For University of Idaho Associate Professor of Law Jessica Long, assisting at the Legal Aid Clinic allows her to have the best of both worlds — by teaching students and helping those in need of free legal services.
Long helps run the Main Street Law Clinic, one of the three law clinics on campus. Long said that each of the clinics are free to students, employees and the general public as long as they meet income guidelines.
“There’s a lot of individuals that need help and can’t afford attorneys,” Long said. “It’s expensive to hire an attorney. ”
According to Long, law students at the Main Street Law clinic work on a variety of cases including family law, criminal defense cases, tenant disputes, collection matters, drafting of a will, divorce or custody issues and protection orders.
Long said the clinics work on a variety of issues ranging from immigration matters to acting as mediators on civil disputes, but the Law Clinic on Main Street is a more general clinic.
A third-year law student who works at the Main Street Law Clinic, Savannah Ward, said the clinic is not only a valuable resource to her in gaining real-life experience, but rewarding as well.
“There’s no real physical reward — just the knowledge that I’ve actually helped people and continue to help people and learning how to build client relationships — (which) will no doubt benefit me in the future,” Ward said.
Jessica Long, director of clinical programs, associate clinical professor of law speaks to students Jan. 28.
According to Todd Bowman who works at the legal aid clinic, these income guidelines vary on the size of households and are on a graduated scale.
Bowman said for most college students, who are determined as one person households, to qualify under these guidelines they need to make $14,363 or less. This number is calculated by determining 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
Long said potential clients can just walk into the legal aid clinic, located on the ground level of the College of Law building, and get help from the students they have working there.
Long said she encourages any individual who is struggling with a legal issue to seek help from the clinic and even if the clinic is unable to take their case, they can still offer free legal advice.
“I think the process is complicated depending on the matter and sometimes it’s hard to wade through on your own,” Long said. “Sometimes we take cases and say we’re just going to advise you on this. We can’t represent you or be your attorneys in it, but we can at least advise you and point you where you need to go and what the process looks like.”
Long said she believes the legal aid clinic is an invaluable resource for students, employees and community members, as there aren’t many free legal options available in Moscow.
The closest free legal service available to Moscow residents, Long said, is located in Lewiston, the Lewiston Office of Idaho Legal Aid Services, meaning the UI Legal Aid Clinic might be the only option for many.
Long said the program isn’t just helpful for community members, but also the third-year law students who gain necessary career experience by working at the clinic.
Ward, who will be receiving college credit for assisting the clinic, said she thinks the UI Legal Aid Clinic is an important resource to students and community members.
“I think it’s good to know that students and community members know they have a resource available to them,” Ward said. “Everyone knows that attorneys are expensive and at some point in everyone’s life they run across the legal system, so just having that resource available for people to access is really great.”
Cody Allred can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @CodyLAllred