James D. Lorenz Jr.'s Obituary
James D. Lorenz or Jim as he was known to by family and friends, died on January 19, 2017. He was born in Dayton, Ohio to Helen and Douglas Lorenz. Jim was an only child. Both parents preceded him in death. He is survived by hi wife, Guadalupe Lucio, daughter Shauna Lorenz, son, Aaron Lorenz, Step-son and daughter-in law, Luis and Tammy Lucio, grandson, James Lucio and granddaughter Emma Lorenz
Jim was a husband, father, scholar and gentlemen. He attended Andover, Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He served in the U.S. Army and received an honorable discharge. He was admitted to the California Bar in 1965. Jim joined O’Melveny and Myers in Los Angeles, then one of the largest law firms in California.
Jim became disillusioned as he contemplated and worked with the polished intricacies of corporate law. He began investigating the plight of the rural poor in California. He found they had little if any access to legal resources. In 1966, Jim submitted a proposal to the newly funded Office of Economic Opportunity’s Legal Services Division. He set forth a program to provide legal services o the rural poor with offices throughout California. The OEO agreed to fun Jim’s project, now called California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA); CRLA was the first state wide federally funded rural legal services program.
In CRLA’s early years, Jim Lorenz was everywhere working day and night. He was meeting with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, with Central Valley farmers, rural county officials and hostile rural county bar associations. He was supporting the lawyers in eight offices in towns throughout rural California. CRLA had great success with litigation to enforce laws already on the books relating to field sanitation practices, farm workers housing and welfare right laws. These lawyers were filing and litigating class action law suits against unscrupulous landlords and merchants in the communities of rural California. This action brought a political reaction from the powers that be in these towns and counties. When agribusiness interests moved to defund CRLA, Jim mustered a coalition of supporters in the Senate who defeated this effort led by Senator George Murphy of California. George Murphy and other politicians to defund CRLA.
CRLA is still going strong, celebrating 50 years of service in 2016.
There will be a memorial for Jim on March 25, 2017 2-4pm
At Chapel of the Chimes 4499 Piedmont Avenue Oakland, CA
In lieu of flowers please make donations to California Rural Legal Assistance.
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