Public Interest Briefs

This year, the Center celebrates its 15th Anniversary. A decade-and-a-half ago, we opened our doors as one of the first public interest law firms in California. Our goals then were the same as our goals today– to handle tough and important public issues that would not otherwise get a fair hearing in the legal system.

We set out to protect California’s environment– reducing smog, challenging destructive freeways, protecting parks and open space. We wanted to help in guaranteeing equality of employment opportunity, keeping our government accountable, protecting the consumer, safeguarding worker health, preserving our civil liberties– and much more.

The legal issues we have litigated have been of local, statewide, and national significance. Every Californian has benefited from the Center’s scores of victories during the past 15 years. Our lawsuits have stopped Occidental Petroleum from drilling in the Pacific Palisades, forced the federal government to comply with its own laws regarding smog clean-up in Los Angeles basin, and vindicated the right of residents living next to toxic dumpsites to have a voice in the clean-up of those sites. We have worked to ensure that California’s most valuable natural resource– its land– is not lost forever because the government failed to adhere to its own laws regulating planning, development, and density.

When we uncovered employment discrimination against women and minorities, unfair elections, overcharging of consumers, illegal corporate campaign contributions, wrongful arrests– we brought the cases that no one else would or could– and we won. Center lawyers fought for eight years to get a federal government commitment that 3,700 units of replacement housing would be available for residents whose homes were in the path of the Century Freeway. The Watts Tower, an internationally-known art treasure, will be restored and protected because our attorneys refused to give up until we got Los Angeles to commit to preserve and maintain the Towers for future generations.

Our 15th year anniversary is a good time to take pride in and celebrate our accomplishments on important public interest issues. But new problems come to our attention daily. We are currently investigating a new series of cases involving illegal campaign contributions, fraud in government contracting, diminished open space, transportation and storing of toxic materials, sex discrimination, problems with state Medi-Cal benefits– and a lot more.

As we enter our next decade-and-a-half of service, we are looking forward to the important battles that lie ahead. You have been a loyal Center member, and we hope you share our enthusiasm. You have been there with us–helping us to meet some of the enormous expenses of our long and costly legal struggles. We thank you for your support and look forward to working with you in the years ahead.

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