Inner City Law Center began in 1980, when Nancy Mintie, freshly graduated from UCLA Law School, set up a legal clinic for the down and out in a rusty construction trailer parked behind the Catholic Worker soup kitchen. While living in a homeless shelter herself, Nancy provided legal services for the poorest and most vulnerable people in our city at what one early supporter called “the little Skid Row castle in the sky.”

Founded on the basic principle that every human being should be treated with dignity and respect at all times, it was not long before the young organization starting handling complaints of miserable living conditions throughout Los Angeles’ downtown neighborhoods. For example, in the early 1980’s, a young mother, her five little girls in tow, showed up at the door of ICLC’s trailer office with a large plastic bag. In the bag was a foot long rat (not counting the tail) that was responsible for attacking all five of her children. Because the rat was too big to catch in a conventional trap, she had stayed up several nights in a row, chasing it around the apartment until she was able to bash it over the head with a board. ICLC promptly accepted both the case and rat, which was put in formaldehyde and named Melvyn after the slumlord owner of the building. After that, a stream of other mothers from the building appeared at the ICLC trailer, each with their own four legged exhibits. Soon the ICLC trailer reeked of formaldehyde, and rats in glass jars adorned every flat surface. Melvyn (the rat) was ICLC’s lead exhibit at trial.

When ICLC began taking on slumlords, most legal experts believed that there were little or no damages to be had in the slum housing arena. However, ICLC was able to demonstrate that significant remedies were available in the field of habitability law. With the pro bono assistance offered by members of the Board of Directors ICLC has emerged victorious in case after case over the years.

By the late 1980’s, ICLC had settled into a storefront at Fifth and San Pedro. Several attorneys and client advocates now formed a dedicated staff that served hundreds of clients each year. ICLC’s central mission -- to guarantee the right to decent housing – led ICLC to expand from enforcing housing codes and fighting against exploitation by unscrupulous landlords, to securing government benefits for our clients and taking other steps to empower our clients to improve their own lives.

As the staff’s expertise grew, ICLC developed creative strategies to achieve its goals, including novel tort theories and remedies designed to encourage clients to break the cycle of poverty. Today, ICLC is a recognized expert on housing issues and government benefits, and regularly works with other community organizations and with government officials on housing and homeless issues.

The passion and dedication that launched Inner City Law Center lives on and burns in the current staff as strong as ever. Now located at the corner of Seventh and Central Avenue, on the eastern edge of Skid Row, ICLC serves over two thousand homeless and low-income clients each year.