Madeline is a senior staff attorney at Western Center on Law & Poverty focusing on fair housing litigation, unlawful detainer appeals, and issues impacting tenants in foreclosed homes. Before joining Western Center in 2013, Madeline was a senior staff attorney with Bay Area Legal Aid in San Jose and San Francisco where she represented the interests of low-income tenants against landlords and major lending institutions. At Western Center Madeline partners with legal services attorneys on impact litigation to challenge discriminatory housing practices and preserve affordable housing. She also supports direct services attorneys through technical assistance and training on issues ranging from unlawful detainer appeals to fair housing rights. Madeline received her law degree from Berkeley after working as an advocate at Medical-Legal Partnership Boston, the nation’s first medical-legal collaborative. She went on to become a research attorney at San Francisco Superior Court before returning to direct services work.
Jith Meganathan is a Policy Advocate in Western Center on Law & Poverty’s Sacramento office, where his work focuses on housing and civil justice issues. He began his legal career at the San Francisco law firm of Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin, now part of Arnold & Porter LLP. From 2007-2012, Jith was a staff attorney at Central California Legal Services in Visalia; in 2011, he was recognized as CCLS’s Staff Member of the Year. From 2012-2014, Jith served as the final law clerk to Lawrence K. Karlton, Senior U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of California. He has also clerked for Dale A. Drozd, now U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of California, and Kendall A. Newman, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of California. In Spring 2016, Jith was a Visiting Professor at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, where he taught Civil Procedure to first-year law students. Jith holds a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School, and a B.S., with honors and distinction, from Stanford University.
