Law Day 2011 Draws Big Crowd, Favorable Reviews

The , in conjunction with the Arcadia Chinese Association, hosted the 13th annual at the Saturday. An estimated 300 people attended the event, filling out forms and waiting outside the library in chairs for their chance to receive free one-on-one time with an attorney. 

Seeking legal advice on topics such as immigration, consumer rights, landlord-tenant issues, insurance law, real estate/property law, family law, business law, bankruptcy, as well as employee rights and workers' compensation laws, participants brought their information and questions to the 40 volunteer attorneys and four financial advisers who participated.

“For the City of Arcadia it’s just one more example of how the city reaches out to its residents and neighbors, [providing] community service. The attorneys are not charging for their time, so it’s an opportunity for people who may be intimidated by the legal system or can’t afford consultation to come here and get, hopefully, some answers to their questions,” Arcadia Mayor Gary Kovacic said.

“We always call this organized chaos...it’s hectic, but it’s fun and exciting [with] a lot of energy in the room, and so we’re looking forward to a successful day,” added Kovacic, who practices law as a partner at the downtown Los Angeles law firm Sullivan, Workman & Dee

Helping to organize the chaos was the Arcadia Chinese Association and its team of volunteers who handed out and collected forms, called out numbers, kept track of the 20-minute consultation time and led participants to their appropriate attorney table.

It was a successful experience for Arcadia resident Amanda Dillon who found the event “really informative on letting me know what my rights are." Dillon said she had questions regarding credit card and consumer debt.

"I have this perspective from an attorney who’s not partisan to either side and now I know how to proceed, so it was helpful and now I feel like I’m not going blindly into repairing what I was trying to do,” Dillon said, offering a favorable review after her consultation.

Her mother Teresita Dillon also found some helpful advice with questions she had about the homeowners association.

"They advised me properly... I am going to write letters and send by certified mail to the appropriate sources, so that was very good advice. I also got the answer for the statue of limitations of my claims when I want to respond to a contractor,” she said.

Lidia Lara from Alhambra also found the event helpful in answering her questions about business law. “It was very helpful. The lawyers were very knowledgeable. It’s great that they’re doing it for free," said Lara, who is hoping to open her own business one day and wanted to know some of the factors to consider.

According to Kovacic, who created the event 13 years ago, the number of participants and lawyers involved has grown over the years. The predominant legal questions this year dealt with immigration, bankruptcy, and real estate issues.

For a photo gallery of the event, .