MEF / CEO Legal Trust Fund

One of the Union-negotiated benefits for MEF/CEO employees is the Group Legal Services Plan. Under the plan full-time employees and their immediate families can obtain free legal services for a variety of legal needs. These include wills and trusts, family law matters, adoptions, guardianships, debtor/creditor and other consumer problems, tenant problems, and other civil matters. There are some legal problems not covered by the plan, such as criminal defense, immigration, and employment problems. The legal services include free consultations, a free will or pair of wills, and other legal services such as document preparation, negotiating, mediating, and appearing in court. The amount of attorney time for the “other legal services” that is free in 2006 is 7 hours, but only 2 of those hours can be used for trust preparation. If the case takes longer than 7 hours, or for the balance of the cost of a trust, the employee makes arrangements to pay the attorneys directly. The MEF/CEO Legal Services Plan was the first plan of its kind to be established in the United States by collective bargaining. The attorneys that have contracted with the plan to provide the legal services are Karen Johnson and Sally Cooperrider Nixon. You can schedule an appointment with the attorneys by calling the Union Office (408) 998-2070 for a referral slip, and then calling Johnson and Nixon at (408) 287-7717.

What is the Legal Trust Fund?

The Legal Trust Fund is a City of San Jose benefit that is overseen by your Union. Presently, the City of San Jose pays $4.25 per month, per member (about $ 110,000 per year) for this benefit, and this covers approximately 2,150 full time members as well as their dependents.

This benefit pays for you to obtain a free will, resolve consumer problems, etc.