gender discrimination in our profession.

Through its grants and support of the Jail and History Projects, the Foundation seeks to enhance the relationship between lawyers and society.

The deadline for applications is 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 22, 2010.  To download a copy of the application, please CLICK HERE.

Questions about the WLALA Fran Kandel Public Interest Grant should be directed to the Co-Chair of WLALA’s Grant Committee:

Patricia Daza
Weston & McElvain LLP
888 W. 6th Street, 15th Fl.
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Phone: (213) 596-8006
Email: pdaza@wmattorneys.com 

Jennifer Leland 
Peitzman, Weg & Kempinsky LLP
10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 1450
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: (310) 712-0057
Email: jleland@pwkllp.com