The Beverly Wilshire ballroom held more than 500 guests on October 29, and the client list being celebrated could not have afforded the room. The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles raised $1.15 million at its 28th Annual Access to Justice Gala, the nonprofit law firm’s largest fundraiser, money that pays for free lawyers for people living in poverty across Greater Los Angeles.
LAFLA’s services reach more than 100,000 people a year. The gala is the one night the firm’s supporters gather in person, and this year’s program kept the work in view, mixing awards with the stories of clients the firm has represented.
The honorees
Mattel, Inc. received the inaugural Corporate Impact Award for its pro bono program. Board member James E. Hornstein presented it, and Jonathan Anschell, Mattel’s executive vice president, chief legal officer, and secretary, accepted for the company.
Stay Housed LA received the Access to Justice Award. The coalition has provided legal services to more than 60,000 tenants over six years, work that kept renters in their homes across a county where an eviction filing can move faster than a paycheck. Barbara J. Schultz, LAFLA’s director of housing justice, presented the award to Joanna Esquivel, Jessica Prieto, and Javier Beltran.
Shaun Robinson, the Emmy Award-winning television host, presented the Maynard Toll Award for Distinguished Public Service to Lisa M. Gilford, a partner at Sidley Austin. Jonathan Segal and Davis Wright Tremaine LLP received the Pro Bono Service Award, presented by Shayla Myers, LAFLA’s director of impact litigation and policy.
The clients who made the case
Between the awards, the room heard from the people the money serves. Manuel Ibarra, a military veteran, got help reaching his VA benefits. Derrick and Carole Ah Sam challenged FEMA denials after the Eaton Fire, the disaster that burned through Altadena in January 2025 and left thousands of households fighting paperwork as well as loss. Antonia and her young son, Aiden, told the room what LAFLA’s immigration help meant for a family fleeing domestic violence.
Actor Mark Damon Espinoza emceed. Joseph B. Farrell chaired the dinner, Executive Director Silvia Argueta and Board President Lynette Jones led the host organization, and the evening ran on dinner, a silent auction, and music by Jonathan Richards Music.
What the money maintains
LAFLA runs five offices in Los Angeles County, four Self-Help Legal Access Centers at area courthouses, three domestic violence clinics, and six medical-legal partnerships inside major health centers. It is infrastructure, most of it invisible until the day a tenant, a veteran, or a survivor walks in with a notice they cannot answer alone.
The gala raised $1.15 million in one night at the Beverly Wilshire. The return is counted on a different ledger: 100,000 people a year who do not have to face a courtroom by themselves.
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