ABOUT EDN

(En Español)

Approximately 70,000 evictions are filed in Los Angeles County every year. Tenants who are not represented by an attorney often do not find justice through the legal system or are tricked into signing an agreement that leaves them with little time to move, owing a large money judgment, and with the eviction on their credit record. The courts are not sympathetic to tenants who do not have a lawyer.

The Eviction Defense Network (EDN) is a network of trial lawyers, advocates and tenants defending the right to affordable housing.  EDN was formed in 2003 to provide affordable representation by experienced tenant attorneys to all tenants facing eviction in Los Angeles County.

EDN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is based on a unique model. EDN was formed to fill in the gap between the free services already provided by Legal Aid organizations and the huge number of tenants facing eviction who are either not eligible for Legal Aid or otherwise unable to obtain legal representation. Although EDN is a nonprofit organization, we do charge for our services and most of our funding comes from the fees our clients pay. In order for our services to be accessible to as many tenants as possible, our fees for representation are based on a sliding fee scale and we accept payment plans.

Some of the services EDN provides include: preparing and filing Answers to eviction lawsuits, providing legal advice on housing issues, negotiating with landlords and landlord’s attorneys, and representing tenants at trial. (For more specific information about the services we provide, see services and fees). Our offices operate on a drop-in, first-come, first-served basis. Because our lawyers are defending tenants in courts throughout Los Angeles County every day, the first contact a tenant has with EDN staff are with EDN case managers. Our case managers are experienced in the area of eviction defense and are supervised by a team of attorneys who exclusively represent tenants in eviction cases. Tenants who hire us to represent them will have a case manager as a contact person at EDN and will have a scheduled meeting with their attorney before their court date to prepare their case for trial. To make representation available to the most tenants possible, our fees for representation are based on a sliding fee scale and are not based on how many court appearances their attorney must make.

EDN not only fights evictions in court but also works to prevent evictions. We collaborate with several tenants rights organizations to provide tenant education, so tenants are in a better position to assert their rights and protect their homes. For a list of free or donation-based legal clinics staffed by EDN lawyers, see tenants rights clinics.

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