Students will no longer be able to visit an ASG-funded lawyer for free legal advice starting next quarter.

Associated Student Government President Jonathan Webber said he decided not to renew attorney Patty Marinakis’ contract, thus closing the Student Legal Services office, because the service was expensive and was not being used enough.

Part-time attorney Marinakis meets for free with full-time students who need legal advice, providing up to one hour of counseling per case. Cases can range from landlord-tenant disputes to underage drinking offenses. The Student Legal Services office, located at Norris University Center, was started in 2002 and is financed by the Student Activities Fee, a $44 quarterly payment included in undergraduate tuition.

Marinakis is supervised directly by the ASG president, and her contract length varies year to year at the president’s discretion. This year, her contract was only one quarter long and Webber chose not to renew it for Winter Quarter, he said.

“This was by far the hardest decision I’ve had to make as ASG president,” Webber said. “It’s something I took very seriously and thought about it for months – it deals with somebody’s job.”

After consulting with the rest of the Executive Board and ASG adviser Helen Wood, Webber, a Weinberg senior, said it was not financially responsible for ASG to continue paying for the services. Not enough students knew about or used it, despite ASG’s attempts at advertising, he said.

Webber also said that for each student who met with Marinakis, it cost ASG a little more than $300. He declined to give exact numbers for how many students used the service.

Out of ASG’s $68,000 internal budget, $35,000 is used to pay for Marinakis’ parking permit, legal databases, office supplies and salary, said Financial Vice President and SESP senior Aneesa Arshad. This quarter, The Graduate School contributed to her salary because of her work with graduate students, which offset some costs.

“I want to thank the ASG and the student body, it’s been a wonderful experience,” Marinakis said. “I am sad about what’s happened, but I’m just glad to have had the experience, and I’m looking forward to the next opportunity in life.”

As a Student Legal Services lawyer, Marinakis couldn’t represent students in court and could only provide legal advice. She also couldn’t give advice in cases that involved other students, student groups or the university because of conflict of interest violations. Webber said because of these restrictions, students were sometimes turned away and instead sought help from outside lawyers. These were compelling reasons to not renew her contract, he said.

SESP senior Hayley Kercher said she received a citation from University Police last year and sought help from the Student Legal Services office but was turned away because it was a conflict of interest.

“When I couldn’t get in touch with her, I just Googled stuff online and asked around,” she said. “I gave up on getting advice.”

But Kercher said she still thinks that having a free lawyer is important for the student body.

“If someone’s able to use her, it’s a great resource,” she said. “People don’t have a lot of money and it may deter them from seeking help. And it’s on campus so they don’t have to go downtown.”

Webber said he also felt ASG wasn’t the right organization to fund and provide legal services.

“It shouldn’t be something that goes under the Student Activities Fee,” he said. “It’s not a student activity.”

Webber said his decision has not yet been shared with the Senate, the body that typically determines how ASG funds are spent, out of respect for Marinakis. He said he wanted to discuss the contract with her privately before making the details public.

Marinakis said she didn’t have much notice regarding Webber’s decision. Webber will present his actions at the next Senate meeting, after Thanksgiving.

“It’s obviously unfortunate, it’s nice to have some type of backdrop for legal questions,” said off-campus senator Chas Schlaack, a Weinberg senior. “But if she wasn’t put to use, I’m not sure what good she would’ve been.”

Reach Steph Yiu at [email protected].