Pro Bono Honorees: April 2008
Christopher Jeu, Morrison & Foerster LLP

One of Legal Aid’s core pro bono programs is the Guardianship Project which provides pro bono representation for an adult who seeks to obtain guardianship of a minor in their care.  There are many reasons why a legal guardianship is important , one is to stabilize the minor’s living situation , another reason is to be able to put the minor on the guardian’s health insurance and consent to medical care.

Through the Guardianship Project, Christopher Jeu, one of our newest volunteers from the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, agreed to assist one of our clients. Christopher’s first case with Legal Aid was on behalf of a girl named Samantha and her guardian. Last March, Samantha’s father left her with his ex-girlfriend Joanna and the girlfriend’s mother and did not return. Samantha and her father had seen Joanna at a gas station and where she figured out they were homeless. The child was hungry and in need of a good bath. Joanna’s family knew and loved Samantha and wanted to feed her, bath her, keep her off the streets and safe from her father’s frequent rages. Joanna offered to take the child to her home for the night. The father never returned to pick her up the next day.

Samantha was scared of her father and began seeing a therapist Joanna thought could help her with her feelings. The therapist, after meeting with Samantha a couple times, recommended Joanna petition for guardianship of Samantha to provide her with stability and protect her from neglect she suffered with her father. When Samantha was three for example, her dad had left her in an alley alone where a stranger picked her up and took her in.

Joanna and her husband came to Legal Aid who gave the case to Christopher. Christopher filed the guardianship petition and Samantha’s father flew into a rage when he heard. An emergency guardianship was granted right away and a permanent guardianship petition was started. The state investigated the little girl’s situation and, deciding it was in her best interest, awarded the guardianship to Joanna in July. Soon after Samantha’s father tried to terminate the guardianship, alleging the guardians mistreated Samantha. Christopher went back to court to fight the termination and keep Samantha safe. The court granted the father visitation rights but did not terminate the guardianship. Samantha continues to thrive in Joanna’s home with a family and neighborhood kids to play with. Finally ending the cycle of instability, Christopher was able to make sure Samantha had a stable home.

Christopher looks forward to continuing his volunteer work with Legal Aid and said it was “very gratifying to help people in our community”. He wishes to thank Richard S. Kinyon and paralegal Linda Solee for their help on this case. The Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County thanks Christopher for his pro bono work and looks forward to working with him again.