Please note: LCCRSF provides tenant-side advocacy. We do not provide legal assistance to residential or commercial landlords. We also cannot advise on tenant-to-tenant disputes or assist master tenants with questions pertaining to their subtenants.

If you are a business who is a commercial tenant in the Greater Bay Area, and have received a three-day notice or summons and complaint in an unlawful detainer eviction lawsuit, please read up on your legal rights as a commercial tenant facing eviction at this link, with some suggestions of possible resources: https://lccrsf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Know-Your-Rights-Printout.docx 

If you have a pressing legal need besides an impending commercial eviction lawsuit, and do not want to wait for our LSE team to review your application, please look up your local bar association’s attorney referral program to find a sliding scale attorney.  

• The Alameda County Bar Association is providing limited virtual pro bono services. Please call the Alameda County Bar Association intake line for screening: (510) 302-2222 option #4 or submit an online request here. 
• You may be able to receive representation or referrals through the San Francisco Lawyer Referral Service, you can call (415) 989-1616 (hours 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. PST) or fill out their online request form to receive assistance here. 
• The Contra Costa County Bar Association Find a Lawyer service can be reached via phone at (925) 825-5700 or by completing their online form here. 
• The Santa Clara County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service can be reached by calling (669) 302-7803 or online here. 
• For resident of San Mateo, the San Mateo County Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service Program is available by calling (650) 369-4149. 

Other resources to explore for free or low-cost legal assistance: 

• Berkeley Law’s New Business Community Law Clinic offers free legal office hours for eligible entrepreneurs in the East Bay throughout the month. You can see all the dates and locations and register for an appointment here to meet with an attorney. 

• If you are sued as an Alameda County resident, Alameda County Superior Court Self-Help Center offers phone and video consultations as well as a live chat feature to answer questions about your case: Visit their website or call 510-272-1393 for more info. 

• Another legal services organization, Elevate Community Center, provides free legal services to eligible clients for a variety of legal issues. Their application form can be accessed by filling out this form here. 

• You may also receive low-cost representation through the Bay Area Legal Incubator. Visit this link to request legal assistance. 

If you are a commercial tenant in the Bay Area who needs help negotiating your lease, creating a rent repayment plan, or whose landlord is threatening you with an eviction or breach of contract case, we can help. We offer a variety of services including webinars that outline your moratorium protections and legal defenses, commercial lease clinics, attorney matching, and legal information. If you have any questions specific to commercial lease matters, please email lse@lccrsf.org

Resources for San Francisco and Oakland-Based Small Businesses and Nonprofits

San Francisco

• SF Tenant to Landlord Sample Letter – Repayment Plan
• SF Commercial Lease Negotiation PPT
• SF Commercial Lease Negotiations Webinar (English)
• SF Commercial Lease Negotiations Webinars (Spanish)

Oakland

• Oakland Tenant to Landlord Sample Letter – Repayment Plan
• Oakland Commercial Lease Negotiation PPT
• Oakland Commercial Lease Negotiations Webinar (English)
• Oakland Commercial Lease Negotiations Webinars (Spanish)

How to Apply for Free Legal Services

Legal Services for Entrepreneurs (LSE) provides free legal services to low-income individuals who want to start or develop businesses; businesses committed to investing in economically distressed communities, including hiring people with arrest and conviction records; and mom and pop shops located in areas where gentrification is a force for displacement.

Need business law advice? We can help! 

We serve Bay Area clients that are: 

• Low-income individuals 
• Located in low-income communities; and/or 
• Located in communities of color and have a commitment to hiring from the community 

We provide free legal consultations on: 

• Entity formation
• Terms of a commercial lease 
• Business contracts 
• Employment law 
• Intellectual property 
• Other business concerns 

Please note: We do not provide legal consultation on tax, litigation, or bankruptcy concerns. 

You’ll need to complete an online application form. Once the application form is submitted, LCCRSF staff will contact you to schedule a 30-minute call to listen to your situation and match you with the right attorney and resources. 

LSE Pro-Bono/Free Attorney Application

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Personal Information

First Name

Last Name

Birthdate 

Please enter the date as: mm/dd/yyyy.

Business Address: Street

Include apartment number, if any.

Business Address: City

Busines Address: State

Business Address: ZIP Code

Business Address: County

Please select... Alameda Alpine Amador Butte Calaveras Colusa Contra Costa Del Norte El Dorado Fresno Glenn Humboldt Imperial Inyo Kern Kings Lake Lassen Los Angeles Madera Marin Mariposa Mendocino Merced Modoc Mono Monterey Napa Nevada Orange Placer Plumas Riverside Sacramento San Benito San Bernardino San Diego San Francisco San Joaquin San Luis Obispo San Mateo Santa Barbara Santa Clara Santa Cruz Shasta Sierra Siskiyou Solano Sonoma Stanislaus Sutter Tehama Trinity Tulare Tuolumne Ventura Yolo Yuba Non-CA

Business Phone Number

Business Email Address

Alternate Email

Alternative Contact

Name, phone number, and relationship to you of another contact person, in case we can't get ahold of you

Demographic Information

Your answers to these questions are collected for grant reporting purposes. 

Marital Status

Please select... Single Married Divorced Widowed Common Law Other

Highest level of education?

Please select... No Degree GED High School Associate Degree Bachelor Degree Masters Doctorate Other

Race

Please select... Asian - Central Asian Asian - Chinese Asian - Filipino Asian - Japanese Asian - Korean Asian - Mongolian Asian - Other Asian Asian - South Asian Asian - Southeast Asian Black - African Black - African American Black - Caribbean Black - Central American Black - Mexican Black - Other Black Black - South American Indigenous - American Indian/Native American Indigenous - Indigenous from Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America or South America Indigenous - Other Indigenous Latino - Caribbean Latino - Central American Latino - Mexican Latino - Other Latino Latino - South American Middle Eastern, West Asian or North African - North African Middle Eastern, West Asian or North African - Other Middle Eastern or North African Middle Eastern, West Asian or North African - West Asian Mixed Race Pacific Islander - Chamorro Pacific Islander - Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander - Other Pacific Islander Pacific Islander - Other Pacific Islander Pacific Islander - Samoan White - European White - Other WhitePress and hold CTRL to select multiple (or Command on a Mac).

Primary language
(if other than English)

Please select... Amharic Arabic Armenian Bengali Burmese Cantonese Creole Dari Farsi French Gujarati Haka Hindi Indonesian Japanese Khmer Korean Mam Mandarin Mongolian Other Portuguese Russian Spanish Tagalog Taiwanese Tibetan Tigrinya Turkish Urdu Vietnamese

Gender

Please select... Female Male Transgender Trans Male Trans Female Genderqueer/Gender Non-binary Unknown/Decline to Answer Not Listed

Sexual Orientation

Please select... Straight/Heterosexual Bisexual Gay/Lesbian/Same-Gender Loving Questioning/Unsure Not Listed Unknown/Decline to Answer

I have a disabilityIf yes, please check the box.

If you have a disability or chronic health condition, please describe it:

I identify as otherwise traditionally
disadvantaged/historically marginalized
If yes, please check the box.

List any other areas of  disadvantage

Personal Financial Information

Your application will not be considered without the following financial information. Your answers are collected to assess eligibility for our program and for grant reporting. 

Are you a single parent/guardian supporting a child?

Please select... Yes No

Household size

Number of people who live with and share financial resources with you.

Number of Dependents
(if you have any)

Please select... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 +10

Total household income for the next 12 months (estimate)

Includes income of spouse, parent or partner in same household.  x

Previous year estimated total
household income

Please enter a number without a dollar sign. x

Select Household Income Status (San Francisco County Chart)

Extremely Low IncomeLow IncomeModerate IncomeAbove Moderate Income

How much do you have
in savings? (estimate OK)

Please enter a number without a dollar sign. x

Are you a residential tenant or homeowner?

Residential tenantHomeowner

Are you working?

Please select... Yes No

Current employment

Who pays for expenses if you are not working?

Income support or public benefits?

CalWORKSCalFreshPAES (Personal Assisted Employment Services)GA/GR (General Assistance/General Relief)SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance)SSI (Supplemental Security Income)SDI (State Disability Insurance)VA (Veterans Benefits)UnemploymentOtherNone

What sources of information are you uploading to verify your income?

Public BenefitsPayroll StubIndividual Income Tax ReturnUnemployment BenefitsVeteran's BenefitsRental Assistance (e.g. Section 8 voucher)Placed in Foster CareBank StatementOther

Business Information

Business name

Description of Business/Product/Service

Have you begun operating
your business?

YesNo

For how many years have
you been operating?

Current number of employees

Ownership structure

Please select... Sole proprietor Partnership LLC Corporation LP Other

Number of owners

Co-owner contact information

Name, phone number, e-mail address

Legal Assistance

What legal services do you need? As a reminder, LSE cannot assist with issues of taxation, bankruptcy, or litigation.

Please select... Contract Drafting/Review Employment Law Concerns Entity Formation Intellectual Property Lease Review/negotiation OtherHold down SHIFT-key to select multiple options.

If other, specify other area

Please briefly describe your legal issue(s) and any advice an attorney may have given you about it in the past. Also please include any other information you think would be helpful.

Does your matter involve any adverse parties? (e.g., a landlord, property manager, or another party to a contract)

YesNo

Please provide full names and contact info for all adverse parties (e.g., your landlord, property manager, the other party(ies) to a contract):

Do you have a lease in writing?If yes, please check the box.

Date lease term ends

Please enter in format mm/dd/yyyy

Does your lease have attachments (such as
exhibits or notations of changes made after signing)?If yes, please check the box.

Have you received a notice/letter from your landlord
or a court?If yes, please check the box.

Have you ever applied to LSE before?

Please select... Yes No

How did you hear about us?

50 Character Limit

I hereby certify that, to the best of my knowledge, the above statements are true and correct. I understand this information is subject to verification only by authorized U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) officials for federally-funded grants.

Client Printed Name (Full Name) 

Would you like to be included on our e-mail list to receive announcements about upcoming events and other information on legal issues?

YesNo

Consent for Disclosure of Case Information

We will not disclose the information you provide in this Application for Assistance to anyone except: 

1.       as authorized by you; 

2.       as required by law or court order;

3.       our employees and representatives, for the purpose of making a determination about whether you qualify for our services and/or for the performance of our services; 

4.       volunteer attorneys, paralegals, translators, or interpreters (“Volunteers”) who express interest in assisting you. All Volunteers will see a short description of your request for assistance that does not contain any identifying details. Volunteers who express interest in assisting you will receive your name and contact information and that of any opposing parties to facilitate a conflicts check. After completing the conflicts check and connecting you with the Volunteers who have agreed to assist you, we will forward those Volunteers a full copy of your application; or

5.       we may compile data and information provided by you and other Legal Services for Entrepreneurs applicants and/or clients, but such information will only be disclosed on an aggregate or illustrative basis and will not be disclosed in a manner that would personally identify you.

File Upload

Your application will not be considered without uploaded copies of the requested financial information.

Upload a copy of each owner's COMPLETE, most recent federal income tax return.

If your business has not begun operating, please select which document you will upload (if available)

Business PlanResume

Upload a copy of the most recent draft of your business plan, if you have it.

Upload a copy of your most recent resume, if you have it.

Upload a copy of your commercial lease, if applicable.

Upload additional document, if needed

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