For anyone going through family court proceedings, completing all the necessary forms and jumping through the required legal hoops can be intimidating.
The Law Library Resource Center in Maricopa County is hosting a free in-person clinic at the end of this month where volunteer law students can answer questions.
Jackie Traher is the director of the Law Library Resource Center at the Maricopa County Superior Court. She said people have been asking for help with filling out these forms, and existing resources weren’t enough.
“While we have some existing resources we can refer them to,” said Traher, “even with something that we call our lawyer in the library program, it's not enough for some of our customers. They need something longer, more time.”
The Law Library provides the space for and facilitates the clinic, which requires that you sign up and fill out the forms to the best of your ability beforehand.
“This is just for the average person who is a little bit overwhelmed with the whole process,” Traher explained.
But it’s an important part of bridging the knowledge gap between people and the justice system, she added.
“We're there to try to help facilitate access to justice because more and more,” Traher said, “the number of people who are involved in court, on their own, without legal assistance, is just increasing.”
In the future, she said the goal is to expand locations and case types.
The next clinic is scheduled 2-4 p.m. Friday, May 31, at the Law Library Resource Center in Phoenix.
