Enhance your legal education with Empire College’s Elder Law Clinic

The Elder Law Clinic is an elective class that enables third- and fourth-year law students, under the supervision of a practicing lawyer, to provide free legal services to senior citizens and needy persons in the Sonoma County community.

Since opening in 2000, Supervising Attorneys Barry Adams and Lauren Gardner, along with Empire law students, have served more than 1,000 clients in the preparation of legal documents and as advocates in a variety of matters. Examples include:

Legal Documents

• Durable powers of attorney for health care
• Applications for Medi-Cal benefits
• Temporary restraining orders
• Probate forms
• Credit problem letters
• Banking dispute letters
• Consumer fraud issues
• V.A. benefits applications
• Wills
• Trust amendments

Advocacy

• Errors in billing
• Banking mistakes
• Veterans' disputes
• Interpreting court minutes
• Eviction notices and landlord/tenant disputes
• Social Security disputes
• Deceptive vendors
• Expungement information
• Collecting small claims judgments

The clinic is open to the public every Thursday evening (except holidays and semester breaks) from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. at the Salvation Army's Silvercrest Residence in Santa Rosa. Sign-ups are from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Phone messages available every day at 707-736-6150.

Contact us for more information.

"I know that most of us are more than a little tired of being treated like silly old folks. These students do not talk down to you; i.e, they are not condescending. In my case, they are helping me to write a will (at my tender age of nearly 70!). They seem to have a wide range of knowledge. Those of us who have used the services are pleased with the help."
- Esther Hybert