Legal

Free legal services are available to all patients through the Medical Legal Community Partnership-Los Angeles. The legal team provides help over the phone or at a health clinic. The legal team helps with many types of issues, including:

• Access to health coverage including Medi-Cal,
• Child support or custody,
• Evictions and poor housing conditions,
• Immigration and legal status,
• Income and employment,
• Personal and family safety,
• Public benefits such as food, SSI and cash aid, and
• Special education.

The legal team does not help with medical malpractice, criminal cases, or personal injury lawsuits.

Legal services are free for Health Services patients and household members. You can seek help for a specific legal issue or you can get a “legal check-up”. To talk to a lawyer, you can:

Ask your doctor, nurse, or a social worker, or any other clinic staff to talk to a lawyer,

• Email legalhelp@dhs.lacounty.gov or Call (818) 485-0575
• Be ready to give your first and last name, phone number, medical record number and preferred language.
• If you don’t know your clinic or you want to be a Health Services patient, call (844) 804-0055 or click here

Medical Legal Community Partnership-Los Angeles is a collaboration between the department and four local non-profit legal services organizations. The program serves low-income residents in Los Angeles County, helping patients with legal problems that affect their health.

The legal team works closely with the whole care team at the clinic. They have helped have eliminate patients’ debt, restored their Medi-Cal benefits and defended evictions. The lawyers also train clinic staff on topics such as immigration and public benefits.

The partner organizations are Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles Mental Health Advocacy Services, and Bet Tzedek.

If the Medical Legal Community Partner lawyers cannot help you, they may refer you to another organization that can.