Spotlight on Barbara Bergstein, Volunteer Attorney for the Cancer Legal Resource Center

By: Audrey Kraus, Esq.
Director, Pro Bono

Barbara Bergstein is a longstanding volunteer attorney for the Cancer Legal Resource Center’s pro bono panel and a crucial supporter of its mission to help people with cancer resolve the legal issues that arise as a result of a cancer diagnosis.  Barbara currently practices at the law firm of Burgh, Balian & Bergstein where she specializes in elder law and estate planning for wills, trusts, and special needs trusts.  Throughout her legal career, Barbara has shared the expertise that she has cultivated in her private practice to provide pro bono assistance to people in need, including the many callers that the CLRC has sent her way.

Barbara is always engaged in pro bono service, focusing her efforts on advocating for people with disabilities.  Barbara is the parent of a child with autism and has served as a board member of the Autism Society of Los Angeles.  She often speaks to parents about the rights of children with disabilities. Also, she has provided pro bono at the request of the courts, accepting appointments to represent children with disabilities in conservatorship proceedings.   

 From the time of the CRLC’s inception ten (10) years ago, Barbara has provided critical pro bono assistance to people who face cancer related legal problems, counseling them in the areas of Medi-Cal and SSI planning, estate planning and special needs trusts.  Barbara’s active and frequent participation on the CLRC pro bono panel has run the full spectrum.   She has: provided counsel and advice to callers on the telephone, provided in-person consultations, and visited people in their hospital beds in order to draft estate planning documents for them, such as wills and powers of attorney.  Barbara also has lectured with Barbara Schwerin, former director of the CLRC, sharing her legal knowledge and experience with Loyola law students as well as people with cancer, their caregivers and family members served by the Wellness Community.

While Barbara feels that all of her experiences with CLRC and its referred callers have been notable, she particularly recalls visiting a person who was dying of cancer in the hospital who was concerned about keeping her house out of probate.  Barbara was able to work with this woman and her family members to realize her wishes, thus relieving the additional stress and confusion that she was encountering at the end of her life.  While Barbara commented that it is extremely positive and heartwarming, to help a person in need, for her pro bono work is not discretionary.  As she stated, “I think that’s what we should be doing as lawyers, giving our time to people who do not have access to the legal system and cannot always afford it.”      
   
 The Disability Rights Legal Center congratulates Barbara on her commitment to people with disabilities, and to the CLRC, in particular and looks forward to a continued fruitful collaboration in the future. 

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