The Statewide Moderate Means Program (MMP) is a joint venture between the Washington State Bar Association and the Washington State law schools. The goal of the program is to increase access to civil legal services by people of moderate means who cannot afford an attorney but make too much money to qualify for traditional legal aid services. The program is focused on the areas of family, housing and consumer law.
Law students participating in the practicum will interview potential clients by telephone to collect information and evaluate their cases. Students have the opportunity to interview many different clients with a broad array of legal issues. Qualifying cases will be referred by students to participating attorneys who have agreed to represent MMP clients for a reduced fee.
Benefits to students include:
- Hands-on experience interviewing clients
- Training in substantive legal issues, issue-spotting, interviewing skills and ethics
- Instruction on how to use the Legal Server database, which is used by most of the civil legal aid organizations in Washington State as well as the SU Law clinics
- Supervision and mentoring by experienced attorneys
- The satisfaction of helping moderate income individuals who otherwise might not receive any legal help at all
