Breaking Barriers, Restoring Futures.

We are located in Marin and Sonoma County.
Fostering Community Well-Being!

Community
Reintegration Program

Legal Advocacy and Whole Person Care

Providing culturally responsive legal assistance and holistic services to facilitate successful reintegration.

Support Beyond Government Programs

Extending aid where government reentry services end, ensuring ongoing assistance through legal advocacy.

Empowerment Through Sliding Scale Services

Offering services on a sliding scale based on Federal Poverty Guidelines, promoting self-worth and responsibility among clients.

Engagement via 'Pay it Forward' Program

Encouraging clients to give back by participating in board and committee roles, helping them develop new skills and insights.
When we advocate for those who can’t advocate for themselves, when we collaborate with others to uplift another, when we empower people to fulfill their potential, we transform lives, reduce recidivism and improve the communities within which we all live!
Elissa Lasserre
Founder, New Beginnings Law Center

At NBLC, we believe that

Everyone Makes Mistakes
These mistakes hinder the ability to socially reintegrate into the community
Successful reintegration can be achieved by collaboration between the justice system and community organizations
Collaborative support fosters individual empowerment
When individuals are empowered, they develop the confidence and strength necessary to fulfill their potential and take control of their lives
By doing so, the tendency to fall back into old patterns decreases.
Contact us

NBLC utilizes a multi-disciplinary approach.

New Beginnings Law Center (NBLC) is a legal nonprofit serving Northern California. Our Mission is to reduce recidivism by providing legal advocacy, one-on-one support, and community collaboration to those with a criminal record.
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We are located in Marin County, California.

Elisa Lasserre

Ms. Lasserre attended law school at Southern California Institute of Law.  She worked fulltime in a law office during the day and attended law school at night.  In 1995, she graduated law school at the top of her class and earned several awards of merit in Evidence and Trial Advocacy.  Immediately after graduating, she sat for the California State Bar and began practicing law.

Although her passion from her early days as a court clerk was criminal law, Ms. Lasserre’s early experience as an attorney was in the area of complex civil litigation.  During this time, she litigated cases involving millions of dollars in damages.  This experience taught her the invaluable skills of case evaluation, written and oral argument and court preparedness.

In 2003, she left civil litigation to pursue her passion as a criminal defense attorney.  She opened her own criminal defense practice where she began representing indigent juvenile and adult defendants by court appointment.

In 2005, Ms. Lasserre was offered the position of Bay Area Staff Attorney for the Cochran Firm-Criminal Defense Division.  It was an honor to be considered for this position as Johnnie was a brilliant litigator and inspiration to those in the trenches practicing criminal defense. She accepted the position and represented Cochran Firm clients throughout the bay area.   The Cochran Firm – Criminal Defense Division dissolved in 2006 due to Johnnie’s untimely passing.

Ms. Lasserre immediately re-opened her criminal law practice and continued to represent indigent defendants in criminal and juvenile proceedings.  Over the years, she has represented defendants charged with many different crimes including driving under the influence, drug possession and sales, theft, domestic violence, serious and violent felonies, strike offenses, assault, gang violence, sex crimes and attempted murder.  She has also been appellate counsel on several cases including a life-sentence rape case.

After years of watching people’s lives negatively defined by involvement in the criminal justice system, Ms. Lasserre decided to focus her efforts on helping clients assess and redefine their lives.  In late 2015, Ms. Lasserre founded the New Beginnings Law Center.  The Center’s focus is to help clients diminish the effects of a criminal record thereby increasing self-worth and lowering recidivism rates.