Test Asylum Law6

Cooley's Center for Ethics, Service, and Professionalism administers a network of Cooley faculty, staff, and other volunteer attorneys who provide free legal service to the poor and under-represented at community centers in the Grand Rapids area. The pro-bono sites have included the soup kitchen Dégagé Ministries serving a homeless population, the Hispanic Center of West Michigan serving an immigrant population, the Dwelling Place Apartments serving formerly homeless and disabled, and the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce serving the self-employed.

Lawyers and law students from Cooley visit the sites on the same routine schedule to serve clients on a drop-in basis. Most of the consultations involve evaluation and referral for further legal and social services, but the lawyers also review files, draft documents, and communicate on the clients' behalf with businesses and governmental agencies. Many of the consultations involve translation to serve a non-English speaking population.