UCLA’s Student Legal Services office was recently named the “Most Outstanding Student Legal Services Office” in the western region of the United States.
The award was presented by the University Student Legal Services Association (Western Region) at its annual conference.
“We really were very thrilled to receive the award and get the recognition for the hard work that we love doing ““ helping UCLA students,” said Elizabeth Kemper, director of Student Legal Services.
Student Legal Services offers legal guidance to UCLA students for matters which could involve anything from dealing with a landlord dispute to advice on more serious criminal issues.
“We were selected because of the high quality of the range of services we provide, the expertise of the attorneys and the innovative ways in which we have tried to deliver services,” Kemper said.
Services offered by Student Legal Services include the Mobile Legal Clinics: “Law in the Union,” and “Law on the Hill,” which make attorneys available in Ackerman Student Union and De Neve dining hall, respectively, to answer basic legal questions.
The office also launched a marketing campaign to better inform students and academic advisers of the services offered by Student Legal Services, according to a Student Legal Services statement.
Additionally, Student Legal Services created a Web site offering students answers to basic legal questions.
All of these factors contributed to the selection of UCLA’s Student Legal Services office as the winner of the award.
“The fact that we provide actual legal service to students sets us apart,” said Deborah Geller, chief administrative officer for Student and Campus Life.
“Most other universities have attorneys that make referrals but don’t actually provide direct legal assistance.”
The selection process took into account quality of service, innovative ideas and the ability to overcome challenges such as California’s budget cuts.
“We’ve had to be very creative to keep our level of services even when we’re facing budget cuts,” Kemper said.
UCLA’s office has extremely dedicated attorneys that have voluntarily reduced their number of paid hours while still working approximately the same amount of time, she said.
The office has also relied on its internship program to continue providing quality services while cutting expenses, she added.
“We really tried not to actually cut back on the work we did for students,” said Kathleen Koch-Weser, one of the three staff attorneys in the office.
Koch-Weser said, “It’s gratifying to all of us to get recognition of the fact that we have been able to provide a very high quality legal services program in spite of the budget cuts.”