Maria-Daniel Asturias

The Project

Mara preserved family and community wealth by protecting Latino consumers from predatory and abusive auto lending practices through direct representation, community education and outreach, and policy work. The loss of a car can have a devastating impact on families’ lives, often resulting in an inability to seek and maintain employment. This is turn further limits families’ access to opportunities such as home ownership and higher education. Through direct representation, community education and outreach, and policy work, Maria’s project helped fill a critical gap in advocacy on behalf of Latino consumers.

Fellowship Highlights

During her Fellowship, Maria:

• Screened and provided advice to more than 150 clients at both Watsonville Law Center and Rosner, Barry & Babbitt and aided more than a dozen in receiving full representation by consumer experts
• Completed a webinar for the National Association of Consumer Advocates entitled “Spanish Speaking Victims of Auto Fraud: Underserved and Underrepresented.” More than 30 organizations from around the country participated in the discussion, including members of both the private bar and the legal aid community