WE OFFER FREE WALK-IN LEGAL SESSIONS.
How to prepare and what to expect during your visit:
1. Gather all relevant paperwork before the session. This might include your summons and complaint if you have been sued, or any default judgments entered against you. It might also include correspondence with creditors or collections agencies, bills, credit reports, or any other paperwork related to the issue you wish to discuss. Having this paperwork with you will both allow the CLARO attorneys to better assist you, and save you time.
2. Arrive a few minutes before your scheduled time. If you are running more than 15 minutes late, you may be asked to reschedule your visit.
3. Upon your arrival at the CLARO site, you will be greeted by our administrator or a law student. They will provide you with paperwork informing you about the nature of the free, limited-scope legal advice CLARO offers, and collect information about you and your issue for statistical purposes. Questions might include the nature of the debt and information about your income, expenses, living situation, other debts, and credit history.
4. Once you have completed the intake process, you will be seen by a volunteer attorney, who will be able to give you advice. Depending on the number of volunteer attorneys available and the amount of other visitors, you may have to wait briefly until an attorney becomes available. The attorney you speak with will review the intake paperwork and any documents you have brought, and provide you with free, limited-scope legal advice to help you best represent yourself in your case. CLARO advice is limited-in-scope insofar as CLARO attorneys are not representing you in your case; instead, they are available to better prepare you to advocate for yourself by informing you about the law and your options.
In total, a CLARO session can take between 30 minutes and two hours, depending on the nature of your legal issue. Due to time and resource constraints, we can only assist each visitor with one legal issue per visit. However, if you have multiple legal issues, you may attend as many CLARO sessions as you need.
