A Brazilian in trouble with American law rarely knows where to start — and is usually afraid of spending money they don't have at a law firm. In the episode of the "911: Emergency in Los Angeles" segment with attorney Patrick Benedek and police officer Edwin Wu, host Jason Lanzarini recalls how he met Patrick: in 2014, newly arrived, he turned to the Brazilian consulate's legal assistance program to find out whether a problem he had was worth pursuing. Twelve years later, the program is still running, and few people know it exists.

How it works

Patrick is one of the program's volunteer attorneys. According to him:

• the service is free and open to Brazilians with any kind of legal question or problem — usually lower-income people with little access to lawyers and information;
• it is done by phone and, sometimes, by video, since the pandemic;
• the attorneys set aside one day a month for special attention — usually the last Friday — but the program runs all month long, and urgent cases are handled urgently;
• to use it, just write to the consulate explaining the problem and ask for an appointment; the consulate's website has the instructions;
• it covers the entire jurisdiction of the Los Angeles consulate, which, he says, includes Southern California and states such as Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Hawaii.

A second volunteer attorney, Gisele Ambrósio, also serves in the program, Patrick says in another episode.

Guidance, not representation

The point Patrick insists on making clear: the program's attorney does not take the case and does not represent the person in court. He listens, explains the situation, lays out the options and points the way — "that light, that path." When the matter belongs to another field, such as criminal law or immigration, he discusses the case to give guidance and refers trusted professionals. "It's a lot better than looking for a lawyer on Yelp."

If the person wants to hire an attorney afterwards, that is a separate, paid relationship between them and the professional they choose.

What comes up most

According to Patrick, the cases run the gamut — divorce, disputes with a landlord or a neighbor, criminal matters — but what brings Brazilians to the program most often is domestic violence. He has no statistics, but estimates that the vast majority involve an American husband and a Brazilian wife. The topic has its own article in this series.

American coldness and the Brazilian "jeitinho"

Why does an attorney who speaks Portuguese make a difference? It's not just the language, Patrick says: it's the culture. "You go into an American's office and you already feel bad because of the language barrier. Then there's the coldness. We're not like that; to get from one point to another, we take a detour." Edwin agrees from a street perspective: the Brazilian way even helps in police work, because an officer raised in Brazil tends to stay calm and flexible in high-stress situations, where the American "is black or white."

Other paths to free legal help

For those who need more than guidance, California has public and nonprofit resources:

• Court Self-Help Centers: in every county, they help free of charge with forms for restraining orders, divorce, custody, eviction and small claims.
• Legal aid organizations, such as the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, which represent low-income people free of charge in many areas.
• Lawyer referral services run by bar associations, such as the Los Angeles County Bar Association's, with a reduced-fee first consultation.
• License check: before hiring anyone, verify on the State Bar of California website that the person is actually an attorney and whether they have a disciplinary record.

What's said in the episode

Edwin, a Los Angeles police officer since 1994, admits on air that he didn't know the program existed — and he himself has helped the consulate with talks on disaster preparedness. Patrick says there are months when almost no one reaches out: "Is nobody going to ask me anything?" Both say the Los Angeles consulate provides an "exceptional" service and that the information is on its website, for anyone patient enough to look.

Sources and verification

• Consulate General of Brazil in Los Angeles — legal assistance program for Brazilians (appointments through the consulate).
• California Courts — Self-Help Centers.
• Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles; Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County; Los Angeles County Bar Association — Lawyer Referral Service.
• State Bar of California — attorney license lookup.

Who's talking: Brasileiros em Los Angeles is the podcast of the Brazilian Community in the Los Angeles area, hosted by Jason Lanzarini, who since 2014 has organized the Community's Facebook groups in California. In this episode of the "911: Emergency in Los Angeles" segment, he welcomes Patrick Benedek, a California attorney practicing business law, estate planning and litigation, a volunteer with the legal assistance program of the Consulate General of Brazil in Los Angeles and vice president of the Brazil-California Chamber of Commerce; and Edwin Wu, a Los Angeles police officer since the 1990s with a long tenure at LAX airport, host of the Palavrão Tático podcast.

Note: the rules described apply to California. The law differs in other states. This text is general information, not legal advice: for a specific case, consult an attorney licensed in California.

Watch this part of the episode:

How the Consulate's free Legal Clinic in LA works — starting at 3:36 · ☆ Brasileiros em Los Angeles