About CCLS
Central California Legal Services is a private, not-for-profit, public interest law firm established for the purpose of providing free civil legal assistance to low-income individuals, families, organizations, and communities.
By maintaining a focus on its clients’ legal needs and the integrity of its services, an expert staff serves thousands of eligible clients in the counties of Fresno, Tulare, Kings, Merced, Tuolumne, Mariposa, senior citizens in Madera County, and on health-related cases in several other counties. Today, CCLS employs a staff of over ninety individuals with offices in the cities of Fresno, Merced, and Visalia.
Our
Our mission at Central California Legal Services is to advance justice and empower people. Our purpose is to fight social injustice, to provide education and representation to the disadvantaged and to maintain access to the legal system.
Excellence
We are committed to excellence in providing creative quality legal services. for the community.
Equality
We strongly believe in equal justice and strive to ensure that our clients enjoy equality and justice.
Compassion
We have the utmost respect and compassion for our clients and do our very best to serve them as a result.
Pride
We are very proud of, greatly enjoy and take a deep sense of satisfaction in our work serving the Central Valley.
From the Executive Director
Welcome to Central California Legal Services
For over 50 years, CCLS has been representing and advocating for low income individuals in Merced, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Fresno, Tulare, and Kings Counties—a region where intense poverty exists side by side with unparalleled wealth and abundance. Our job is to provide high quality civil legal services, improving the wellbeing of our communities through systems-changing advocacy as well as through legal work that meets individual clients’ immediate needs.
These legal needs range from ensuring access to basic life necessities such as healthcare and housing, to protecting families and seniors from violence or consumer fraud, to helping veterans overcome barriers to employment. We also work closely with agencies and community organizations that share our commitment to support low income individuals, families, and communities in being their own agents of change.
Moving into this new era of tightening resources and increasing income inequality, we at CCLS are intensifying our broader-scale advocacy in courtrooms and policy arenas where indigent clients need champions. Together with our clients and partners, we’ll be challenging the systems that breed poverty in the Central Valley, reshaping our Valley’s narratives to support health and prosperity for all who live and work in this most fertile and beautiful region.
I hope you’ll consider joining us in this effort by supporting the work of CCLS—both financially, and with your ideas, time, and energy as a volunteer.
I invite you to contact me if you have questions about what we do, or would like to help! We appreciate your visit to our website, and your interest in our work.
With warmest thanks,
Patience Milrod
Executive Director
Central California Legal Services
2115 Kern Street, Suite 200
Fresno, California 93721
Some of our supportive funders.
