The Commons Law Center

PROVIDE COMMUNITY LEGAL EDUCATION, PRACTICING TRAINING FOR LAWYERS AND LAW STUDENTS, AND SLIDING SCALE LEGAL SERVICES TO INCOME QUALIFIED PEOPLE.

IN 2021 THE ORGANIZATION PROVIDED 7,005 HOURS OF DIRECT LEGAL SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME AND UNDER-SERVED OREGONIANS. THE VAST MAJORITY OF CLIENTS CONTINUE TO BE THOSE WHO QUALIFY FOR LEGAL AID BUT ARE UNABLE TO FIND HELP: MORE THAN 64% OF CLIENTS WERE AT OR BELOW 125% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL AND MORE THAN 90% LIVED BELOW 250%. THE ORGANIZATION PROVIDED 1,548 CONSULTATIONS, FIELDED 9,610 PHONE CALLS, AND OPENED 450 NEW MATTERS. IN RESPONSE TO COMMUNITY NEEDS AND A HOUSING CRISIS ACCELERATED BY THE PANDEMIC, THE ORGANIZATION LAUNCHED A NEW PROGRAM TO PROVIDE LEGAL SERVICES TO PEOPLE FACING EVICTION. IT LAUNCHED IN AUTUMN 2021 AND DURING ITS FIRST FEW MONTHS PROVIDED DIRECT LEGAL REPRESENTATION TO 44 PEOPLE AND ADVISED MORE THAN 160.

THE ORGANIZATION HOSTED 10 STUDENT LAW CLERKS IN 2021, INCLUDING LAW STUDENTS FROM LEWIS AND CLARK LAW SCHOOL AND WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW, THREE PARALEGAL STUDENTS FROM PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE, ONE OF WHOM WAS THEN HIRED AS THE ORGANIZATION'S FIRST PARALEGAL, AND TWO UNDERGRADUATES, INCLUDING FROM UNIVERSITY OF OREGON AND LAKE FOREST COLLEGE. THE COMMONS WAS ONE OF TWO-DOZEN NONPROFITS SELECTED BY UNIVERSITY OF OREGON TO HOST UNDERGRADUATES IN THEIR PORTLAND INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE PROGRAM, WHICH OFFERS PAID STIPENDS FOR STUDENTS TO WORK IN A PUBLIC INTEREST POSITION FOR THE SUMMER. IN 2021, ALL THREE LAW STUDENT CLERKS WERE INVITED TO AND STAYED FOR A SECOND OR THIRD SEMESTER. OVER ITS FIRST FOUR YEARS OF CLIENT SERVICE, THE COMMONS HAS HOSTED MORE THAN 50 STUDENTS AND ABOUT A THIRD STAY ON FOR LONGER THAN THEY INITIALLY ANTICIPATED THEY WOULD. TO HELP TRAIN AND ADVISE ITS NEW TENANT EVICTION DEFENSE PROGRAM, THE ORGANIZATION RECRUITED AND HIRED A RECENTLY RETIRED ATTORNEY WITH MORE THAN THREE DECADES' EXPERIENCE REPRESENTING TENANTS IN OREGON, AS SENIOR ADVISOR.

WITH THE PANDEMIC STILL ONGOING, IN-PERSON EDUCATION WAS LARGELY NOT POSSIBLE. CULTURALLY SPECIFIC ESTATE PLANNING WEBINARS WERE DELIVERED 15 TIMES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ALLIANCE FOR HOMEOWNERSHIP FUNDED IN PART BY THEIR CONTRACT WITH THE CITY OF PORTLAND HOUSING BUREAU. WEBINARS REACHED APPROXIMATELY 150 PEOPLE, MOST OF WHOM WERE AFRICAN AMERICAN. THE LAWYER DELIVERING THE WEBINARS AND MANAGING THE PARTNERSHIP RECEIVED THE ON THE RISE AWARD FROM THE OREGON STATE BAR IN NOVEMBER 2021, WHICH RECOGNIZES AN EARLY CAREER ATTORNEY (FIVE OR FEWER YEARS) FOR THEIR SIGNIFICANT COMMITMENT TO FOSTERING AND PROMOTING DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN THE LEGALPROFESSION OR THE COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE.