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Free family law clinic set for Oct. 6 in Oxford

September 29, 2016

A free family law clinic is scheduled for Oct. 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the University of Mississippi School of Law in Oxford. The Law School is at 481 Chucky Mullins Drive.

Low income people may receive free legal assistance with family law matters such as adoptions, child support modification, custody, conservatorships, guardianships, irreconcilable differences divorces, emancipations and name changes. The legal clinic is intended to help low income people who are seeking to represent themselves in court because they cannot afford to hire a lawyer.

The free Pro Se Family Law Legal Clinic is provided by the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project and law students with the Pro Bono Initiative of the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Other free family law clinics scheduled later this year are Oct. 24 at the Eudora Welty Library in Jackson, Nov. 15 at the Lee County Justice Center in Tupelo and Dec. 14 at the Washington County Courthouse in Greenville.

During a pro se clinic, attorneys will volunteer their time to meet with people seeking legal assistance. The attorneys will explain court proceedings, provide legal information, answer questions and assist applicants in preparing documents. The attorneys are not obligated to file documents and accompany clinic participants to court. The expectation is that individuals will be given adequate information to be able to represent themselves in court.

The free legal clinics are intended to help low income people. Eligibility to attend a clinic is limited to people whose income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. For example, that would be an annual income of $23,760 or less for an individual, or an annual income of $48,600 or less for a family of four.

People seeking free legal services must be screened in advance to determine eligibility. Contact the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project at 601-882-5001, or submit an online clinic intake form from this link: http://www.mvlp.net/%20pro-se-legal-clinic-intake-form%20/.

Upcoming free legal clinics are posted on the website of the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project at this link: http://www.mvlp.net/pro-se-legal-clinic-schedule/.

Another source of free legal assistance is the website ms.freelegalanswers.org, provided by the Access to Justice Commission and MVLP.

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