Michele Magar

Michele Magar

Bio as of September 2008:

Michele Magar, a civil rights attorney and journalist based in San Francisco, is the founding Executive Director of RatifyNow, an international nonprofit whose mission is to provide support to grassroots advocates worldwide working to persuade their nation to ratify and enforce the new United Nations disability rights treaty (more information is available at www.RatifyNow.org). She welcomes comments and ideas for future columns.

Articles written by this author:

Surviving the legal profession

The first years in private practice are often tough. Mentors and a support system can get you through it

Michele Magar

2007 August


Fighting predatory lending: An exciting new practice area with statutory attorneys’ fees

Right now, consumer attorneys are the only hope for those Californians stuck in predatory loans

Michele Magar

2007 September


California lawmakers abandon homeowners facing foreclosure

Plaintiffs’ attorneys can help desperate homeowners by persuading mortgage servicers to transform predatory loans into sustainable ones

Michele Magar

2007 October



Common Interest Developments: A new frontier for plaintiffs’ attorneys

When a homeowners’ association forecloses, the minimum bid can be the amount owed to the HOA, regardless of the worth of the home

Michele Magar

2007 December


Legislative priorities for 2008

A preview of some of the areas ripe for reform

Michele Magar

2008 January


Californians steel for collateral damage from subprime mortgage implosion

Civil rights violations are seen as foreclosures continue to worsen in 2008

Michele Magar

2008 February


Marriage Equality: Lessons from Spain

The fight for marriage equality transcends international borders

Michele Magar

2008 March


The Disability Rights Treaty: The advocacy opportunity of a lifetime

The United States must sign the U.N. Treaty on Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Michele Magar

2008 April


Ontario: Lessons from one city’s attempt to regulate homelessness

Can evicting homeless people deny them their Constitutional rights?

Michele Magar

2008 May


The judge who indicted a dictator

A landmark film reveals the overturning of Augusto Pinochet’s reign by a Chilean judge

Michele Magar

2008 June


Making public accommodations accessible to people with disabilities

SB 1608 holds problems for compliance to disability laws

Michele Magar

2008 July


Using the law to advance social justice

Thinking outside the boundaries of a trial may help to bring about true social reform

Michele Magar

2008 September