COLLEGE LEGAL CLINIC

College Legal Clinic Policy and Procedures Approved by the ASI Board of Directors Per BD 69-02, July 23, 2002

 

Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to standardize College Legal Clinic’s (CLC) procedures. For those situations not covered here, the CLC employee is expected to use their best judgment.

Scope: This policy applies to all employees in the CLC. All parties who use the CLC’s services must also comply with the policies set forth in this policy.

a. Some clients need further representation and need to hire an attorney. The CLC is a State Bar Certified Referral Service and can refer our clients to attorneys on our panel. Representation fees can be reduced for our clients at the discretion of the attorney, but the exact amount and terms of payment are negotiated between the attorney and the client. If the client feels the fees are too excessive, then the CLC will refer the client to another attorney from our panel.

b. This service is available to eligible clients for an unlimited amount of times.

5. Confidentiality Issues

The CLC maintains strict confidentiality rules at all times. All information regarding a client remains locked up at all times. The only parties which can access the information are CLC staff, attorneys, and the client. Information regarding a client’s case is never revealed to campus administration or outside agencies. CLC staff members are instructed to never discuss any client’s case with an outside party. If a staff member is found revealing confidential information it is grounds for the termination of their position.

a. All currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students of CSUSB and its Coachella Valley satellite campus are entitled to the services of the CLC. The student must show their current school identification card in order to verify their enrollment status.

b. All faculty, staff, and administration can use the services of the CLC for a $15.00 charge which entitles them to a full calendar year of membership to the CLC.

c. Spouses and children of eligible clients can use the services if the nature of the case directly involves the client. An example is the client and her husband are being sued.

d. Extended Education students can not use the services of the CLC.

e. Alumni of CSUSB can not use the services of the CLC.

7. Organizational Structure of the College Legal Clinic

a. The CLC consists of the Management Assistant and student assistants. The number of student assistants is dictated by the level of demand for CLC services and the availability of budget. These members are all paid employees of Associated Students, Incorporated (ASI).

b. The ASI Executive Director is the direct supervisor of the Management Assistant. The ASI Executive Director and the Management Assistant are to keep in constant contact regarding the operations of the CLC.

8. Job Descriptions for the CLC Management Assistant
The CLC Management Assistant is responsible for the daily operations of the CLC. This includes supervising the Student Assistants. The Management Assistant works closely with the ASI Executive Director as well as the CLC Main Office. The Management Assistant is a CLC Executive Board Representative for CSUSB. The duties of the Management Assistant are as follows:

• Supervise CLC Student Assistants
• Hire and train CLC Student Assistants
• Process payroll information for the CLC
• Manage and present the CLC budget to the ASI BOD
• Maintain correspondence with all CLC panel attorneys
• Order supplies for the CLC
• Organize an advertising campaign each quarter
• Attend CLC Executive Board meetings as scheduled.
• Report to ASI BOD on request
• Coordinate CLC office meetings on a regular basis
• Recruit new attorneys for CSUSB Annex
• Handle all client complaints/comments

Student Assistant
The CLC Student Assistant is responsible for the scheduling of clients and attorneys. The Student Assistant works closely with the client in regards to scheduling the client with the appropriate attorney. The Student Assistant must be able to assess a legal situation and be able to make a decision on which option is best for the client. Duties of the Student Assistant are as follows:

• Interview potential clients
• Schedule clients with appropriate attorney
• Confirm appointments with client and attorneys
• Screen phone calls
• Type up attorney agendas each week
• Maintain all legal files pertaining to CLC clients
• Process appropriate CLC office forms

9. College Legal Clinic Employment Policies

a. Since the CLC is an entity of ASI it must follow all guidelines outlined in the latest revision of the Associated Students Incorporated Personnel Manual (ASIPM). This manual is the policies that all ASI employees must abide by. However there are certain policies that are only applicable to the CLC. These policies are set up for the efficient operation of the CLC and for the confidentiality of our clients.

(1) All CLC employees are to behave with strict confidentiality to the CLC clients. No files or information regarding any CLC files are to be revealed to any other party except for the client, any CLC employee, or the attorney directly involved with the case. This information can be from, but not limited to: Consultations forms, Referral forms, Phone Consult forms, Blue Book Logs, Calls to Return forms, Client folders, telephone message forms, voice mail messages, and Legal Aid Logs. Failure to comply with this policy is grounds for immediate dismissal from the CLC.

(2) CLC employees are to not have guests in the CLC office after 6PM Monday to Friday. If an employees is expecting or receives a guest after 6PM he/she is to discuss any matter outside of the ASI suites. If a guest arrives during normal ASI hours the CLC employee is to use their judgment as to length of the visit. If the visit will be longer than normally acceptable then the employee should take care of the matter outside of the ASI suites. This policy is to protect ASI/CLC property and files, as well as, keep a professional atmosphere in the ASI suites. Repeated instances of disregard for this policy will result in disciplinary procedures outlined in ASIPM Section 3, "Discipline".

(3) If a CLC employee is unable to attend their office hours they should try to find a replacement. If a replacements is found then the immediate supervisor should be notified. If a replacement is not found the absent employee must notify their immediate supervisor. If in either case the immediate supervisor is not found then the absent employee must notify the ASI Administrative Support Coordinator about the change or absence. If the ASI Administrative Support Coordinator Executive Secretary is unavailable then the employee should proceed in contacting the ASI President, ASI Executive Vice President, or ASI Vice President, Finance until an office member is notified about the change.

Approved per BD069-94, 5-24-94 Revised per BD 070-02, 7-23-02