Staff Attorney
Chi-Ser Tran is a Supervising Attorney in the SSI Unit and Language Access Project at Community Legal Services. Her practice focuses on representing adults and children with disabilities who face issues attaining and maintaining Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. She also leads CLS’s language access advocacy and focuses on improving access to legal services, courts, and government agencies for individuals with limited English proficiency.
Ms. Tran began her career at CLS as a law student intern in 2015 and was awarded a fellowship by the Initiative for Public Interest Law at Yale to continue working at CLS upon graduation. Her fellowship project in the Employment Unit addressed barriers that low-wage, limited English proficient Asian immigrant workers face.
Prior to law school, Ms. Tran was a Voting Rights Organizer at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Programs Fellow at the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, and Project Coordinator of the inaugural Summer Youth Career Exploration Program at BPSOS – Delaware Valley.
Ms. Tran is the President of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania (APABA-PA). She is also a Board Member of SEAMAAC, an organization that supports and serves immigrants and refugees in Philadelphia.
Ms. Tran has received several awards and recognitions, including a Philadelphia City Council resolution recognizing her as an “Emerging Leader,” the City & State PA’s Law Power 100 list, and the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Bar Star award. She has published numerous articles and reports on topics including improving access to SSI for individuals with disabilities and improving language access.
Ms. Tran earned her JD from the Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2016. She earned her BA from New York University in 2009, where she majored in Asian/Pacific/American Studies.
