Preventing human trafficking: You can help. Here are some guidelines:

Published on May 15, 2013

Be aware. Trafficking victims are everywhere, and they often exhibit characteristics similar to victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Letters to the Editor: Gordis, Brous, Fiscal Cliff

Published on December 6, 2012

I think that the strongest refutation of Rabbi Daniel Gordis (“When Balance Becomes Betrayal,” Nov. 30) and also of David Suissa (“War and Bickering,” Nov. 30) came from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who brilliantly used impressive intelligence gathering and precision bombing to minimize civilian casualties and thus avoided what most often happens with Israel in asymmetrical warfare — namely that Israel wins the military battle and loses the political war.

Bet Tzedek moves east

By Ryan Torok
Published on November 28, 2012

Ever since Bet Tzedek’s inception in 1974, the free legal-services firm has mostly been housed in the heavily Jewish Fairfax district, with additional offices in the San Fernando Valley and the Mid-Wilshire area.

Rebecca Catherine Nichols dies at 29

By JewishJournal
Published on October 17, 2012

Rebecca Catherine Nichols, daughter of Merle N. Stern and James H. Nichols Jr., died on Oct. 5 at 29.

Navigating the process of conservatorship

By Julie Gruenbaum Fax
Published on August 22, 2012

For a parent who has been caring for a child with special needs, it can be jarring to realize that at age 18, the child is considered a legal adult, whether or not he can sign his own name or understand the value of a dollar.

PJA and JFSJ head Elissa Barrett moves to Bet Tzedek

By Ryan Torok
Published on March 8, 2012

Elissa Barrett is leaving Progressive Jewish Alliance and Jewish Funds for Justice (PJA and JFSJ) to become vice president and general counsel of Bet Tzedek.

Learning from Hitler’s lawyers

By Jonah Lowenfeld
Published on January 26, 2012

Bet Tzedek Has a Ball With Rapper Nelly

By Ryan Torok
Published on July 8, 2011

Surrounded by dancing bodies, a 20-something took off his shirt and waved it around his head, bare-chested, simply following the instructions of hip-hop artist Nelly, the performer on stage. “It’s getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes,” Nelly sang, the lyrics from his 2002 hit song, “Hot in Herre.”

Seeking a pay increase, Bet Tzedek employees picket

By Ryan Torok
Published on June 21, 2011

On June 14, employees at Bet Tzedek, a Jewish legal-service organization, demonstrated in front of the organization’s office at 145 S. Fairfax Ave., calling for higher wages. Bet Tzedek — which means “House of Justice” in Hebrew — is a nonprofit that provides free legal services to Jews and non-Jews in Los Angeles. The Bet Tzedek employees — lawyers, legal secretaries, paralegals and clerical workers — want pay increases of approximately 2 percent, according to Marc Bender, an attorney at Bet Tzedek and president of Bet Tzedek Legal Services Union, which has 54 members.

Just awards

By Rob Eshman
Published on March 30, 2011

I would like to be able to tell you that the most inspiring words spoken at the 2011 Bet Tzedek annual Dinner Gala, held on Jan. 20 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, were mine. But they weren’t.

Bet Tzedek taps corporate attorney, community leader as new CEO

By Julie Gruenbaum Fax
Published on October 12, 2010

Bet Tzedek named Sandor "Sandy" Samuels as its new president CEO, tapping the community leader and financial industry legal expert to head the Los Angeles-based Jewish public interest law firm that serves nearly 12,000 disadvantaged clients every year.

Tovah Feldshuh immortalizes life of young Shoah heroine in ‘Irena’s Vow’

Published on November 20, 2008

"Irena's Vow" is the story of Irena Gut Opdyke, a young Polish Catholic woman who took unimaginable risks and paid an unspeakable personal price to save the lives of 12 Jews by hiding them in the basement of the villa where she was virtually enslaved by a German major during World War II.

Daphna Ziman praised, Justice Ball raises big bucks for Bet Tzedek

By Danielle Berrin
Published on July 31, 2008

Economic turmoil puts pressure on Jewish community

By Brad A. Greenberg
Published on July 24, 2008

The food pantry would not open for another 40 minutes, but already about a dozen people were waiting in the parking lot, many holding umbrellas to shield themselves from the blistering San Fernando Valley sun

Demi Moore, Tony Blair, Mr. Mayor

By Danielle Berrin
Published on February 21, 2008

Scene and heard.

Holocaust survivors in L.A.  are still struggling

By Jane Ulman
Published on November 29, 2007

There are an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 Holocaust survivors living in Los Angeles, according to Federation spokeswoman Deborah Dragon. Of these, 3,000 are determined to be financially needy, a figure based on a United Jewish Communities Report published December 2003, which found 25 percent of Holocaust victims in the United States living in poverty.

She paints for the animals

By Danielle Berrin
Published on August 16, 2007

Circuit.

Sher Cohen’s Law & Order: Justice Unit

By Gaby Friedman
Published on October 27, 2005

Don't call Nancy Sher Cohen at home after 8:30 p.m. "One of two things is usually true," the 54-year-old-litigator said. "Either I am asleep, because I am exhausted [from all the work], or I am out because I am working."

The Nation and The World

By Kelly Hartog
Published on April 28, 2005

The Nation and The World.

Community Briefs

Published on January 29, 2004

Bet Tzedek has won a significant victory for low-paid Latino and Asian garment workers, successors to the Jewish immigrants who labored in sweatshops a century ago. The settlement, reached by the free legal counseling service, is somewhat technical, but is likely to have a major impact on California's $22 billion apparel industry, employing 140,000 workers.

Michael Aushenker

By The Circuit
Published on August 14, 2003

What's green on the outside and has more than 2,000 of Los Angeles' sharpest legal minds on the inside? The Wiltern Theatre, when it became the site of Bet Tzedek Legal Services' seventh annual Justice Ball.

Torch Song Trilogy

By Melissa Minkin
Published on January 17, 2002

Linda Gach Ray has been carrying the torch for years. This week, she made it official by running the Olympic flame down a stretch of Figueroa Street as the torch was relayed through Southern California on its way to the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, which begin Feb. 8.

Having a Ball

By Michael Aushenker
Published on July 20, 2000

Call it the war room. On the 40th floor of a Century City office building, in an empty conference room of the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, 25 young professionals from the legal world and online community assemble. It's after work, and the cause for which they are gathered is a good one. They are the planning committee for The Justice Ball, a young-skewing fundraiser benefiting Bet Tzedek, a beneficiary agency of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles that provides free legal services for the elderly and the impoverished.