Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Charities

Despite its charitable work, the organization has also endorsed the controversial Black Lives Matter movement, and it supported the anti-police protests and riots which took place across the United States in the summer of 2020. ² LATLC has also endorsed left-progressive LGBT policies. ³

Background

Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Charities (LATLC) was founded in 2006 by attorney Bruce Traney and 24 other Los Angeles lawyers who the organization refers to as its “Founding Friends.” LATLC starting fundraising and hosting events to expand its membership and name recognition, and as of 2012, the organization claims to have recruited approximately 300 supporters and distributed close to $250,000 in grants. Starting in 2013, LATLC began assembling a board of directors, and in 2015, the organization raised $600,000. Between 2015 and 2016, LATLC went from having 30 to 45 partner organizations. In 2018, this increased to nearly 80 partner organizations, and as of 2019, LATLC maintained partnerships with nearly 100 various local charities and advocacy groups. ⁴

Initiatives

Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Charities (LATLC) hosts a variety of annual charity and advocacy events. These include a winter holiday season food and toy giveaway in partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department and a giveaway of specialized mobility tricycles for children and adults with disabilities. The organization also hosts a “day of dignity” for homeless people, at which it offers personal hygiene supplies, clothing, showers, and meals, as well as medical, dental, and housing assistance services. ¹

Impact

As of 2021, Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Charities (LATLC) has distributed more than $5 million in grants to more than 100 partner charities in the greater Los Angeles area. The organization claims that its members have spent more than 6,000 hours volunteering since it started its community service initiatives in 2015. LATLC has also awarded $200,000 in college scholarships and more than $160,000 in grants to youth sports teams and public high school sports programs. ¹

Leadership

Steven Vartazarian is the incoming president of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Charities (LATLC). He is the founding principal attorney of the Vartazarian Law Firm, where he specializes in personal injury, medical malpractice, and other civil liability cases. Vartazarian attended Oklahoma City University and received his law degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California. ⁵

Karina Lallande is the vice president of LATLC. She has a background in environmental law and previously worked at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). She received her sociology degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara and her law doctorate from the University of California at Hastings, where she was an editor at two of the university law school’s journals. ⁶

Financials

In 2018, Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Charities (LATLC) received more than $1.2 million in contributions and grants. Most of the organization’s members work on a volunteer basis and receive no compensation; only $83,000 went towards leadership salaries in 2018. That year, LATLC spent just over $1 million on various services and distributed more than $420,000 in grants. ⁷