Chi-Ser Tran

Chi-Ser Tran is a Staff Attorney in the SSI Unit at Community Legal Services (CLS), where she represents low-income individuals with disabilities in administrative hearings, as well as other levels of appeal within state and federal processes.  She also works with community partners and key stakeholders to conduct targeted outreach to Asian American communities to empower them with information about accessing benefits and CLS legal services.

Prior to the SSI Unit, Ms. Tran was an Initiative for Public Interest Law at Yale Fellow in the Employment Unit. Her project addressed employment barriers that low-wage, limited English proficient Asian immigrant workers face. Ms. Tran conducted community education and biweekly clinics in Chinatown and South Philadelphia, provided direct representation, and engaged in policy advocacy.

During law school, Ms. Tran worked at the Philadelphia Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, the Employment Unit at CLS, Nationalities Service Center, the Sheller Center for Social Justice, and the Temple Legal Aid Office.

Prior to law school, Ms. Tran was 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.

Professional Associations

Ms. Tran is a Board Member of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania (APABA-PA).  She co-chairs its Community Outreach Committee and is a member of the Marutani Fellowship Committee.

Honors

Ms. Tran was a Rubin-Presser Social Justice Fellow at the Temple University Beasley School of Law. During law school, Ms. Tran received several public interest honors, including the Public Interest Section Law Student Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Judge William Marutani Fellowship from APABA-PA, and the Haywood Burns Fellowship from the National Lawyers Guild. Ms. Tran was also the two-time recipient of the Peggy Browning Fellowship.

Education

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.