As a young girl in the 1970s, Luz Herrera accompanied her parents to flea markets, where they sold Mexican foodstuffs. There, she sometimes overheard other working-class vendors discussing their legal problems.
Those childhood experiences have germinated into Herrera’s twin mission as a law professor, and before that, a community lawyer in a solo practice — access to justice and entrepreneurialism.
The assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, has emerged as a national leader on extending “low bono” legal services to working-class people who cannot afford to pay customary rates and don’t qualify for free legal aid because they earn too much.
Since arriving at the San Diego law school in 2008, Herrera has directed the Small Business Law Center and advised a new solo incubator for alumni setting up low bono practices. She teaches Access to Justice and Community Economic Development and serves on the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services.
