General
Our non-profit is committed to providing financial aid to people of diverse backgrounds who have injury claims and are often put out of work, hospitalized, and have trouble caring for their children in the time before their settlements. However, we believe that building a foundation is equally important. Our initiative is to offer legal and financial aid to these clients to ensure that these donations are as sustainable for them in the long term as they can be.
WHAT'S THE IMPORTANCE?
CDC
“There are 39.5 million personal injury cases requiring medical treatment in the US every year."
Statista
"There were roughly 2.3 million people injured in auto accidents in the US"
Investopedia
-Daniel Mollenkamp
“There's a disparity in the rates of financial literacy across racial and ethnic groups in the United States”
Background
I started this non-profit based on my experience as an intern at McCray Law Firm. Many of the clients that I saw come in had become financially reliant on their settlement offers, after being hospitalized or injured so severely that they were put out of work. For clients with children and upcoming rent obligations, I witnessed the despondency of the situation by speaking to many of them firsthand. I soon realized that their conditions were dire due to pressing timelines; rent was due in a month, they had just lost their car in the accident, or it was still in the shop and Ubering to their treatment and place of work was too costly. Regardless, I knew that even though these clients might receive settlement money, their cases often took months, even years to settle. That's why the main initiative of my non-profit is to help clients get back on their feet and begin their lives a year earlier than money would've allowed them to.
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My Story
Hi, my name is Ella, and I am the founder of Empower Legal Initiative. I was inspired to create this non-profit because I've wanted to pursue a career in law since the beginning of high school. As a writer for the Youth Entrepreneurship Association and former Civics Unplugged Fellow, I've particularly grown interested in corporate law. However, a common stereotype I often face is that it's a corrupt field to want a future. A big part of my journey has been thinking about why I want to be a corporate lawyer, how to make corporate law more ethical, and ultimately, what kind of lawyer I want to be. I believe that what makes Empower Legal Initiative special is using financial and legal knowledge considered only to be used for self-serving tendencies to help people who need it.
Our Team
Ella Pham
President, Founder, and Board
Hannah Gorelick
Board Member
Esha Bhavsar
Treasurer
Danny Tran
Organizer
Mai Lindsey
Board Member
Alan Ta
Secretary
