As we wrap up the year, we here at ICLS are reflecting on the challenges and successes that defined 2025 and the collaborations that made all our notable work this year possible. From producing our first open access on-demand legal education video library with legal startups like Briefly, to launching new service clinics and programs with pro bono partners and volunteers, together we met the trials of the year valiantly – empowered by the supportive hands of our gracious collaborators. Despite life-altering natural disasters, potential federal funding cuts, and more, ICLS Practice Groups and their Directors served our communities with grace and understanding.
Consumer Law
The self-proclaimed team that “turns abstract rights into real-world relief when people need it most,” managed hundreds of cases where full representation, negotiations, and litigation were necessary. They also implemented a new Consumer Rights Clinic at Menifee Justice Center and offered clients who were drowning in debt lifelines that made fiscally surviving 2025 possible for many residents across the Inland Southern Region.
Elder Law
It was a collaborative year for many of our teams including our Elder Law team whose advocates collaborated with other ICLS practice groups including the Health Law team, Pro Bono, Consumer, Immigration, Systemic, Family Law, Public Benefits, and Housing Law teams to strengthen services and expand impact. The Elder Law team also secured a grant that enabled them to educate seniors on predatory scams and provide senior residents of Riverside and San Bernardino counties with direct case assistance.
Family Law
This year, our Family Law team saw significant growth in case numbers, demonstrating the team’s commitment to client service and community impact with hundreds of cases closed. This growth is inspiring the team to widen its reach and extend services in high-demand areas. The team has already begun this practice by providing pertinent family law information in our Community Legal Education video series.
Health Law
Over 2025, our Health Law team handled complex cases, secured meaningful financial relief for community members, strengthened collaborations across ICLS and with statewide partners, and helped clients navigate everything from medical debt to essential in-home care. In 2026, the Health Law team’s advocates and legal administrative staff are working to clarify any confusion surrounding relevant deadlines yet to come over the next two years, already providing presentations and outreach in the effort.
Housing Law
Taking on the greatest caseload at ICLS, our mighty housing team continued to defend individuals in cases involving eviction, housing stability preservation, unlawful conduct, and systemic injustice across both Riverside and San Bernardino counties, overseeing thousands of cases. Accounting for impending housing legislation and awaiting the year’s average demand, our housing team is preparing an already robust team to deepen its existing collaborative relationships with other practice groups and help prevent homelessness in our communities.
Immigration Law
In 2025, the Immigration Practice Group continued its mission to provide high-quality, trauma-informed legal services to eligible immigrant communities and survivors of trafficking, violent crime, and domestic violence across Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Goals for the incoming year include empowering and advancing access to justice, safety, and stability for immigrant communities in our service areas and strengthen partnerships with other community organizations and volunteers.
Pro Bono Law
The year for, perhaps, our most collaborative team was characterized by immense growth. The Pro Bono team’s Small Business & Nonprofit branch expanded their program services to include nonprofits; the LGBTQ+ Program expanded its reach and impact serving 150+ clients; the Guardianship Program launched a Notice Clinic; the Disaster Program grew stronger expanded leadership and impact across the state; and the Expungement branch implemented process shifts to help hundreds of people access legal information. The wider team welcomed dozens of volunteers including Levi Bevis, who secured an Equal Justice Works Fellowship with support from pro bono partner Fenwick & West LLP to launch a first-of-its-kind HIV Program, supporting people living with HIV in our service region. In 2026, the Pro Bono team plans to continue strengthening ICLS’s programs and expand access to justice – be it through the multiple student programs which expanded significantly in 2025 across practice groups, aiming to educate and inspire the next generation of legal professionals in our region, or through our new Attorney Shadowing Program to be launched later in 2026 in collaboration with our Consumer, Elder Law, and Housing teams, and Lawyers in the Library program advocates.
Public Benefits Law
With changes to H.R.1 this past year, imposing stricter eligibility rules, our Public Benefits Law team took strides to lessen the impact on our community by attending countless meetings and workgroups across the Inland Southern Region, educating ICLS advocates on evolving policies, providing presentations across our service areas, and working alongside California State advocates and representatives to meet community members’ needs.
Systemic Impact Litigation
Our Systemic Impact Litigation (SIL) team continued pursuing litigation that has the potential for larger community impact, including making general relief more accessible and addressing issues in mobile home parks. In 2026, the team will look toward more collaboration with ICLS’s pro bono team and volunteers and regional and nationwide legal services organizations.
ICLS is proud to work in service to our community, and we look forward to making justice possible for those who otherwise couldn’t afford it in 2026.