Santa Clara University

Top Pro Bono Attorneys

Fariba Soroosh ’92 and Julie Saffren ’02 credit their passion for
public interest to Santa Clara Law

Fariba Soroosh ’92 and Julie Saffren ’02 were featured on the Dec. 2006 cover of California Lawyer magazine, for an article on the state’s outstanding pro bono lawyers. Soroosh is the family law facilitator for Santa Clara County Superior Court and Saffren is a solo practitioner in San Jose. Both women volunteer for the Pro Bono Project of Silicon Valley. Soroosh originated the idea for a program that helps low-income pro per petitioners and respondents obtain or challenge permanent restraining orders. Saffren played a major role on an organizing committee that implemented the Domestic Violence Limited Scope Representation Project (DVLSR) in January 2006. Both women helped conduct training for volunteer attorneys and certified law students, who now number 40, according to the magazine.

Fariba Soroosh ’92 and Julie Saffren ’02

According to Saffren, "The influence of SCU runs throughout our program. We were able to implement DVLSR because we had the combined efforts of many SCU alumni and students. It’s been especially gratifying to work with SCU law students and to see their dedication to the safety of victims and children." Soroosh recalled, "I remember Prof. Eric Wright connecting us with a student from the Public Interest program, Peter Castle, who attended our earliest planning meetings. Today, SCU certified law students are regular participants in DVLSR. My idea would not have become a reality without the commitment of students, DV advocates, private attorneys, local law firms, court administration, and judicial officers. Working together, this collaboration has improved the sys tem for those litigants least able to afford representation."

Both Saffren and Soroosh speak highly of their SCU training. "We both have the law school to thank for our grounding in public interest law," said Saffren. According to Soroosh, "My first exposure to providing free or low cost legal services was when I took law clinic at SCU as a law student in the summer of ’91 with Cookie Ridolfi at the helm. And the rest is history!" For a link to the article about them, visit www.scu. edu/sclaw.