Erin Lovell and Chorisia Folkman met during law school, as summer interns at the Defender’s Association, now a division of King County Department of Public Defense. Erin and Chorisia were connected by their shared surprise and concern that not all children in Washington’s foster care system were provided an attorney.

After graduation, Erin returned to Seattle to work for the Defender's Association where she represented parents and youth in child welfare matters. Chorisia and Erin continued to brainstorm around how to advance access to justice for youth in Washington and what a holistic, youth-centered legal office could look like in the future. Together they gathered input from a variety of local partners and leaders in the field.

LCYC was incorporated on May 25, 2010, with pro bono legal assistance from K&L Gates LLP. Casey Trupin (JD), Hillary Behrman (JD), Chorisia Folkman (JD/MSW) and Marcy Pareira (LICSW) constituted the founding Board of Directors. Erin Lovell was hired as the founding Executive Director.

LCYC provided services to youth in King County dependency and Becca cases, including immigrant youth seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) classification. In the summer of 2014, with the onboarding of Alexandra Narvaez, LCYC began representing youth in Juvenile Defense cases as well. LCYC’s data and application of lessons learned from direct services helped move forward the right to counsel in dependency cases. LCYC’s data demonstrated what a children’s attorney does and why they are critical to protecting the rights and interests of children in the dependency system.

LCYC continued to grow its team and began representing youth as young as toddlers in dependency cases.

LCYC developed a Safety Plan for parents at risk of deportation. The Safety Plan is a set of documents for parents to complete in an effort to reduce childhood trauma, the duration of family separation, and unnecessary entry into foster care. LCYC partnered with ethnic, community-based organizations such as El Centro de la Raza to educate parents on the Safety Plan in a setting where they felt safe and supported.

In the same year, Street Youth Legal Advocates of Washington (SYLAW) approached LCYC to take over their community-based legal advocacy program for homeless youth in King County. SYLAW had previously employed one person for administration, fundraising, and advocacy, which was unsustainable. LCYC agreed, and with a monetary contribution and space provided by YouthCare, along with early funding from private foundations, LCYC’s Youth Homelessness Program was born.

In 2017, the Homeless Youth Legal Network of the American Bar Association named LCYC as one of twelve model programs nationally providing quality legal services to youth at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

With investment from private foundations, LCYC expanded our geographic footprint. We added a Youth Homelessness Program attorney in Walla Walla, bringing LCYC to Eastern Washington. This expansion was connected to A Way Home Washington’s innovative Anchor Community Initiative, a movement to end youth and young adult homelessness in Washington State.

With more programs and areas of expertise, LCYC was uniquely poised to expand its involvement in systemic advocacy. LCYC hired Erin Shea McCann to lead systemic advocacy work alongside our attorneys, drawing on lessons from direct legal representation, youth, and partners, to elevate gaps in policies, practices, and procedures impacting youth.

As the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly changed the working environment and landscape of nearly all professions, LCYC saw an opportunity to serve youth and young adults in historically under-resourced areas through virtual law. LCYC supported youth in a dozen counties across the state with the use of technology to connect. LCYC also expanded its capacity to reach young people through the launch of LCYC’s volunteer program, Pro Bono Champions. LCYC also hosted our first paid Legal Intern, in alignment with our commitment to building and diversifying the bar.

LCYC’s years of advocacy for children’s representation paid off; House Bill 1219 passed, which provides youth in dependency cases with access to attorneys.

LCYC bolstered its support of immigrant youth, expanding services for youth seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) classification, in partnership with Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.

LCYC was also awarded a grant from Ballmer Group to expand access to legal aid and systemic advocacy for youth experiencing homelessness and youth impacted by the child welfare system in Washington State.

LCYC launched in-person services through our Youth Homelessness Program in Thurston, Clark, and Skagit Counties in alignment with A Way Home Washington’s the Anchor Community Initiative (ACI). ACIs are led by a Core Team of service providers and Youth Action Boards, made up of local organizations and local youth, who inform and develop the plans for each community.

LCYC received the 2024 Outstanding Children's Law Office award from the National Association of Counsel for Children.

LCYC also launched The Children & Youth Representation Advocacy Hub, or CYRAH a platform that connects child representation attorneys across Washington State invested in strengthening the resources, network and culture of legal representation in dependency cases. 

LCYC expanded support for youth in child welfare cases to Clark, Pierce, Skagit, and Thurston Counties.