SAN DIEGO (July 16, 2020) - The San Diego County Bar Foundation (SDCBF) is now accepting Indigent Criminal Defense (ICD) grant applications. ICD grants are awarded exclusively for the furtherance of and to support programs, projects and activities that directly benefit indigent criminal defendants in San Diego County. ICD Grant applications are due August 1, 2020 @ 11:59 pm. Programs that are designed to deliver effective and efficient, high quality, ethical, conflict‐free representation as well as projects and activities which will benefit accused persons who cannot afford to hire an attorney are eligible for consideration. Organiz...

June 12, 2020 Black lives matter. The San Diego County Bar Foundation (SDCBF) stands with the San Diego County Bar Association and our community in condemning racism and violence against people of color, and in our shared commitment to working toward positive change. For decades, our mission has been to provide access to justice by investing in organizations advocating for people in San Diego impacted by poverty, abuse and discrimination. Aligned with our mission, we stand with those who are victims of systemic racism, and we pledge to continue our efforts fighting against racism in all its forms. We must ensure that access to justice is the ...

The San Diego County Bar Foundation will participate in #GivingTuesdayNow  on May 5th as a global day of giving and unity! Help SDCBF raise $50,000 for grants to support necessary legal services for the most vulnerable populations. Local organizations have reported that stress on their resources has been significant while serving an increased number of clients and victims for domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, immigration law, and tenant rights. Sheltering-in-place and court closures mean these communities need our help now. Give today or give tomorrow, donating the equivalent of one billable hour, or more, can go a long way. ...

The San Diego County Bar Foundation has awarded $401,180 to 21 local nonprofit organizations to provide legal services, public awareness education and improvements to the region’s justice and court system. Awards from the Bar Foundation’s general grant and Indigent Criminal Defense funds focus on assisting people and communities throughout North County, Central/Downtown San Diego and East County. Grants assist organizations that serve immigrants, the working poor, domestic violence victims, the disabled, veterans, the homeless, low income seniors and at-risk youth. “You feel their strong sense of commitment to the people that they ...

SAN DIEGO (May 20, 2019) – The San Diego County Bar Foundation announced its 2019 Distinguished Lawyer Memorial inductees, recognizing deceased lawyers and judges of the San Diego County Bar who have demonstrated superior legal skills and high ethical standards throughout careers of significant length. The Distinguished Lawyer Memorial Reception will be held at the University Club on Wednesday, May 22 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Each inductee will be recognized with a permanent plaque in the Hall of Justice at the San Diego County Courthouse. “The Distinguished Lawyer Memorial gives special and permanent recognition to well-deserving individual...

March 12, 2019 A note from SDCBA President, Lilys McCoy. It is with great excitement that I write to inform you that we have hired a new SDCBA Executive Director, Jill Epstein. Jill is an attorney and an experienced association executive, and she will start her role at the SDCBA on Wednesday, March 20th.   Jill comes to the Bar Association from Miracle Babies, a foundation that provides financial and emotional support to families with critically ill babies in the NICU. Previously, Jill spent nearly seven years as the Executive Director of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, an independent professional organi...

SAN DIEGO (Mar. 12, 2019) – The San Diego County Bar Foundation has awarded $521,000 to 24 local nonprofit organizations providing legal services, public awareness education and improvements to the region’s justice and court system. The awards, from two Foundation grant programs — general and indigent criminal defense — focus on people and communities that are impacted by poverty, abuse and discrimination. Funds assist organizations that serve refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, working poor, domestic violence victims, the disabled, veterans, the homeless, low income seniors and at-risk youth. “The San Diego County Bar Foundation has ...

SAN DIEGO (Oct. 30, 2018) – The San Diego County Bar Foundation brought together the San Diego legal community’s finest at its 21st annual “An Evening in La Jolla” benefit, raising more than $130,000 to help at-risk communities gain access to proper legal services. The Foundation also recognized board members Brian Funk and Jean Walcher for their leadership and contributions to making its mission possible. “These awards are given when the board wants to recognize someone who has gone above and beyond to advance the ideals of the Bar Foundation,” said Neal Rockwood, president of the board of directors. “These individuals display ...

SAN DIEGO (October 24, 2018) The San Diego County Bar Foundation’s (SDCBF) Indigent Criminal Defense Fund (ICD) supports the California Innocence Project and other organizations that deliver effective legal representation and programs to assist accused people who cannot afford to hire an attorney. Last year, SDCBF provided California Western School of Law’s California Innocence Project $100,000 to bring a post-graduate law student on as a full-time fellow to work on wrongful conviction cases. News like the below is what makes our work so rewarding! “I am so pleased to announce that after spending more than 20 years in prison for a crime ...

Applications for 2019 General Grant Fund and Indigent Criminal Defense Fund are Now Open  SAN DIEGO (July 06, 2018) – The San Diego County Bar Foundation is now accepting applications for its annual grant cycle. The Bar Foundation’s grant program awards local organizations that promote an understanding of the legal system and support victims of poverty, abuse and discrimination. Since beginning its grant program in 1979, the Bar Foundation has awarded over 50 legal aid and public interest organizations with more than $3 million to provide legal services to community members in need. This past year, the Bar Foundation awarded 20 local ...