UA, GAPSA offer pro bono legal services

Perhaps auto accidents and pre-nuptial agreements don't rank high on the average University student's list of pressing problems. But the Undergraduate Assembly and the Graduate and Professional Students Association offer a "Wednesday special" on professional legal services -- absolutely free. The services, available alternate weeks from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., are not a new convenience in the University community. According to Tyler Wren, a 15-year partner at the law firm Fineman and Bach -- whose attorneys rotate the advising duty for a $3,600 yearly stipend -- they have existed "since the early '80s." The UA has posted on many University newsgroups to advertise the legal services but few students are aware of them. The newsgroup message reads like a daytime television commercial: "Do you have legal problems? Need advice on starting a business? Marriage? Divorce?" But even College freshman Tommy Shi, a member of the Nominations and Elections Committee, was unaware that the services are so readily available. "I know [the UA] offers them, but I've heard you have to fill out a long application," he said. "I think it's really complicated." In reality, the application is short, unobtrusive and available on the Internet at http://www.dolphin.upenn. edu/~legalsrv, thanks to College junior Josh Rockoff, former UA chairperson of legal services. To receive an appointment over e-mail in only a few hours, all a student has to do is fill out the application and mail it in online. The registration process is coordinated by David Goldberger, the College freshman UA member in charge of the services since the beginning of the semester. He checks the Web site twice a day and makes scheduling arrangements. Appointments are limited to 30 minutes and students are allowed only one per semester. This is "quite sufficient," according to Wren, who noted that only once has he needed more time with a student -- in which case his firm scheduled a follow-up appointment. While Fineman and Bach can deal with many students' legal matters, the firm has to remain silent on anything involving the University as well as landlord-tenant disputes -- obvious conflicts of interest since much off-campus living is located on University-owned land. Wren said typical candidates for one-on-one advice are usually students who have been in automobile accidents or those with roommate disputes. Goldberger, who screens the cases to ensure nothing conflicts with the UA contract, noted that the issues lately have proven more diverse -- legal services this year has taken on both sexual assault and mail fraud. Graduate students, who utilize the services far more than undergraduates -- the ratio is currently estimated at five to three -- have always had access to the program. But GAPSA did not start assisting the UA financially until 1993. There has been talk of incorporating the Law School into the services to save money, but legal services has allocated funds to hiring professionals for many years. And Goldberger said the UA is currently content with Fineman and Bach, which has provided the service since the program originated. "We've never had a problem where they had to call us and tell us they couldn't send someone, and they're all professionals," Goldberger noted. "Basically when you have a legal issue, you want to go to someone who's been trained to deal with it," he added. "If you've been injured, you're going to go to a doctor -- not a med student."

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