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History

Casa Cornelia had its beginning in the spring of 1992 when the leadership of the American Province of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus (hereinafter Society) requested that Ann M. Durst, a member of the Society and an attorney, explore the possibility of founding Casa Cornelia as a contemporary mission serving those in need in Americas southwest.

Sister Ann Durst, SHCJ, conducted a study along the Mexican-American border to determine the need for legal services among the immigrant community. She travelled to Brownsville, TX, El Paso, TX, Albuquerque, NM, Tucson, AZ and San Diego, CA. San Diego, the busiest land border crossing in the world, clearly was the place to begin. On August 1, 1992, she, joined by Mary Wayne Gradon, SHCJ, from the European Province of the Society, signed the lease that made Casa Cornelia a reality in San Diego, California.

In the spring of 1993 Casa Cornelia agreed to provide the legal staffing for the Immigration Law Project of the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program (SDVLP). Dramatic changes in immigration law and policy soon made it advisable for Casa Cornelia to incorporate separately in 1997. With the assistance of SDVLP and Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro, Casa Cornelia Legal Services, Inc. became a tax exempt 501(c)(3) public service law firm.

In January 1998, Casa Cornelia decided to establish an independent law firm and in May it opened its offices in a suite at 315 Laurel Street. Initially, the space seemed not only adequate but luxurious. With dramatic growth, this sense of well-being was short lived. Within four years, Casa Cornelia Law Center expanded into additional space at 305 and 311 Laurel Street.

As a result of continued expansion, the Law Center outgrew our quaint offices and moved to our current location at 5th & Olive. The legal services are provided by four attorneys and three Board of Immigration Appeals accredited representatives. Volunteer law clerks and interns from the community’s law schools and universities support this professional staff. Community volunteers also assist with foreign language interpretation, among other services. Over fifty attorneys from the private bar also participate on a volunteer basis in our programs, providing direct legal services.