Senior Attorney Richard P. Weishaupt has worked at Community Legal Services for more than 40 years, where he is currently a Senior Attorney for Health and Human Services. He specializes in public benefits and health law and has written extensively in the field. Mr. Weishaupt has designed and taught substantive law and legal skills programs…
Supervising Attorney Chi-Ser Tran (she/her) 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,…
Of Counsel Jonathan M. Stein began his career with Community Legal Services Inc. in 1968, when he joined CLS as a staff attorney through the Reginald Heber Smith Fellowship Program. Since then Mr. Stein has served as Chief of Health, Education and Welfare Project, Chief of Law reform, Acting Managing Attorney of Law Center North…
Staff Attorney Claire Grandison (she/her) is a Staff Attorney at Community Legal Services (CLS) where she works in the SSI Unit and co-leads the Youth Justice Project. She focuses on increasing access to services and SSI benefits for older youth with disabilities, and providing holistic, community-based legal services to youth. Claire was previously an Independence…
Managing Attorney – Health & Independence Unit Lydia Gottesfeld is the Managing Attorney of the CLS Health and Independence Unit. In that role, she oversees CLS’s work keeping low-income people connected to critical safety net public benefits–including health insurance, nutrition support, and cash assistance–as well as CLS’s work advocating for older adults and disabled people…
Divisional Supervising Attorney / Duffy Fellow Jennifer Burdick is a Divisional Supervising Attorney in the SSI Unit at Community Legal Services. Her practice focuses on representing adults and children facing issues both attaining and maintaining Supplemental Security Income benefits in administrative hearings and in Federal Court. She also advocates nationally for important systemic reforms to…
Kristen DamaManaging Attorney – SSI Unit and Medical Legal Partnership Kristen Dama is the Managing Attorney of SSI and Medical-Legal Partnership at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (CLS). In that role, she oversees CLS’s work connecting disabled people and their families to federal income supports and fighting for federal policies that promote disability economic justice.…
Social Worker David Wengert (he/him) is a social worker in the Housing Unit who advocates for tenant rights and fights homelessness by connecting at-risk tenants to resources and services. During his tenure with the Housing Unit, he has developed expertise in subsidized housing, illegal evictions, reasonable accommodations and hoarding. He helped create CLS’ tenants’ rights…
Co – Managing Attorney – Housing Unit Rachel Garland (she/her) is the co-managing attorney of the Housing Unit at Community Legal Services, where she where she co-leads a team of 40 lawyers, paralegals, social workers, and other staff members in litigation and advocacy to prevent evictions and homelessness. Under Ms. Garland’s leadership, CLS’s Housing Unit…
Staff Attorney Ian Charlton is an Attorney in the Homeownership and Consumer Rights unit at Community Legal Services. Ian was previously an Attorney, Attorney Fellow and a legal intern in the Landlord-Tenant Unit at Community Legal Services, the Consumer Housing Unit at Philadelphia Legal Assistance, and the Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project. Ian received the Public…
