The DSU Legal Clinic provides FREE legal assistance to DSU students needing help with dating violence, domestic violence, housing/tenant disputes, social security, medicaid, estate plans, consumer issues (debt collection; bankruptcy; credit reports; ect.), and food stamps. This service is available through a partnership with the Southern Utah Bar Association.
FREE Legal Services for Students
By Allie Garrow
“Over the past few years, a lot of students have been contacting the dean of students and other university staff about legal issues, so that’s when they realized there was a need for a legal clinic,” said alumnus Leonardo Lupiano, DSU’s Legal Clinic Founder and Coordinator.
The DSU Legal Clinic provides an opportunity for students to receive free legal assistance from professional, local lawyers every second Wednesday of the month from 5-7 PM in the Iverson’s lounge of the Gardner building.
As college students venture into new stages of life, they experience new surroundings where they may find a need for legal advice. Some of the topics of assistance the legal clinic has to offer are domestic violence, credit reports, food stamps, Medicaid, bankruptcy and more.
“[The Southern Utah Bar Association] support has been vital to the success of the clinic because through their partnership DSU now is providing one-on-one legal instruction that is completely free of charge to our students,” said Taylor Anderson, alumna and former student body president.
The process for the clinic to be a resource for students was not something that came quickly. As a result, Lupiano stepped in to help Anderson bring the legal clinic to campus during the 2019-2020 school year. Not only did the DSU staff feel the clinic was important for students to receive legal assistance, but Lupiano said the Southern Utah Bar Association was supportive and created the partnership with DSU.
“It’s important because I don’t know a lot of the legal terms and information,” said Kelly Gleason, a senior accounting major from Minnesota. “This is really nice because I can to talk an attorney and not feel obligated to pay anything because I am a college student.”
The DSU Legal Clinic is now part of a large list of free resources available to all Trailblazers. Learn more about other free resources for DSU students at Career Services, the Booth Wellness Center, and the Tutoring Center.