Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Self Help Clinic

Appointments are open for the 2025 spring semester

The Self-Help Clinic will be closed during Mitchell Hamline’s finals and winter break: November 23rd-January 25th.

We will reopen on February 1st. Please fill out the appropriate appointment request form, and the clinic will follow up with you to determine the best way we can assist.

All appointments begin at 10:00 a.m. We ask that you arrive on time to ensure that we have enough time to assist you. We do accept walk-ins, however, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to assist you if you do not have an appointment.

Assistance with legal forms

Student volunteers can assist with filling out legal forms at no charge. We are unable to assist with further filing of forms or court fees. Appointments are preferred for family law and criminal expungement. Walk-ins will be accommodated until 11 am on a first-come, first-served basis. Appointments are required for eviction expungement. Additionally, all visitors must be up to date on COVID-19 vaccines to be in the building.

Sponsored by the Warren E. Burger Law Library

About us

We are a group of Mitchell Hamline School of Law students, alumni, and reference librarians who volunteer to help individuals represent themselves in court.

The clinic assists with completing a self-help form for the following legal issues:

Make an appointment

To make an appointment for a family law matter, including child support modification, divorce, establishing custody and parenting time, or modifying custody and parenting time please fill out the “Family Law Appointment Request Form” below. To make an appointment for a criminal expungement matter, please fill out the “Criminal Expungement Appointment Request Form” below. To make an appointment for a criminal expungement matter, please fill out the “Criminal Expungement Appointment Request Form” below. To make an appointment for an eviction expungement matter, please fill out the “Eviction Expungement Appointment Request Form” below. If you have multiple issues under more than one category, please fill out each corresponding form. If you are unsure which category your matter falls under, please email us at selfhelp.clinic@mitchellhamline.edu  and we would be happy to assist you.

NOTE: We cannot make an appointment if you already have an attorney. We can only provide appointment support with the self-help forms for the six services above. However, don’t hesitate to contact us to request other resources.

Clinic schedule

During the spring semester, we will be open the following Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

  • February: 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd
  • March: 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th
  • April: 5th

Eviction Expungement will be provided the following Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

  • February: 8th, 22nd
  • March: 8th, 22nd
  • April: 5th

What to expect

Our student staff is trained to provide legal assistance with completing the required paperwork in the abovementioned areas. If you need help with something other than the services listed above, we are happy to refer you to other resources.

We have volunteer attorneys on staff each Saturday who can answer questions about forms you plan to file, explain the legal process, and provide advice on how to obtain the legal result you seek.

Click on the issue above for a list of documents to bring to your appointment. They will allow us to help you as best we can.

We cannot and will not serve as legal counsel or represent anyone in court.

History

In the Fall of 2006, a couple of law students had the vision of establishing a legal clinic on campus to help better serve our community. The Self-Help Clinic finally opened its doors on Sept. 12, 2009, for a one-semester pilot program. During our first two semesters, we helped 90 patrons, many of whom came back multiple times to resolve their legal issues. Due to our resounding success, we are now a permanent Mitchell Hamline School of Law clinic.

Links

lawhelpmn.org
A wonderful site with information, documents, and links about Minnesota law

libguides.mitchellhamline.edu/self-help
Self-help resources