Author: ab139

The Volunteer Legal Services Program (VLSP) at Community Legal Aid offers a variety of limited means opportunities for students interested in developing skills in the following areas:  client interviews, client meetings, document review, case management, determining the correct address for service and notice, drafting simple estate planning documents, drafting advice letters, completing public record searches.

Students volunteering for the VLSP will work in several areas of law:  Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Simple Contract law, Simple Estate Planning, and Family law.

NOTE:  Students are required to volunteer a minimum of five (5) hours.  Students who can volunteer twice a week (5-8 hours total per week) for the entire semester will be provided with more substantive training along with an opportunity to attend a 341 Hearing, sit in on a bankruptcy petition signing, attend a call day at U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and work with a private attorney to execute Simple Estate Planning Documents.

If interested, please contact VLSP Paralegal, Cindy Adair, at cadair@communitylegalaid.org.

PLEASE NOTE: all hours completed during the fall semester must be reported by Friday, January 31st  in order to be counted.

You will find instructions for reporting on Symplicity here: http://www.uakron.edu/law/community/symplicity-entry-instructions.pdf

Please note, your supervisors must still sign the Certification of Supervisor forms and you will be uploading those forms for all of your volunteer work.

If you do not have your Symplicity log in information, or you need any help with this new reporting process, please email Alisa Benedict O’Brien: ab139@uakron.edu. Thank you.

The Expungement Clinic helps low-income Akron residents seal the record of their criminal convictions.  A sealed record enables many people better access to jobs, housing, and volunteer opportunities.  Students will learn integral skills in the legal field including filing paperwork with the court, drafting motions, interviewing real clients, and communicating with clients both through the mail and over the phone. Students who are eligible for a legal intern certificate will have ample opportunities to appear in court and present an oral argument.

A student commitment to the Expungement Clinic can be for as few or as many hours as the student pleases.  The only requirement is that you devote enough time to attempt to contact your clients at least twice a week.  These hours qualify as Pro Bono Limited Means.

There will be three training sessions this week.  Students only need to attend one meeting  These sessions are informational only, and students are welcome to attend simply for a brief overview of the law surrounding sealing of a conviction.  The trainings will be Wednesday the 15th at 3:00 PM, Thursday the 16th at 2:30 PM, Friday the 17th at 12:30 PM, and Tuesday the 21st at 12:30 PM.  Sessions will be in Room 134 and will be expected to last 30 minutes.  The training session on Tuesday the 21st should last about an hour.

Students with any questions please contact Russel Nichols at russel.nichols@gmail.com.