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Monterey Park, California -- A community legal clinic run by the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County (APABA) will significantly expand its efforts to help Monterey Park residents through new partnerships with two legal services groups -- Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles and Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County.

"Advancing Justice - LA and Neighborhood Legal Services have decades of experience serving low-income communities," said Deborah Yao, APABA's Executive Vice President. "We are thrilled to partner with them as our legal clinic -- the only community legal clinic in Monterey Park -- grows in size and reputation."

Advancing Justice - LA will focus on handling workers' rights cases. "This exciting partnership reflects of our respective organizations' longstanding commitment to meet the communities' varied legal needs," noted John Trang, staff attorney at Advancing Justice - LA.

With an office in the nearby city of El Monte, Neighborhood Legal Services will serve as the primary legal aid referral source for low-income clinic participants who need more extensive assistance on issues such as health and government benefits, housing, and immigration. "Nearly 80 percent of residents in Monterey Park speak a language other than English at home and 15 percent live below the poverty line," said Neal Dudovitz, Executive Director of Neighborhood Legal Services. "This new partnership allows us to improve our advocacy to reduce the effects of poverty in our communities."

APABA has provided valuable legal services to low-income residents of Los Angeles County since February 13, 2013. Every month at the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library, volunteer attorneys and law students give free, in-language legal information and assistance in the areas of criminal law, civil matters, employment and workplace disputes, estate planning, family law, government and health benefits, and immigration. Services are provided in Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, and English.

The APABA community legal clinic is held on the second Tuesday of each month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library (Friends Room upstairs), 318 Ramona Ave., Monterey Park, CA 91754. Volunteers are matched with a clinic participant and help with intake and provide information in response to myriad legal issues in the areas of family law, estate planning, criminal law, civil matters, labor & employment, government benefits, and immigration. To volunteer, please RSVP at http://apaba.org/event-1859804. If you are interested in joining our clinic planning committee and/or have any questions, please e-mail Deborah Yao at outreachapabala@gmail.com. If you cannot make it to the clinic but would be available to consult via telephone, please email us your name, telephone, and area of specialty/expertise.