Legal Clinic has saved students thousands of dollars since its September launch

Staffed by AC legal studies students and supported by bar-certified lawyers, the AC Legal Clinic provides free legal services on weekdays for AC students who need help dealing with non-criminal cases involving divorce, child custody, wills, landlord-tenant relations, immigration, traffic tickets, and more.

Robin Malone, coordinator of the AC Legal Studies Program, said the Clinic has served about 85 AC students since it opened, but it is capable of accommodating many more.

“The Clinic has been even more successful than we imagined, and the students we serve are getting good legal services,” Malone said. “We’ve had positive feedback from both the students we’ve served and the judges who have ruled on the paperwork we’ve drafted on behalf of those students, our clients.

“We do everything for our clients short of going to court with them,” she said, “but we even send them to court with a script. Judges have predominantly waived fees and court costs for our clients, and it’s definitely saved them thousands of dollars in legal fees. Our hope is that any Amarillo College students who need legal assistance will not hesitate to ask us for help. It’s why we’re here.”

The AC Legal Clinic is located in the Legal Studies Department on the third floor of the Byrd Business Building. Drop-ins are welcome from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The Clinic is open Fridays by appointment only. The number to call for an appointment or additional information is (806) 345-5670.

In addition to working directly with AC students in need of legal guidance, the Legal Studies Program periodically conducts workshops specific to single areas of need: family/divorce, veterans’ benefits, housing, etc. The next such workshop will be an Immigration Workshop from 9 a.m. to noon on March 22 in the Oak Room on the second floor of the College Union Building.

Amarillo attorneys Shilpa Shaw and Felipe Zavala will be presenters for this informational and timely workshop, which will be free and open to the public.