Cancer Legal Resource Center
Resources | Program Description | Examples of Our Work | Professional Panel | Externships & Volunteers | Upcoming Events | In the News | Pictures
Introduction to the CLRC
The Cancer Legal Resource Center (CLRC) is a joint program of the Disability Rights Legal Center and Loyola Law School. The CLRC provides free and confidential information and resources on cancer-related legal issues to cancer survivors, their families, friends, employers, health care professionals, and others coping with cancer.
A cancer diagnosis can carry with it a variety of legal issues, including insurance coverage, employment discrimination, access to health care, and estate planning. These legal issues can cause people unnecessary worry, confusion, and stress, and can be overwhelming. When these legal issues are not addressed, people may find that although they have survived the disease, they have lost their homes, jobs, insurance, or families.
Staff
Joanna Fawzy Morales, Esq., Director
Elise Meerkatz, Esq., Staff Attorney
Tiffany Sirikulvadhana, Esq., Staff Attorney
Laura Urias, Esq., Staff Attorney
Jennifer Chavo Fenton, JD,
Outreach and Education Coordinator
Sarah Semrow, Outreach Coordinator
Maria Badillo, Administrative Assistant
Contact
Toll Free #: 1-866-THE-CLRC or 1-866-843-2572
Phone: (213) 736-1455
TDD: (213) 736-8310
Fax: (213) 736-1428
Email: CLRC@LLS.edu
We now have a Telephone Assistance Line intake form available online! To download an the intake form, click here
The CLRC telephone assistance line is experiencing record high call volume. Calls go to voice mail if no one is available and calls are usually returned within 48-72 hours. However, because the CLRC's Telephone Assistance Line is staffed primarily by law students, there may be times of the year (Dec. - Jan., May, August) when the response time may extend to one week. We lose time when we miss calls because all of our lines are already busy, and then have trouble reaching our callers when we call them back. This results in delays in getting information and resources out to the caller. However, we now have an intake form available online. The intake form asks for the information pertinent to the issue with which you would like assistance. If you would like to fill out an intake form and email, fax or mail it back to us, this will help us to assist you in a timely manner.
Resources
Video about the Cancer Legal Resource Center: CLRC Overview 2008 (English) Transcript
CLRC Information Sheet (English)
CLRC Information Sheet (Spanish)
Educational Materials
Financial Assistance Resources - National
Financial Assistance Resources - National (Spanish)
COBRA, Cal-Cobra, HIPAA & MRMIP
Disability Insurance Options - National
Estate Planning Personal Records Form
Estate Planning Taking Care of Business Form
How to Ensure Your Treatment Gets Paid For National
How to Ensure Your Treatment Gets Paid For - California
Prescription Drug Assistance - National
Transportation and Housing Assistance -National
Educational Seminars
Cancer & the Law- California (Spanish) Transcripción
Navigating Managed Care- National (English)
The Cancer Legal Resource Center Chronicle
September 2008
Orange County Edition
May 2008
Orange County Edition
August 2007
Los Angeles County Edition
Orange County Edition
Program Description
Where Do You Turn For Help?
The CLRC has a national, toll-free Telephone Assistance Line (866-THE-CLRC) where callers can receive information about relevant laws and resources for their particular situation. Members of the CLRC's Professional Panel of attorneys, insurance agents, and accountants provide more in-depth information and counsel to CLRC callers.
As of July of 2008, the CLRC has received over 25,000 calls to its Telephone Assistance Line (866-THE-CLRC). Since its founding in 1997, the CLRC remains the only program of its kind, providing invaluable cancer-related legal information and resources to callers from all 50 states. The success of the Center's work is reflected in the enormous need for the information they provide. Throughout its 11-year history, the CLRC has served over 90,000 people through the Telephone Assistance Line, conferences, seminars, workshops, outreach programs, and other community activities.
Telephone Assistance Line Calls - Legal Issue
Telephone Assistance Line Calls - CA vs. Other U.S. States
Telephone Assistance Line Calls - Top 14 U.S. States (excluding CA)
CLRC staff members also speak at seminars and outreach programs in the cancer community, including cancer support groups and in-service trainings for health care professionals. The CLRC regularly hosts informational booths at health fairs and other events in the community. If you would like CLRC staff to attend your next event, please call us at (213) 736-1331 or (866) 843-2572.
Speaker Request & Material Order Form
CLRC Supporters
Since August of 2007, the Cancer Legal Resource Center (CLRC) has partnered with the National Home Office of the American Cancer Society (ACS) on a health insurance pilot project focusing on four states: California, Hawaii, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Click here for more information. ACS refers calls nationally to the CLRC. In 2001, approximately 20% of the CLRC callers were from outside of California. In 2007, approximately 55% of the CLRC callers were from outside California.
The CLRC is also supported by the California Division of the American Cancer Society (ACS). Generous funding is also provided by Loyola Law School, the Disability Rights Legal Center, the California Office of the Patient Advocate, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, several affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, other grants, and individual donations.
Examples of Our Work
Our callers consistently give our services their highest accolades. CLRC Highlights
DI, whose granddaughter, S, was diagnosed with childhood leukemia called the CLRC Telephone Assistance Line. S’s HMO refused to cover her special treatment protocol, because her hospital was not a network provider. The hospitals within the HMO network would not provide the same protocol. The family contacted the CLRC, which recognized the solution and directed them to a government agency overseeing HMOs. The agency worked with the insurance carrier to have the decision reversed. S was able to receive her ongoing treatment "out of network" and is surviving and thriving after cancer. One of the CLRC's volunteer attorneys also set up a special account at the family's church, where deductible contributions could be made for S's care.
D called the CLRC Telephone Assistance Line. He was calling on behalf of a friend and spoke with one of the CLRC law school students. His friend had leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant. His friend’s brother was a positive match to be a donor for the bone marrow transplant. However, the family is from Vietnam and the brother was in Vietnam. The United States Embassy denied a visa for the donor brother living in Vietnam.
We suggested that the family contact a federal agency for assistance. Approximately 3 weeks after filing their request, the family was notified that the brother was authorized to come from Vietnam to be a donor for his brother living here. He flew in on Christmas Day from Vietnam.
M called the CLRC Telephone Assistance Line from New Jersey. She first had breast cancer several years ago. She was treated and had silicone breast implants. She recently had a recurrence of breast cancer and was scheduled for surgery again. However, she needed two surgeons for the surgery – a breast cancer surgeon and a plastic surgeon. Both surgeons were not participating providers in her health plan. One of the surgeons had been approved by her health plan. The plastic surgeon was not approved. She needed this particular plastic surgeon who was familiar with silicone breast implants.
A representative at a government agency in New Jersey told her to go through the appeals process, which she was doing. However, her surgery was rapidly approaching and her insurance carrier was not responding.
That same day, the CLRC contacted one of its volunteer attorneys in New York. The attorney contacted the insurance carrier on our caller's behalf. After the CLRC's volunteer attorney advocated on behalf of Mary, and two days before her scheduled surgery, the carrier reversed its position and approved coverage for her out of network surgeon.
Professional Panel
The CLRC is seeking lawyers with experience in employment, health insurance law, estate planning, government benefits, or family law to join its Professional Panel and help people navigate their cancer-related legal concerns. A volunteer attorney can make the difference!
Here's what one of our current attorneys had to say about his volunteer experience:
“Over the past several years, I have responded to scores of referrals from the Cancer Legal Resource Center. Some of the callers just needed reassurance that they were receiving all they were entitled to from their insurers, their employers, and their physicians. Others have required substantially greater assistance and, unfortunately, many of them have been forced to take legal action. Without fail, these callers have viewed the Cancer Legal Resource Center as the last line of defense in securing their rights at a time in their lives when they were most vulnerable. Every time I visit the Center, I am amazed by the enthusiasm and intensity the CLRC’s attorneys and staff bring to their task, and the sincerity and empathy with which they conduct their work.”
Our volunteer attorneys have also been widely recognized for their work. Christine Hayashi won the California Young Lawyers Association of The State Bar of California 2006 Jack Berman Award of Achievement. To learn more about this award, click the links below: California Bar Journal article and The State Bar of California press release
If you are interested in becoming a member of the CLRC's Professional Panel, please contact us at (213) 736-1331.
CLRC Professional Panel Application
Externships
Remember why you came to law school in the first place! Take theory and put it into practice. Law students receive training in cancer rights law and gain “hands-on” experience assisting people with cancer, cancer survivors, their families, friends, and others coping with cancer. Get actively involved by interviewing CLRC callers and providing telephone assistance and information on cancer-related legal issues. You can also enhance your research and writing skills by drafting correspondence and conducting legal research for callers. Law students have the additional opportunity to participate in community events and educational seminars.
Enrich your law school experience and join us in this worthwhile program!
CLRC students go on to work at major law firms, boutique firms, government agencies, public interest programs, and open their own law offices. Here is what one of our students had to say about working at the CLRC:
"Working at the CLRC was an emotional, but rewarding experience. Being a willing listener to many of the callers was almost as important as any information we passed on. Many people were frustrated with their experiences with past organizations, and the CLRC was able to return phone calls and help as much as we possibly could."
“I initially decided to extern at the CLRC to help navigate their way through what I know to be very difficult times. In the beginning, I thought it would be me doing all the advising and giving. Now, I realize that I have learned more from the callers about law and life than I ever would have, had I not externed with the Center.”
Volunteers
Students can also fulfill their pro bono hours by working for the CLRC. Click here for a pro bono application. Pro bono students also need to complete the Student Log/Supervisory Report for Loyola Law School.
The CLRC also needs volunteers! If you are interested in helping out in the CLRC office or in attending community events as a representative of the CLRC, please call Sarah at (213) 736-1331.
Upcoming Events
Click here for an up-to-date list of CLRC events 
In the News
CRLC Director Joanna Morales gave a presentation on workers' legal rights at the Cancer and Careers workshop sponsored by the YWCA of North Orange County on March 11, 2008. The seminar was attended by survivors of all types of cancer, as well as doctors, employers, and family members helping a loved one through their cancer. For more information
Loyola Law School's In Brief: Getting to Know the Cancer Legal Resource Center
Legal Protection in the Workplace and in Health Insurance
Fighting to Live, Remain Insured
Watch CLRC "Cancer and the Law" presentation at The Wellness Community-Ventura
Despite Cancer, Many Keep Careers Healthy
CLRC Receives its 20,000th Call to its Telephone Assistance Line
Cancer Legal Resource Center Receives $50,000 Grant Over Two Years
Lance Armstrong Foundation Awards 27 Community Grants to Help People with Cancer
Voice of America interview about the Disability Rights Legal Center/Loyola Law School’s Cancer Legal Resource Center
The Group Room interview on your legal rights as a cancer survivor
CLRC Pictures
Casino Royale
On the balmy summer evening of August 4th, 175 people gathered outdoors at the Loyola Law School campus, designed by Frank Gehry, to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Cancer Legal Resource Center. Attendees enjoyed a night of guilt-free accessible gaming and a spectacular Chopin martini bar generously sponsored by Moet-Hennessey. Players tested their luck at Craps, Roulette and Blackjack, while more serious card sharks engaged in a Texas Hold ‘Em Poker tournament. Braille cards were used for all card games, an ASL interpreter was available, and all tables were wheelchair accessible.
Bob Cooney Golf Tournament 2007
Women's Conference 2007
Races and Walks 2007-2008
Cancer Rights Conferences 2008
Komen Community Challenge 2008