The following workshops are currently available at the Civil Self-Help Center. No appointments or reservations are made for the workshops in advance of the day of the workshop.
Answer to Breach of Contract Workshop
On Monday through Friday mornings, beginning at 9:00 am, we conduct a workshop for those who are seeking to file an Answer (response) to a Complaint that has been served on them for a breach of contract case. Most of the clients we are currently helping at this workshop want to file an Answer to a Complaint filed against them by a credit card company. As the demand for this workshop is large, we suggest you not wait until your last day to file your response to attend this workshop.
To attend the workshop, please arrive at the Sacramento County Public Law Library shortly before 8:30 a.m. Appointments for the Answer workshop (as well as all individual appointments for the day) are assigned in a random order determined by a lottery held at 8:30 a.m. each morning.
Please bring two first class stamps with you to this Clinic. This allows us to help you properly serve your legal papers by mail. Please expect the workshop to take the entire morning and plan your parking (and child care) accordingly so that you do not have to leave the workshop to feed the parking meter.
We will help you complete the Answer, the required Proof of Service, instruct you how to file the Answer with the Court and serve the Answer on the opposing party in your case.
Name Change Workshop
Each Wednesday afternoon from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, we conduct a workshop for those who are seeking to change their names. This workshop is for people who have to go through a court-ordered name change and not for those who are changing their name because of marriage or divorce. We will guide you through the paperwork and give you information about how to file the name change petition with the court and publish your name change request in the legal notice section of a local newspaper.
An appointment to attend this workshop is not needed. Please come to the Self-Help Center shortly before 2:00 p.m. to participate in this workshop. Please plan to remain for a couple of hours and plan your parking (and child care) accordingly so that you do not have to leave the workshop to feed the parking meter.
Discovery Workshop
During a civil lawsuit, the opposing party in your lawsuit may mail you legal documents known generally as discovery. These include interrogatories (written questions), requests for admissions and requests for production of documents. If you fail to timely respond to these documents, the result may be disastrous for your case.
If you need help in responding to discovery, or wish to send discovery documents to the opposing side in your case, you can attend our discovery workshop that is held every first and third Thursday of each month starting at 2:00 pm. An appointment to attend this workshop is not required. Please come to the Self-Help Center shortly before 2:00 p.m. to participate in this workshop. Please plan to remain for a couple of hours and plan your parking (and child care) accordingly so that you do not have to leave the workshop to feed the parking meter.
Case Management Statement Workshop
When you are a party to a civil lawsuit, you will have to attend a Case Management Conference about six months after the case is filed. At least 15 days prior to the Case Management Conference, you will need to file a “Case Management Statement” with the Court that describes the status of your case.
We can assist you in completing the Case Management Statement at our workshop that is held on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month at 2:00 pm. An appointment to attend this workshop is not required. Please come to the Self-Help Center shortly before 2:00 p.m. to participate in this workshop. Please plan to stay a couple of hours at this workshop and plan your parking (and child care) accordingly so that you do not have to leave the workshop to feed the parking meter.