Summer 2016
  

  
September 17, 2016
 
Just Launched: 
Unite for Families Clinic
 
 
 
I n partnership with Jenesse Center, the oldest domestic violence intervention program in South Los Angeles, Levitt & Quinn is proud to announce the launch of the  Unite for Families Clinic , a family law clinic committed to providing high quality legal help to low-income members of the local community. Stay tuned for an upcoming press release!

We are looking for law student volunteers to participate in the clinic. Click here   for details.

Save the Date:
ESI MCLE is BACK on Saturday, 11/19!
Join us at Pepperdine University School of Law for "ESI 2.0"--an all day, can't-miss reboot of last year's wildly popular MCLE on electronic evidence. Stay tuned for details!
 
Levitt & Quinn  
is hiring!



Levitt & Quinn is a recipient of the GuideStar Gold rating for our commitment to transparency
Our Founders
Ziva Sirkis Naumann
Ethel Levitt (1911-1995)
Grace Quinn (1915-2006)
ABOUT LEVITT & QUINN

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 A Message from the Executive Director
Welcome to the Throwback Thursday edition of our quarterly newsletter! 35 years ago this month Ethel Levitt signed the lease on the building where volunteers with a commitment to public service founded Levitt & Quinn Family Law Center. For many years thereafter, we operated exclusively through the contributions of volunteers who are still an important part of our mission to ensure stability for children and their families. We celebrate the volunteers who bring their energy and talent to work alongside us as we serve our clients.
 
This summer we had some fantastic student volunteers working with us. Undergrads Brenda Sanchez (Berkeley) and Ben Geisberg (University of British Columbia) helped us get squared away on the admin side. Law students Morgan Hecht (UCLA), Ashley Hamilton (UCLA), and Chelsea Price (Pepperdine) quickly became part of the legal team (as well as the adopted godmothers to our neighborhood cat, Floja). They have been a blast to work with. They even helped us to pilot a new family law clinic we launched this month with Jenesse Center, the oldest domestic violence intervention program in South Los Angeles. It's fitting that Levitt & Quinn and Jenesse Center came together to create this new clinic. Both organizations were founded in 1981 by women who saw a community need, and without any obligation to do so, volunteered to create new nonprofit organizations to address those needs. It is also a homecoming of sorts for me. I began my relationship with Jenesse as a law student back in 1997 helping shelter residents prepare their requests for relief from abuse. I am proud to mentor a new generation of law students providing service in Los Angeles.
 
I hope to see you at the 35th Annual Stand for Justice Gala at the Skirball Cultural Center on September 17. That night we honor family law superstars Judge Mark Juhas and Mark Minyard of Minyard | Morris. And, get out your calendars because you won't want to miss our reboot of last year's wildly popular electronic evidence MCLE. Join us at the beautiful Pepperdine University campus on Saturday, November 19, for ESI 2.0!
 
Warmly,
   

 



Ana M. Storey
Executive Director
Levitt & Quinn Family Law Center
Our Story
A Community Worth Fighting For
I n the early 1980s, federal budget cuts gutted legal services programs throughout the United States, including Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA). Stunned by the imminent loss of legal access for 400 plus family law clients, Levitt & Quinn Family Law Center's founders made a courageous pitch to the LAFLA board. Ziva Naumann and Ethel Levitt, then already grandmothers, volunteered to open a new organization that would take on and finish the family law cases that would otherwise have fallen through the cracks of a splintering justice system. Ziva describes Levitt & Quinn's early days as a "mom and pop" law office. 

"On opening week of the law office, I was it," Ziva recalled. "One phone, one person. When Ethel returned back from her family vacation, her desk was ready, clients scheduled, [and another] employee hired."
 
Ethel and Ziva recruited Grace Quinn, as well as other lawyers' wives who had volunteered at Legal Aid. "We weren't officially a nonprofit but they knew us and appreciated the work we were doing," Ziva explained. Founded by volunteers on a shoestring budget, Levitt & Quinn has since grown into a million-dollar nonprofit organization run by professional staff with expertise in many areas of family and adoption law. 
 
In honor of the 35th anniversary of the founding of Levitt & Quinn Family Law Center, we have begun compiling a digital scrapbook of some early photos and founding documents.   Click here  t o start to relive some of our warmest memories. 
Awards Season
Levitt & Quinn Executive Director, Director of Legal Services, and Levitt & Quinn Honored for Leadership, Expertise and Service
June was a big month for recognition at Levitt & Quinn. Two staff members, and the organization itself, were recipients of three distinct awards, honoring the impact of the legal work championed by members of our organization. 

The Latina Lawyers Bar Association (LLBA) recognized  Levitt & Quinn Executive Director Ana M. Storey as the Guest of Honor at their annual "Celebrating Latinas in the Legal Community" event at L.A. City Hall. In her speech to attendees, Ana  spoke about the mutual benefit of serving on the boards of nonprofits like LLBA and Levitt & Quinn, "...you'll develop your leadership skills, expand your network of contacts, and benefit an organization that needs you. What's not to love!" Ana is a past president of LLBA.

Additionally, Levitt & Quinn's Director of Legal Services, Lucia Reyes, was the 2016 recipient of the  Legal Aid Association of California 's (LAAC) Direct Representation award. This award honors family law advocates in recognition of their outstanding dedication and commitment to legal services for low-income Californians. In her acceptance speech, Lucia spoke about her love for Levitt & Quinn, its mission, and her lifelong dedication to legal services. "Levitt & Quinn has given me to the opportunity to fulfill my dreams and help people in need. It's one of the reasons this award is so important to me: because LAAC shares the same principles as Levitt & Quinn Family Law Center. We are standing up to help those who would not otherwise have access to justice." Congratulations, Lucia! 

Also in June, Levitt & Quinn Family Law Center was nominated as a Nonprofit of the Year by the Los Angeles Business Journal. The annual Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards Ceremony took place on June 22 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in DTLA. We offer our congratulations to the other nonprofits that were nominated and our admiration for the work that they are doing in the community.
Meet Our Summer Law Clerks!
For photos, check out the 2016 Levitt & Quinn Volunteer Facebook Album
From left to right: Morgan Hecht, Ashley Hamilton, Chelsea Price
Morgan Hecht is in her third year at UCLA School of Law, and came to Levitt & Quinn having spent time advocating on behalf of underprivileged clients at Alliance for Children's Rights and Raphael House in Portland. This summer, Morgan worked primarily on Levitt & Quinn's one of a kind Adoption Program. She was able to assist in client meetings, hearing preparation, paperwork preparation, and new client intake. Throughout the course of the summer, Morgan was exposed to many different aspects of adoption law and family law and attended many hearings. She got to experience first-hand the impact of Levitt & Quinn's work.

"It has been extremely rewarding to work on adoptions this summer and see the peace of mind that families achieve getting their relationship with their children legally recognized," said Morgan in discussing her experience volunteering at Levitt & Quinn.
Ashley Hamilton, a rising 2L from UCLA School of Law, has had an invaluable experience during her 10-week summer internship at Levitt & Quinn. Working closely with her supervising attorney on
Kids Fund cases, Ashley has experienced a variety of work at various stages of the legal process. Her summer work has ranged from gathering critical information during an initial consult to drafting trial briefs and judgments. She has also attended a number of hearings and trials at several different courthouses, as well as meetings with community leaders and attorneys to discuss and work on veteran's issues.

"My summer at Levitt & Quinn has surpassed my expectations of a summer internship! When I hear my law school friends complaining about the lack of substance and variety to their summer work, I feel so grateful to be able to say that the work I've been doing is meaningful and directly impacts the lives of clients."
Chelsea Price  is a third year law student at Pepperdine University School of Law, where she participates in the International Moot Program. She studied abroad in Israel and London. Working at Levitt & Quinn gave Chelsea the opportunity to put the knowledge she gained in a family law course into practice. She spent the majority of her time working with  Shriver Project clients, assisting low-income families in high stakes, high conflict custody disputes.  As a result, she had the chance to design and help implement better custody situations for children in high conflict custody situations.
 
"The staff attorneys and legal assistants at Levitt & Quinn are professional, helpful, and passionate about the work they perform," said Chelsea. "Each day, I was inspired by their commitment to [the community], their clients, the field of family law, and each other.  They have created a close knit community and it was a pleasure to become a part of it."

Get your Tickets Today!
Levitt & Quinn's 35th Annual Stand for Justice Gala

September 17, 2016
Skirball Cultural Center

6 PM Cocktail Party & Auction
7:30 PM Dinner & Awards Ceremony

Honoring:
Hon. Mark A. Juhas &
Mark E. Minyard, Esq.

Learn more and RSVP by visiting


To learn more about giving to Levitt & Quinn Family Law Center, contact Caitlyn Kowalczyk, Development Manager, at  (213) 482-1800 ext. 306 or ckowalczyk@levittquinn.org