History
Public Advocates Inc. is one of the oldest public interest law firms in the nation. Founded by Robert Gnaizda, J. Anthony Kline, Sid Wolinsky and Peter Sitkin in the fall of 1970, we opened our doors in September 1971 to begin serving the people of California. We began in part as a reaction to the rigid restrictions on the scope of California Rural Legal Assistance representation and were initially funded with generous support from the Ford Foundation and the Zellerbach Family Foundation. California had a need for a broad-based public interest law firm to address civil rights issues affecting the daily lives of low-income communities and we have been working to fill that need since our first day on the job.
Throughout its history, Public Advocates has engaged in a wide range of cutting-edge legal issues – many of them still at the core of our practice:
School Finance
Urban Development & Planning
Transportation Policy
Military Base Redevelopment
Language Access
Access to Quality Healthcare
Telecommunications
Climate Justice
Very early on more than a dozen actions were filed on behalf of clients such as:
Working at the national, state and regional level, we were best known, initially, for our litigation expertise and success in pursuing innovative legal strategies to protect low-income communities and civil rights.
Timeline of Past Work
In 1978 Public Advocates Challenged the Atrocious Treatment of Nursing Home Elderly In the late 1970’s Public Advocates’ attorneys fought a remarkable number of cases…
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Nearly twenty years ago, Public Advocates filed an education lawsuit with co-counsel that resulted in a far-reaching and impactful victory that continues to shape the…
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“Equal treatment for children in unequal situations is not justice.” Former Governor Jerry Brown Those words are at the heart of a sweeping education funding…
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Holding School Districts Accountable Under California’s 2013 Education Finance Reform Law Public Advocate’s priority work and tactics are set not only to win today’s battles,…
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For major reform, for major structural change, you need to build political will. That is why lifting community voices is a cornerstone of Public Advocates’…
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With the election of Donald Trump as President in 2016, housing advocates in California knew an attack on federal fair housing protections would be coming…
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50th anniversary gala
Throughout 2022, Public Advocates celebrated its history as a social justice leader. And on October 20, 2022, Public Advocates hosted a 50th Anniversary Gala at the Commonwealth Club in downtown San Francisco. It was a fabulous evening, with a gathering of our friends, community partners, allies from the legal community, and fellow social justice advocates to celebrate our accomplishments together, renew our commitment to social justice and honor our legacy.
We sincerely thank our sponsors, honorary hosts, leadership circle, and everyone who supported this important milestone.
