SGA approves pro bono legal clinic for students which could be running by February
SGA hopes to open a pro bono legal clinic in the beginning of February
Brittany Mouzourakis, SGA president, said she is heading a project that will offer that assistance to students.
“Really we just want to provide free legal advice to students who have a range of issues,” Mouzourakis said. “We don’t want to limit the scope of issues. If students don’t have the opportunity to seek legal advice and don’t know what to do, they can get taken advantage of.”
The Garden City senior said she has been in contact with an attorney from Joe Barberi’s office who would be available to meet with students two to three hours each week and offer free legal advice, without actually representing them in court.
Mouzourakis said she met with General Counsel Manuel Rupe and other university officials to make sure there is no red tape to cut through to start the project. None has been found and she said the project has been cleared by the university.
“We’re pretty much ready to go, we’re just waiting to solidify an attorney and get the marketing and promotion in line,” Mouzourakis said.
To give the project longevity and ensure it stays well past her term, Mouzourakis said she would like to create a pro bono legal committee to oversee the appointments and keep the project alive.
Dave Breed, Muskegon senior and SGA vice president, said finalizing an attorney, finding a space to hold the meetings and figuring out an efficient method for students to make appointments with the attorney are the final pieces of the puzzle before beginning the clinic.
“When students are facing some sort of legal issues, like tenants’ rights, we want them to have somewhere to go and someone to turn to,” he said. “Most students are really confused by the whole legal process — it’s not easy to figure out. This will become the first step students can take to get them headed in the right direction.”
Caitlin Montague has had the privilege of free legal advice her whole life. The Ovid freshman said having her uncle as a lawyer has been helpful when legal questions arise and she agrees that students can benefit from it.
“It’s probably a good thing because not everyone has an uncle they can call up for legal advice if they get in trouble,” Montague said. “If students used it the right way, just to get a feel for a topic, it can be useful, but it shouldn’t be their entire source.”
