Bristol Community College Paralegal & Legal Studies Program, Fall River, MA
The Bristol Community College Paralegal & Legal Studies Program partners with a local non-profit legal incubator to provide free "ask A Lawyer" sessions for the college’s community. A few times a semester, an attorney comes to campus (currently via zoom) for a couple of hours and provides legal information to individuals in 15 minute sessions. Members of the college’s community must pre-register for the appointments. This program has been replicated by other larger colleges in the area. This approach is thought of as 'legal triage' where individuals can receive some basic legal advice about next steps available to them. People often do not even know if they need an attorney or if they have a case and this program tries to minimize the stress associated with the process.