Penn State Law students offer legal aid in New Jersey, New York over spring break

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. –  Forgoing the opportunity to spend a week at the beach or time at home with family, several Penn State Law students spent their spring breaks in New Jersey and New York providing pro-bono legal aid. Organized by the Penn State Law Alternative Spring Break Initiative, with support from the American Bar Association, the trips were designed to help low-income clients in need of legal services while giving the students valuable hands-on legal experience.

In New Jersey, the students worked with Legal Services of New Jersey, which provides free legal assistance to low-income New Jerseyans for their civil legal problems. Seven students were assigned real cases and clients, and were able to assist them with their legal needs. Students spent much of their time performing research, writing memos, and offering advice to clients. Most of the clients who were seeking advice at the clinic were facing possible foreclosure, having difficulties paying their mortgages, or were struggling to provide housing for their families. The students were able to help them in the process to find a solution

Elizabeth Ramos, a first-year Penn State Law student, said that the experience was a good one, adding: “It was interesting to work with real people on real cases, gaining real experience. Getting to interact with the clients was my favorite part because we are really helping to make a difference with our skill set.”

In New York, the students provided similar services at The Legal Aid Society, the oldest and largest private, nonprofit legal services organization in the nation, dedicated since 1876 to providing quality legal representation to low-income New Yorkers. Students operated the Access to Benefits (A2B) hotline, answering calls from New York City residents, and did client intake,  referring clients to legal aid attorneys. The issues the students encountered most frequently centered on Medicare/Medicaid, housing, public assistance, and employment discrimination.

Students also gathered information from the Brooklyn, Bronx, and Manhattan Housing Courts to help the Legal Aid Society in a class-action housing suit, volunteered at a help desk where they assisted clients in requesting fair hearings, and sat in on housing court proceedings at the Manhattan Housing Court.