Alternative Spring Breakers give back in Philadelphia, New Jersey with legal services

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Every spring break, students from Penn State Law participate in the Alterative Spring Break Initiative, which provides law students dedicated to public interest initiatives with an opportunity to enhance their legal education by extending learning outside of the classroom and into the community. This year, two groups of students worked with Philadelphia Legal Assistance and Legal Services of New Jersey’s Edison office to provide legal assistance on a variety of matters from domestic violence cases to mortgage and foreclosure cases.

Students Eunice Kim, Tzu-Wei Liao, Sarah Loy, and Stephen Stachowski traveled to Philadelphia and volunteered in the Consumer Housing Unit at the Philadelphia Legal Center. Founded in 1996, Philadelphia Legal Assistance provides free civil legal services to low-income individuals and families in Philadelphia. The Penn State Law team did much of their work on a case that involved suing a local sheriff’s department to return money from a sheriff’s sale to the pockets of homeowners  who had recently lost their home.

“I was able to actually work with real issues and put into practice what I have learned thus far,“ said Kim. “In the span of a week, we were able to do so much more than I expected. It was definitely a meaningful and highly educational experience.”

The second team of students— Amangeldi Abdikerimov, Christopher Boone, John Malchow, Brandon McCune, Roberto Perez, and Steven Winardy, and—spent their break at the Edison, N.J. offices of Legal Services of New Jersey. Legal Services of New Jersey coordinates the statewide Legal Services system, which provides free legal assistance to low-income New Jerseyans for their civil legal problems on a variety of issues.

The students assisted in a variety of cases, including cases involving Hurricane Sandy relief, as New Jersey continues to work on its recovery.  Hurricane Sandy ushered in a host of litigation revolving around damaged or destroyed property, FEMA assistance, and the like. The team also researched and assisted in disability, bankruptcy, and mortgage law cases.

“The bankruptcy case was a really time-sensitive issue and I could tell that my research was essential to the outcome of the case,“ said McCune. “It felt really good to know that everything I was doing was directly aiding a real person who needed my help. It also felt amazing to be able to actually utilize the writing and research skills I have learned here. Professors will tell you how imperative these skills are, but I didn't truly understand until I had to use them in a real professional setting.”

Additional information about past Alternative Spring Break experiences can be found online on the Alternative Spring Break Initiative website.