Appointment Policy:
In order to serve our clients effectively and efficiently, we can advise you by appointment only, except in cases of genuine emergency. We cannot give advice over the telephone.

If you have a legal problem call us at 545-1995, or come to our office in room 922 of the Campus Center to set up an appointment. The receptionist will make an appointment for you with a legal assistant-attorney team which handles your particular type of problem.

Usually, your first appointment will be with a legal assistant, rather than with an attorney. Be sure to bring an ID and all paperwork related to the case with you to the appointment (i.e., summons to court, lease, notice to quit, written communications, work contract, traffic ticket).

In many cases, you will only need advice from us. In other cases, we will actively work with you or on your behalf. You may be advised right away, if the supervising attorney is available to be consulted. If the attorney is not available, you will be asked to contact the legal assistant or attorney at a later time to be receive advice.

Attorney/Client Relationship:
We are pleased to provide professional, confidential legal services in accordance with the Code of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. You should feel free to discuss all aspects of your problem openly and candidly, because information concerning your case will not be released to third parties without your express written authorization.

Under the Code of Professional Responsibility, an attorney is sworn to preserve the confidences of a client. This rule applies equally to all persons who work with the attorney, including the legal assistants and office support staff.

The attorneys at the Student Legal Services Office will at all times exercise independent professional judgment in discharging their responsibilities.

We realize that many clients would like to see only an attorney, rather than a legal assistant, and would prefer to be given advice right away, rather than having to wait. Unfortunately, this is not possible because the office has a small number of attorneys, and all fee-paying undergraduate and graduate students (some 23,000 people) are potential clients of the SLSO. Please be assured that any legal advice you receive, however, will be the advice of a licensed attorney, who will decide how to best address your problem and the extent to which this office can help you.

As a matter of routine, we will keep you apprised of developments. You should be aware, however, that our staff handles almost 2,000 cases each year, and that the nature of certain cases will leave some time between new developments and conclusive progress. If you need to know the status of your case, you can call your legal assistant-attorney team for a case status report. The Student Legal Services Office will maintain a file containing the details of your case in a secure place for at least ten years, after which time it will be destroyed.

Your responsibilities:
If we open the case (establish an ongoing attorney-client relationship with you, or take action on your behalf), you may have certain responsibilities, such as keeping a log of all events or communications surrounding your case, or doing legwork.

One of the most important things for you to do, before and after we open your case, is to keep copies of any written communications, either from or to you. You should keep in touch with the office about your case. If new developments arise, call your legal assistant-attorney team. Please be sure to give the legal assistant updated address and telephone information, should you move.

You are strongly encouraged to take notes about any advice or information given to you by an attorney or legal assistant. Often, several different alternatives may be suggested, or complicated procedures discussed, and you should not expect to be able to remember everything without writing it down.

Clients sometimes have time conflicts with court or administrative hearings, or other meetings which they must attend. If you have a class or are scheduled to work at such time, you may have to miss the class or job.