The City of Arcadia and the Arcadia Chinese Association will present the 17th annual Ask-a-Lawyer “Law Day” Program at the Arcadia Public Library, 20 West Duarte Road, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturday, May 9 as part of the nationwide Law Day celebration. The program is free of charge.
ACA President Francine Chiu (2nd from right) next to Mayor Gary Kovacic (right). Former ACA President Edward Wong (left) and VP Lily Lam.
Volunteer attorneys are available to meet with the public and provide them with a free brief one-on-one consultation on general legal questions. They will provide a summary of legal rights and general advice on a “walk-up” basis, and where appropriate, will refer individuals to the proper legal or governmental organizations. Law Day attorneys are unable to accept any cases from the people they meet. (Click here for summary and video of a previous Law Day event.)
Law Day attorneys will answer questions on immigration, consumer rights, landlord-tenant issues, insurance problems, property, family law, bankruptcy, government benefits, employee rights, workers’ compensation, personal injury and other topics. Informational brochures and pamphlets are available as additional legal resources.
Financial questions often arise in correlation with legal issues. Financial advisors are available at Law Day to offer expert advice in the areas of taxes, real estate, investment, financial planning, etc.
“Over the years Law Day has provided vital legal services to the community, and we look forward to continuing the tradition this year with our seventeenth annual Law Day event,” said Mayor Gary Kovacic, who is an attorney and the event’s chairperson since its inception. “The lawyers who volunteer their time, the City of Arcadia and the Arcadia Chinese Association all take great pride in being able to help our community on a one-on-one basis with their legal issues and to truly make a difference in the lives of our citizens. Some people just don’t know where to go or what to do first when a legal question arrives, or they don’t have the finances to seek assistance from an attorney, and that is how Law Day can really help by giving much needed guidance and expert legal advice.”
ACA has been a partner with the City of Arcadia in promoting and organazing the event since a couple years after it began. At a press conference Friday, May 1, organized by ACA President Francine Chiu and former President Dr. Edward Wong to announce the event, Chiu said the event is the most meaningful event ACA produces each year and that they never have trouble recruiting the many volunteers needed. Wong noted that there is instant gratification for volunteers to see attendees receive such important and helpful information.
Dozens of lawyers meet one-on-one for about 20-minutes with the first round of attendees at tables in the library, and then, sort of like speed-dating, time is called and a new round begins with the next attendees in line. Since no tickets are required and there is no way of knowing the topics the attendees will want to discuss. Different lawayers have different expertise. Dr. Wong said real-time adjustsments are made on the fly to match up questions of attendees with the appropriate lawayers. Kovacic called it an amazing display of productive organized chaos. In reference to Dr. Wong being an employee at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he oversees a team that helped land the Curiosity rover on Mars, Kovacic joked, “We have to recruit rocket scientists to organize Law Day.”
Participants are encouraged to bring any information pertinent to their case so the attorney or financial expert is able to give the most accurate and reliable advice. No reservations are required for this free service and everyone is welcome to attend.
Translation services will be available in Mandarin and Cantonese. Other languages may be available.
For more information, please call Arcadia City Hall at 574-5434.