Associated Student Government hired a lawyer to advise students last week after negotiating a contract during the past month.
A former lawyer for Jeffrey Strange & Associates, Patty Marinakis will work two days a week advising students for free on legal issues such as minor criminal matters, traffic violations, drug violations and tenant-landlord issues, ASG President Jordan Heinz said.
The 33-year-old had a baby nine months ago and said she welcomes the opportunity to raise her child and remain active professionally.
“This was a great opportunity for me to practice in the legal profession while staying at home with my daughter,” Marinakis said. “I love working with clients, and this is just a different way of helping out clients in a college setting.”
Starting Jan. 15, Marinakis will hold office hours Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the third floor of Norris University Center in office L.
“She’s young so she can relate to students,” said Heinz, an Education senior. “She was also enthusiastic about the position. For some lawyers, working with college students isn’t exactly the most appealing job.”
In negotiating the contract, Northwestern’s legal counsel limited Marinakis’ duties. She cannot advise on conflicts between students and NU. If students want to hire Marinakis for court, they will have to pay regular legal fees.
“Student groups don’t usually hire people, so we had to deal with a lot of logistics that have never been dealt with before,” Heinz said. “The contract took some time, but it was still finalized pretty quickly.”
ASG first requested funding for a lawyer Spring Quarter from the Student Activities Funding Board, but the request was denied. ASG then allocated $40,000 for the current academic year to fund the position, including salary and office support. The funding decision caused one-third of the Senate to vote against ASG’s budget proposal last winter, but the budget still passed.
Sen. Neil Shah, who had been opposed to funding a student lawyer, said Marinakis might work with a larger group of students than he originally imagined. More than a dozen students have already called the ASG office inquiring about the lawyer, Shah said.
“I think there’s better use for the money than subsidizing student transgressions, but my real objection is that students weren’t consulted about it,” said Shah, a Weinberg senior. “The $40,000 a year is an activities fee, not for services like that.”
Former ASG President Adam Humann, Weinberg ’01, led the effort to establish a student lawyer position after the university’s Legal Aid Office was disbanded in Fall 1999 because of a lack of student volunteers.
“I want to emphasize to students that this is a wonderful opportunity provided to them by ASG,” Marinakis said. “I would encourage them to contact me should they have legal questions that arise.”