Annie Thorkelson, the law professional behind Legal Grounds, has over 25 years of legal experience in a broad variety of legal fields, with an overall focus on general practice and advocacy on behalf of the least powerful in American society. She attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, graduating summa cum laude, and Antioch School of Law, the first law school accredited by the American Bar Association which offered three years of intensive clinical training directed at providing services for the poor.
Annie Thorkelson
Since graduating in 1980, Ms. Thorkelson has worked as a trial and appellate litigator and transactional attorney, legal researcher, legal writer and editor, and program analyst. At one time or another, she has worked in criminal defense, poverty law—including entitlements, child welfare, housing and family law—private family law practice, real estate, tax, entertainment, business and nonprofit areas of law.
She has volunteered for numerous programs and organizations, including The Women's Foundation, The Women and Law Conference, and the Volunteer Legal Services Project of the San Francisco Bar Association.
In addition, Ms. Thorkelson has been trained and has served as an appellate mediator for the California First District Court of Appeal, and has conducted mediations for couples, small businesses, and partners; she has also studied the psychology and spirituality of conflict and its resolution. In short, Ms. Thorkelson knows how to give good advice.
SAN FRANCISCO - Melton Cartes wavered between desperation and resignation. He had been trying to catch up with mounting credit cards bills but fell behind when his employer, an ad agency, folded.
He received an ominous notice to appear in court over the unpaid bills.
Living with his girlfriend and trying to get into filmmaking, Cartes hardly could afford hiring a lawyer to advise him about legal options for his upcoming court proceeding.
So on a recent sunny afternoon in San Francisco, he found himself sitting at a table in a bustling Mission District cafe near Dolores Park, getting legal advice from veteran attorney Annie Thorkelson for $1 per minute.
Thorkelson, who has become disillusioned after 25 years of practice, mostly in family law, came up with the idea to offer legal advice along the lines of the psychiatrist's booth set up by Lucy in the "Peanuts" comic strip. ...Cont'd.