Lourdes Arias has been working for the Peoples Law Office for 10 years. She is the office manager and is the one who keeps the office running and assures that the lawyers are able to focus on litigation and fighting for their clients. Lourdes is also bi-lingual and often assists Spanish speaking clients through the legal process. Lourdes was instrumental in the communication with the Puerto Rican political prisoners navigating through the presidential clemency process in 1999 as well as made herself an indispensable member of the legal team for a wrongfully convicted Cuban man who was not only freed from prison but received a seven figure settlement of his civil rights case. Although a life long Chicagoan, Lourdes proudly hails from the beautiful tropical island of the Domincan Republic and is active in the Chicago Dominican community. She has worked with numerous community and political organizations. She is a single parent to three active school age children and still finds time to volunteer, working with the Talcott School community and teaching English as a Second Language classes.