13 - Advocacy Against Sex Trafficking

 Student Leader(s):
Krystle Fernandez
Advisor
Sarah Buel
Description
Sex trafficking is a real and serious problem in Phoenix and the rest of the United State, though many people are unaware that it happens where they live. The average age of a child prostitute in Phoenix is 13 years old (inspiring the name of the organization). 13's mission is to promote awareness of the problem of sex trafficking, increase advocacy, and put an end to sex trafficking in the southwestern region by: increasing community awareness of sex trafficking, providing legal outreach and support to victims of sex trafficking, and developing and promoting reform legislation.  
  

Advocacy Program Against Domestic Violence

Student Leader(s): 


Advisor:
                Sarah Buel

Description:
The Advocacy Program Against Domestic Violence was named Top Pro Bono Organization in 2005 and 2006. Devoted to preventing, and eliminating, domestic violence in Arizona, members of the organization have the opportunity to meet with victims in domestic violence shelters and provide legal resources. The program also sponsors a resource hotline for victims of domestic violence, which is available 24/7, 365 days of the year. Other activities include a Literacy Drive for all children in the domestic violence shelters as well as a Holiday Stocking Stuffer Drive in which volunteers have the opportunity to collect and distribute holiday gifts to all women and children in the domestic violence shelters we serve.
 
  

Arizona Attorney General Satellite Outreach Project

Student Leader(s): 
                MichelleRoddy

Description:

The Community Services Program of the Office of the Attorney General includes satellite offices throughout Arizona. At the first university-based office, student volunteers make it easier for the public to access information on consumer fraud, civil and victims' rights, and other matters affecting our most vulnerable members of the community and the general public. The volunteers staff the satellite office, make educational presentations for groups, and distribute educational material at events.

  

Business Legal Assistance Program

Student Leader(s): 
Advisor:
                Eric Menkhus
Description:
The Business Legal Assistance Program provides entrepreneurs with limited resources and small businesses with information and advice regarding their legal issues. Students and volunteer attorneys meet with business-people and entrepreneurs once a month in a clinic-like setting to address their needs.

Business law covers a wide range of topics and volunteers may help answer questions about how to form a business, how to get a trademark or copyright, or many other issues that someone starting a new business or trying to operate a small business may face. Volunteers will have pre-prepared packets of information with appropriate phone numbers to call, websites to visit, and forms to fill out so people will easily be able to get their questions answered.
 
  

Community Advocacy Project

Advisor:
           Michelle Roddy
Description:
Community Advocacy Project (CAP) assists local attorneys with a variety of pro bono matters.  Pro bono matters include conducting legal research and drafting know-your-rights pamphlets on topics ranging from domestic violence to real estate.  
 
  

Elder Law Project

Student Leader(s):
Advisor:
Description:

The Elder Law Project partners with local attorneys to provide assistance to individuals filing pro per in probate court on various matters including elder abuse, probate law, guardianships and conservatorships.  
  

Homeless Legal Assistance Project (HLAP)

Student Leader(s):
Shifa Alkhatib
Advisor:
Description:
The Homeless Legal Assistance Project provides legal service to approximately 180 homeless people each year. Homeless Legal Assistance Project volunteers work with staff at the shelters to identify residents' legal needs. Students interview residents to screen their needs before presenting them to valley-wide attorney volunteers. Attorneys address the residents' concerns by providing advice, referring them to outside resources, or assigning research projects to the students. Volunteers follow up as needed to help the clients resolve their issues. The Homeless Legal Assistance project also provides non-legal assistance by sponsoring various food, clothing and necessity drives as well as other projects.
 
  

Joel Shepard Family Law Assistance Program

Robert Hendricks
Advisor: 
Ira Ellman
Description:
Family Law/Domestic Relations Law is a very unique area of law. It is very emotional and comes up in many other legal areas, including criminal law and estate law. Some key topics within the area of Family Law are divorce, child support, adoptions, and child custody, just to name a few. The Family Law Assistance Program works with non-profit family-law related organizations, including Fresh Start Women's Foundation and Homeward Bound and also works with the Family Legal Assistance Project at the Maricopa County Superior Court. At these organizations, the pro bono work that FLAP student members will be doing consists of client intake, interviewing clients, performing legal research, and most importantly--getting hands-on experience within this field of law that students will probably not learn in law school.

The Joel Shepard Family Law Assistance Program volunteers can work with the Family Legal Assistance Program (FLAP) which provides assistance to individuals who are representing themselves in family court matters such as paternity, child support, divorce, and custody. FLAP has offices in the Phoenix and Mesa courthouses, which are open from 9:00-12:00 and 1:30-4:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Students are encouraged to volunteer at either location and for any time increment that their and FLAP's schedules permit.
 
  

Juvenile Legal Assistance Program (JLAP)

 Student Leader(s):
Advisor
Description
Our mission is to join with attorneys in the community to provide services for those who need assistance when dealing with legal conflicts surrounding children and juveniles while allowing students to further their interest in public service and juvenile law.
 
  

Liberty Project

Student Leader(s):
Advisor:
 Michelle Roddy
Description:
Our mission is to join students with community leaders to work for the protection of reproductive rights including but not limited to sexual education, contraception, abortion, and access to clinics such as Planned Parenthood.
 
  

Marshall-Brennan Moot Court

Student Leader(s):
Advisor:
Description:

Marshall-Brennan Moot Court law students volunteer to coach local high school students to compete in local and national high school moot court competitions.

  

Pro Bono Board

Student Leader(s): 
Dan Crane
                Krystle Fernandez

Advisor:
                Michelle Roddy
Description:
The Pro Bono Board assists pro bono organizations with increasing student involvement and raises funds for summer public interest fellowships for students.
  

Street Law

Student Leader(s):
Advisor:
Website:
Description:
Teach law-related courses to local inner-city junior high and high school students. The Black Law Students’ Association and the Chicano/Latino Law Students’ Association coordinate these programs.
 
  

Wills for Heroes

 Student Leader(s):
Advisor:
 
Websites:
Wills For Heroes National Website - www.willsforheroes.org/
Wills For Heroes - ABA Young Lawyers Division Website - www.abanet.org/yld/wills/
Wills For Heroes - Arizona Bar Website - www.azbar.org/willsforheroes/WillsForHeroes_text.cfm 
Description: 
The Arizona State University Wills for Heroes Organization assists the now nationwide Wills for Heroes organization draft wills, living wills, and powers of attorney for first responders in Arizona.  Student volunteers have a great opportunity to gain practical experience with estate planning and client counseling while acting as witnesses and shadowing valley attorneys.  Events are held on Saturdays throughout the year (typically once per month).
Anatomy of a Wills For Heroes Program 
The Wills for Heroes program is unlike many other clinic or pro bono legal programs because we bring the program to the first responders’ doorstep. Working with department coordinators, the Wills for Heroes program provides this free service by bringing together first responders with attorneys, notaries and witnesses at a department station, training facility or headquarters on a predetermined event date, usually a Saturday. The department’s sole responsibilities are to provide the meeting space and coordinate the appointments.
In advance of the Wills for Heroes event, participants download and complete an estate planning questionnaire (compiled by estate planning experts in each state).  Receiving the questionnaire ahead of time is an important step in this process because it allows participants to think through a number of important decisions and discuss them with their spouse, partner, or other trusted friends. 
Upon arrival at the Wills for Heroes event, the first responder signs in and executes a disclaimer.  The participant is assigned to an attorney who reviews the questionnaire and inputs the information from the questionnaire into laptops loaded with the document assembly software platform HotDocs® by LexisNexis.  The attorney reviews the draft estate planning documents with the first responder participant to insure that each person understands and agrees to what they are executing.  Once finalized, the documents are signed, witnessed and notarized in a formal signing ceremony.  On average, it takes about an hour to complete the estate planning documents.  The Wills for Heroes program does not keep a copy of the participant’s documents or information.
 
  

Youth Mentoring Board

Erin Collins
Advisor:
Description:
 The Youth Mentoring Board is composed of five law students that work to support and coordinate the different pro bono programs that reach out to youths in the community. It does so by increasing the law school’s visibility in the community, by assisting with fundraising and volunteer recruitment, and by creating institutional memory that ensures the continuation of the different programs.