Request Services

If you have a problem and need legal assistance from SLSO, please complete and submit the intake form below.

In order to serve our clients effectively and efficiently, we advise them by appointment only, except in cases of genuine emergency. We do not give advice over the telephone. 

Please review our eligibility and conflict policies prior to submission of the form and verify that you are eligible to receive our services. They are placed below after the instructions. 

Eligibility Policy

Undergraduates at the University of Massachusetts Amherst that pay the Student Activities Fee and graduate students who pay the Graduate Student Senate Fee are eligible for the services offered by the SLSO.  Those students who take courses through Continuing Education, University Without Walls, or who do not otherwise pay the requisite fees are not eligible. Faculty and staff members who are taking classes at the University on a tuition waiver are not eligible for our services, nor are students from other colleges or universities.

Conflict Policy (student vs. student)

Since all UMass Amherst students are potentially our clients, we cannot advise or represent either party in student vs. student conflict. Though legal ethics prevent us from advising or representing one student against another, we may, in appropriate circumstances, provide basic legal information and make referrals. We are also prohibited from representing clients against the University or Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Confidentiality

From the moment you initiate contact with Student Legal Services (SLSO), whether by phone or in-person, your communications with our office are confidential.  Client confidentiality is at the core of the attorney-client relationship.  This applies even if your relationship with SLSO ends after a phone call or consultation.  Our attorneys, support staff, and legal assistants are bound by the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct promulgated by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

Under these rules, 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.

Accordingly, information concerning a client’s case will not be released to third parties, including the client’s parents or the university administration, without express written authorization by the client or in extremely limited situations. We therefore strongly encourage our clients to openly and candidly discuss all aspects of their legal matter with us. We are the best advocates for our clients when we know all the information that relates to their case.

Clients are welcome to bring a friend or parent to their appointment(s), but will need to sign a waiver acknowledging that they may be waiving the attorney-client privilege in so doing.

We are pleased to provide professional, confidential legal services to UMass Amherst students.  If you have questions about client confidentiality, please discuss them with SLSO staff at the consultation.