Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA) provides legal assistance to low-income individuals and families in East Palo Alto and the surrounding community. Our practice areas include housing, immigration, general civil litigation, and anti-predatory lending.

We opened our doors in September 2002 and currently handle approximately 1,700 cases per year, helping some 1,200 clients. Volunteer attorneys, law students, and community volunteers work with our dedicated staff members to provide life-changing legal services to residents in need.

We are a community-based organization funded by grants and donations from foundations, law firms, legal organizations, and individuals who recognize the importance of providing the protections of the law to those who wouldn’t otherwise have them.

To schedule an appointment, please call our office at 650-326-6440. To volunteer, please send an email to volunteer@clsepa.org.

Michael Armstrong, Esq., Co-Chair Nolan, Armstrong & Barton LLP Nozipo Wobogo, Co-Chair Community Advocate William Byron Webster, Secretary East Palo Alto Rent Stabilization Board Sunil Kulkarni, Esq., Treasurer Morrison & Foerster LLP Stephanie Ahmad Student, Stanford Law School Renee Glover Chantler, Esq. DLA Piper LLP US East Palo Alto Planning Commission Member Rena Chng, Esq. Mayer Brown LLP Angela Dunning, Esq. Cooley Godward Kronish LLP Richard L. Ehrman, Esq. Thoits, Love, Hershberger, & McLean

Allan Johnson JobTrain Kristin Major, Esq. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Marcia Perez, Esq. Allen & Associates Patrick E. Premo, Esq. Fenwick & West LLP Court Skinner, PhD. Consultant, Semiconductor Technology East Palo Alto Planning Commission Member Andrew Thomases, Esq. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Carolyn Tucher Former Board President Palo Alto Unified School District Andrew Valentine, Esq. Managing Partner DLA Piper LLP US

To schedule an appointment, please call our office at 650-326-6440. To volunteer, please send an email to volunteer@clsepa.org.

Candice Greenberg, Esq.
Executive Director
Candice joined CLSEPA as Executive Director in July 2006. Her experience as a public interest attorney began in 2000, with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Her interests soon brought her to the West Coast, where she was a staff attorney at Legal Aid of Marin from 2002 until joining CLSEPA. Candice received her Bachelor of Arts from Tufts University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School.

Maricela Castillo
Office Manager
Maricela is passionate about helping people in need. Maricela was born in Mexico but grew up in the Bay Area. She is very involved in her church and teaches 10-12 year olds at Sunday School. At CLSEPA, Maricela determines what services and organizations are best equipped to help those in need. Maricela is fluent in Spanish.

Jeanne Merino, Esq.
Housing Supervising Attorney
Jeanne Merino has worked as the Consulting Supervising Attorney of CLSEPA's Housing Program since CLSEPA's inception in 2002. Prior to working with CLSEPA, Jeanne was a clinical supervisor at the East Palo Alto Community Law Project for nine years. Jeanne has taught courses in Community Law Practice, Problem-Solving, Federal Litigation, Legal Research and Writing and Housing at both Stanford University and Stanford Law School. Early in her career, Jeanne clerked for Justice Cruz Reynoso of the California Supreme Court, and worked as a resident advocate for a transitional housing program in East Palo Alto. She is presently the Director of Stanford Law School's First Year Legal Research and Writing Program. Jeanne received her JD from Stanford Law School in 1986. Jeanne is fluent in Spanish.

Victor Ramirez
Housing Paralegal
Victor Ramrez has served as a paralegal and director of the Housing Program at CLSEPA since CLSEPA's inception in 2002. After practicing law in his home country of Colombia for two years, Victor came to California and began working at the East Palo Alto Community Law Project, CLSEPA's predecessor agency. Victor has worked collaboratively with many different organizations and government agencies in the resolution of legal matters affecting tenants. He has also been involved and worked collaboratively with the East Palo Alto's Rent Stabilization Program, churches, property owners, and other local non-profits in their efforts to make residents aware of their rights and responsibilities under the City's program. Victor is fluent in Spanish.

Erika Rivera, Esq.
Immigration Attorney
Erika Rivera is a staff attorney in CLSEPA's Immigration Program. Her work is dedicated to CLSEPA's baseline cases. She is currently handling a wide array of cases, including U visas, VAWA self-petitions, and family-based petitions. Erika has practiced family-based immigration law in both the non-profit and private sectors. Erika was born in El Salvador and graduated from Santa Clara University School of Law after receiving her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Erika is fluent in Spanish.

Julie Hansen Quinlan, Esq.
VAP Supervising Attorney
Julie Hansen Quinlan graduated from Stanford Law School in 1990. She worked for Jackson Tufts Cole & Black, then joined the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County as a staff attorney in 1992. Julie spent 10 years at the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo handling cases involving elder abuse, housing, landlord tenant and consumer law. Over the next 4 years, Julie worked with Stanford Law School's clinical program in consumer law. Julie joined CLSEPA in 2006, where she serves as the supervising attorney of the Volunteer Attorney Program.

Marilia Zellner, Esq.
Immigration Attorney
Marilia is the supervising attorney of the immigration unit at CLSEPA. Marilia received her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2000 and has focused on immigration since 2003. At CLSEPA, Mari supervises a complex caseload of immigration detention and removal cases, primarily for survivors of violent crime, and for clients seeking humanitarian-based relief. Her developing interests include improving access to immigration counsel for women and children locally detained by law enforcement for low-level offenses and infractions, advising people who have been detained because of an ICE (immigration enforcement) raid, and providing legal information to the community about the immigration laws in the form of community-based education and presentations. Apart from her work at CLSEPA, Mari also provides career counseling to Stanford law students alumni part-time. Mari is fluent in Spanish.


Leah Simon-Weisberg, Esq.
Anti-Predatory Lending Attorney
Leah Simon-Weisberg is the managing attorney of the Anti-Predatory Lending and Home Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Practice. Before coming to CLSEPA, Leah was the co-Executive Director of the Eviction Defense Network (EDN) in Los Angeles, California. While working at EDN, Leah litigated over 1,000 unlawful detainer cases on behalf of tenants facing eviction in Los Angeles County. Leah has extensive experience providing education to legal service providers as well as tenants and homeowners facing eviction and/or foreclosure. She speaks Spanish, Moroccoan Arabic, and French. Leah learned Moroccan Arabic while working as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco.

Volunteers

Sharlyn Dreyfus, Esq.
Sharlyn volunteers in the Anti-Predatory Lending and Home Mortgage Foreclosure Program at CLSEPA. She earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School. Sharlyn has previously worked as a litigation associate at Jones Day and Baker & McKenzie. She has also worked as a volunteer attorney at Public Advocates in San Francisco. Sharlyn lives in Palo Alto with her husband and enjoys swimming, hiking, and cooking.

Jennifer Shyu, Esq.
Jennifer volunteers in the Housing Program at CLSEPA while also playing a marketing role in an online storage startup. Jennifer received her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from UC Berkeley in 2003. When not working, Jennifer enjoys camping and backpacking with her husband and dog.

Maki Kanayama, Esq.
Maki received her Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University and Master of Arts from Stanford University. In addition to having fun doing pro bono at CLSEPA in the Immigration Program, she enjoys oil painting and reading books.

Isaiah Sage
Isaiah volunteers as a paralegal in the Immigration Program at CLSEPA. He received his paralegal certificate from the University of California, San Diego. Isaiah's hobbies include animal activism, philosophy and sociology of religion, and stateless legal theory.

To schedule an appointment, please call our office at 650-326-6440. To volunteer, please send an email to volunteer@clsepa.org.