Gonzaga
University School of Law
University Legal Assistance
 |
Clinic:
University
Legal Assistance |
Telephone:
(509) 323-5791 |
| School:
Gonzaga
University School of Law |
Fax:
(509) 323-5805 |
| Director:
Professor
George A. Crichtlow |
Web Site:
N/A |
| Address:
P.O. Box 3528,
Spokane, WA 99220 |
| Founded:
1975 |
| Summary
of Services Provided & Cases Addressed: Family
Law/Domestic Violence Project; Consumer Law; ELder Law
Project; Environmental Law; Housing Law; Civil Rights;
Public Entitlements (Social Security, Medicare etc.) |
| Students:
45 to 50 per
semester |
Clients
helped: 400-500
cases (459 in 2003) |
| Affiliations:
The clinic
often gets cases referred to it through the Northwest
Justice Project, and students will sometimes partner
with attorneys from that program. |
| Location:
The clinic has
a wing of the law school - spanning two floors - with
space for faculty supervising attorneys, support staff,
administrative staff and student offices. Each student
gets a desk, a computer, and a telephone: their own
professional workplace setting. |
| Measuring
the effect: Crichtlow
says, "There is evidence that students who come
into the program - even if they did not go into the
program thinking that they might want to do public
interest work or legal services work - start looking for
this type of work because they've been sensitized
to its importance. But also because they see that the
type of work that we do is interesting, exciting, and
diverse. I think lawyers that get out of clinics go out
and sign up for their volunteer lawyer programs and
think about how they can discharge their pro bono
obligation." |
| Quotable:
"That's
the beauty of the clinic. You feel a sense of ownership
over your cases. Your mistakes are your own; your
accomplishments are your own." -Lisa Malpass,
Gonzaga Law '03 |
| Success
Story: Georgianna
and her son Sidney live in the north side of Spokane in
a small house on Queen Street. They fell victim to a
predatory lender who promised to set up Georgianna with
a mortgage that would help pay off her debts. Despite
recently undergoing eye surgery, and being unable to
read the documents, the lender encouraged her to sign.
“I couldn’t even see the papers,” said Georgianna,
who recently celebrated her 89th birthday. “He took my
hand, put a pen in it, and brought it to where I was
supposed to sign.” When the checks that were promised
never came, Sidney became concerned and contacted the
Better Business Bureau. They put him in touch with
University Legal Assistance. The case ended up in
magistrate mediation in U.S. District Court. The
students were able to obtain a favorable settlement for
Georgianna and a formal apology from the company. In the
end Gonzaga law students logged more than 1,000 hours on
the case. |
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