Legal Organization Directory

The Family and Children’s Law Center provides family law services to low-income Marin residents. Services provided include the following issues: domestic violence, divorce, paternity, child custody and visitation, child support, adoption, guardianship, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.

Haven is a nonprofit organization that provides free services to people experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and gender-based violence. Advocates help with restraining and protective orders, and court accompaniment (other services include case management, temporary confidential shelter services, and rehousing). Services are available to people of all genders, and are available for children, youth and adults.

Note: Haven advocates are not attorneys and cannot offer legal advice or represent you.

Homeless Action Center helps Alameda County residents get on SSI benefits, and helps with other benefits in the interim.

Immigration Center for Women and Children (ICWC) provides immigration services, with a focus on U-Visas, VAWA, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). After an assessment with ICWC, if a client cannot pay, the client will know if she has a meritorious case, and whether or not it is worthwhile to pursue free services elsewhere.

IIBA provides a broad range of immigration services and has offices in most Bay Area counties. Although it is a non-profit, it charges reduced costs on a sliding scale. The San Francisco office typically has capacity for new cases, while some of the other offices may have waitlists for certain services.

The Independent Living Resource Center (ILRC) provides informational Benefits Eligibility Workshops that cover SSI benefits and applications. Given that very few legal providers help with SSI applications (they usually help at the appeal stage), this can be a helpful resource.

ILRC also provides limited legal services for San Franciscans with disabilities, including administrative hearings (SSDI, SSI, CAPI), simple wills, advanced healthcare directives and other planning tools, consumer debt/medical issues, obtaining reasonable accommodations in employment, obtaining reasonable accommodations in housing, and filing ADA access complaints.

Instituto Laboral provides legal advocacy for denied wages and other benefits, and provides referrals to law firms for other work-related issues.