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Home > Archive > Oct 3, 2007

Nonprofit Legal Center Opens to Serve Southern Utahns
By Cami Cox
Staff Writer
Low-income and disabled Southern Utahns will have free legal services available to them, provided by the Southern Utah Community Legal Center, which officially opened for business Sept. 28 in St. George. The center will offer legal consultation, advice and assistance to residents of Southern Utah who cannot afford an attorney.
“Clearly, we can't solve all the legal problems here in Southern Utah, but this will be a step in the right direction,”Southern Utah Bar Association President Adam Caldwell said.
Clients accepted for assistance at the Legal Center will be matched with attorneys, and the attorneys will then meet with the clients personally to help resolve their legal issues. The center will serve all of Southern Utah, Caldwell said, so every endeavor will be made to match St. George area clients with St. George area attorneys and Cedar City clients with Cedar City attorneys, though Iron County residents will likely have to travel to St. George for an initial consultation, he said.
Discussions about opening such a legal center in St. George began last winter, Caldwell said, and several local law firms have contributed to the effort since then.
“There are many individuals who are discouraged from seeking needed legal assistance because they are fearful of the cost,” Community Legal Center Board Chairman David Clove said. “The goal of the Southern Utah Community Legal Center is to provide free legal services to people who cannot afford to see a lawyer. We hope accessibility to the justice system will be greatly enhanced by these efforts.”
The Legal Center will have a full-time paralegal on staff, provided by Utah Legal Services, to take phone calls, make appointments and coordinate services between the various legal service providers working with the center and the clients. In addition, attorneys from the Southern Utah Bar Association will be present at the center every Tuesday evening from 5 to 7 p.m. to advise and consult with customers at the Legal Center. It is anticipated that a staff attorney will be hired for the center in the near future, as well, Caldwell said.
Such problems as landlord-tenant disputes, credit and collections issues and domestic matters are among legal issues Caldwell foresees the Legal Center will be handling.
“The important thing is for the public to understand that we're here, available and willing to help, but we will be selective in the cases that are referred out to attorneys,” Caldwell said. “We'll essentially assemble the requests for legal representation, and we'll try to pick the cases we feel we're best qualified and able to assist with.”
Though Utah Legal Services and the Utah-based legal-aid organization “and Justice for all” are affiliated with the new Legal Center and have aided in its creation, decisions made for the center – including client acceptance or denial – will be handled locally by the nonprofit board that has been formed to direct the center. The board consists of Caldwell and Chairman Clove, V. Lowry Snow, DeAnne Staheli, Kerry Hepworth, Sidney J. Atkin, Steve Urquhart and Father Gustavo Vidal.
In addition to the support and cooperation of dozens of local law firms, attorneys and businesses, the Legal Center has been made possible by contributions from the Utah State Bar Association, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Southern Utah Bar Association, according to information from the Legal Center.
Though some assistance, both locally and on the state level, has been formerly available to provide legal help to Southern Utah residents, it has been limited both in manpower and services available, Caldwell said. The new Legal Center will make it possible for local legal professionals to serve a much wider population of citizens who need legal help but don't have access to it.
“This center will be the first of its kind in St. George; and as far as Southern Utah goes, we're going to be a little more comprehensive in the things we're going to be able to assist with,” Caldwell said.

The Southern Utah Community Legal Center is located at 229 E. St. George Blvd., suite 103, in St. George. To contact the Legal Center, call 628-1604.

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