UA legal advice comes cheap

Lawyer on retainer for free student consultations Been hit by a car? Ripped off by your roommate? Don't take the law into your own hands -- take it to the Undergraduate Assembly. For the past nine years, the UA has provided free legal consultation to University students. But for most students, this is a little-known resource. Every other Wednesday, a representative from the Center City law firm Fineman and Bach comes to campus to meet with students seeking legal advice. The lawyer holds six 30-minute sessions at each visit. Richard Tanker, the lawyer in charge of the program, said the kinds of cases students discuss with the lawyers "really run the gamut." "One of the most frequent problems we see is roommates ripping each other off," he said. Tanker added that the firm has also dealt with accident victims, foreign students with visa or immigration problems and students with debt troubles. College sophomore and UA representative Charley Margosian, who is the liaison between the students and the law firm, said the program serves a great service by helping students figure out their options. A student interested in a free legal consultation should fill out an application at the UA office in Houston Hall. The application is then forwarded to the firm, so the proper lawyer can prepare to meet with the student. The UA pays $1,800 a semester for this service. The money comes from the general student fee, according to UA Chairperson and College senior Lance Rogers. In addition, the fee pays for the firm to provide a speaker -- usually Tanker -- to discuss a topic of interest to the students each spring. Tanker said he usually speaks on the subject of landlord-tenant disputes. Tanker also said it is unlikely that the firm would represent a student in a lawsuit against the University. "There is a concern about conflict of interest and we try to steer clear from those," he said. Tanker said it is difficult to put a price on how much the firm donates to the University in service. "We're devoting a significant amount of our time to reviewing the students' problems in advance," he said. "It's different than just having someone call you off the street and say, 'Hey, I have a legal problem. Can I come in and meet with you?' " Tanker added that the program can sometimes amount to as much as $6,000 of the firm's time. He estimated that his firm consults with 25 to 35 students each semester, although lawyers will schedule extra sessions if necessary. If a student needs further assistance, the firm provides follow-up. This usually involves doing further research and getting back to the student, but it can go further. "If the follow-up gets involved, then we would talk to the student about making some other arrangements, either for a fee or refer them to some other legal services agency," Tanker said. He said the firm goes on to represent less than a third of the students -- mostly students who were involved in accidents. Although the firm consists of 23 attorneys, only 12 participate in this program. Tanker said he sends younger lawyers to campus for two reasons -- because it is more cost-effective and because students relate to them better. The first session of the semester will be Wednesday. Rogers said there are still some time slots available for students interested in a consultation.