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Adrian Tirtanadi
Executive Director/Co-Founder at Open Door Legal
Adrian Tirtanadi is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Open Door Legal, a nonprofit organization pioneering universal access to civil legal representation in San Francisco.12 He founded the organization in August 2012, shortly after graduating from the University of San Francisco School of Law with honors.13
Tirtanadi's passion for addressing poverty in America began in his youth and led him to pursue a career in law.3 He is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Maryland and a magnum cum laude graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law.3
Career and Achievements
- Founded Open Door Legal in 2012, which has grown significantly over the past decade45
- Previously worked as a Projects Administrator at Port Towns Community Development Corporation from 2006 to 20091
- Licensed to practice law in California since December 20121
- Completed Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management at Harvard Business School in July 20191
Impact through Open Door Legal
Under Tirtanadi's leadership, Open Door Legal has:
- Grown its budget from $35,000 at inception to $5.5 million annually5
- Expanded to 47 employees, including a dozen attorneys5
- Prevented over 500 families from losing their housing and enabled over 500 new move-ins4
- Canceled over $18 million in debt and obtained over $9 million in damages and awards for clients4
- Reunited 43 families and protected 89 children or family victims4
Tirtanadi's goal is to make San Francisco the first city in the country with universal access to legal representation and to replicate this model across the United States to dramatically reduce poverty.5
Highlights
I'm pleased to share some exciting results! According to a recent study, Open Door Legal caused homelessness to drop by around half in the area around Bayview, San Francisco in the last few years. The study found that providing universal access to representation is the most cost-effective way to reduce homelessness. And it implies that homelessness is, at least in part, a symptom of the access to civil justice crisis in our state and country.
I'm grateful for these words from SF City Attorney David Chiu in the article: "Open Door Legal is pioneering what could be our country’s first system of universal access to legal representation ... I think we are on the verge of something truly groundbreaking, progressive, and worthy of this movement for justice."
