Publications
Publications
- September 2024
- HBS Case Collection
Open Door Legal: Universal Legal Access
By: Brian Trelstad, Taylor Greenthal and Sarah Mehta
Abstract
This case is about Open Door Legal (ODL), a San Francisco-based civil legal aid nonprofit. CEO Adrian Tirtanadi founded the organization in 2012 with a mission to achieve universal access to legal representation for all city residents. By 2024, ODL had opened four offices across San Francisco. An additional two would realize the nonprofit’s goal in the city.
In 2023, Kevin Haah, a lawyer-turned-pastor, reached out to Tirtanadi about the possibility of expanding ODL to his home city of Los Angeles. Tirtanadi worried that scaling would absorb too much of ODL’s finite energy, time, and resources, and divert attention away from San Francisco. Was now the right time to scale? Was Haah the right partner? Would ODL’s model generalize to Los Angeles? And if so, how should Tirtanadi structure the relationship between the two offices to maximize efficiency and impact?
In 2023, Kevin Haah, a lawyer-turned-pastor, reached out to Tirtanadi about the possibility of expanding ODL to his home city of Los Angeles. Tirtanadi worried that scaling would absorb too much of ODL’s finite energy, time, and resources, and divert attention away from San Francisco. Was now the right time to scale? Was Haah the right partner? Would ODL’s model generalize to Los Angeles? And if so, how should Tirtanadi structure the relationship between the two offices to maximize efficiency and impact?
Keywords
Social Entrepreneurship; Law; Growth Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Civil Society or Community; Business Model; Expansion; Legal Services Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles; San Francisco
Citation
Trelstad, Brian, Taylor Greenthal, and Sarah Mehta. "Open Door Legal: Universal Legal Access." Harvard Business School Case 325-006, September 2024.