I sat down with Lu Jiang, LCYC’s new Pro Bono Manager, who shared her insights and hopes for LCYC’s volunteer lawyering program.
What drew you to LCYC?
As an immigrant with a single parent in America, I experienced what it is like to be excluded from accessing resources. These experiences were the basis of me wanting to become a lawyer—to become an advocate for people experiencing poverty.
I spent the last six years working for a global nonprofit where I launched new programs and initiatives. The opportunity at LCYC was attractive because it would combine my personal and professional experiences to build a brand-new program to reach more youth with legal services through volunteers.
What are you most excited about?
I am excited to expand services outside of King County, particularly in legal deserts where there are a disproportionate number of homeless youth. Our pro bono program will roll out in phases, so hopefully we can get to all of the counties eventually. Holistic, trauma-informed legal support has been missing from pro bono services, and LCYC can fill that gap.
Besides expansion outside of King County, what is the pro bono program’s biggest opportunity?
To focus on community building. All of this work cannot happen if there is not trust.
We plan to host legal literacy workshops in schools so that high schoolers can learn about credit, debt, and evictions—all things that can impact their ability to get housing of their own. My hope is through volunteers, we can expand legal literacy for young people in hopes of preventing legal issues.
For young people that may already have legal issues, my vision is to partner with shelters and resource centers to provide drop-in clinics. Youth who need legal support will not be required to sign up for an appointment, to reduce anxiety related to transportation and making it to a specific appointment time. We are very intentional about removing access to barriers for legal support.
What are the opportunities to get involved?
For attorneys, direct representation will be our “bread and butter” to expand our capacity to serve a wider geographical area. You will receive brief training on the substantive area(s) of law—we do not expect someone to come in with full expertise. Additional training includes trauma-informed representation, and race and justice training related to racial disproportionality in institutional systems. You will also have the option to shadow LCYC staff attorneys at their hearings.
For other volunteers, there will be opportunities to support legal literacy training, outreach, community engagement, and administrative projects. We are especially looking for volunteers who can speak Spanish to provide translation and interpretation support outside of court.
LCYC is an anti-racist organization. To uphold principles of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, we will intentionally recruit volunteers who reflect the clients that we serve.
How can volunteers get involved?
We plan to launch the pro bono program in the late fall or early winter of this calendar year. If you are interested in receiving updates, you can sign up using our form.