Student Legal Services

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Student Legal Services Partnership

Click here to visit the WKU Student Legal Services website.

The mission of Western Kentucky University (WKU) Student Legal Services (SLS) is to provide WKU students with affordable access to legal services. According to the WKU SLS website (https://www.wku.edu/wkusls/), “Our primary goal is to assist students in responding to legal problems that may be adversely affecting their well-being or otherwise interfering with their academic studies or goals. We particularly strive to assist students in resolving problems for which it would otherwise be difficult or impossible to obtain legal services at affordable prices. Assistance with legal problems is an essential service for students because legal problems can jeopardize a student's academic performance, development, and ultimately, the student's retention at WKU. WKU SLS assists in alleviating these problems in order to maximize the quality of student life and helps Western Kentucky University to accomplish its goal of student retention and enhancing the quality of student's University experience.”

In order to prioritize programs that have the capacity to greatly benefit students and provide a much-needed service, WKU SGA pledges $2,500.00 per year to cover WKU SLS malpractice insurance costs. 

The American Bar Association defines legal malpractice as any act which is negligent or wrongfully executed by an attorney who causes monetary damages to his/her client. Legal malpractice can be perpetrated in any field of law. Insurance coverage may be purchased to provide monetary recourse for victims of legal malpractice. If a lawyer does have legal malpractice insurance, typically the legal professional's insurance company will either defend the client's former attorney against the claims or allot resources to pay the client in the event that the defendant is found liable to the client.

According to the WKU SLS website, “Any student, full time or part time, is eligible to the services provided through Student Legal Services. If the issue is an ongoing legal problem, the student must initiate contact with the SLS Clinic during a time in which they are currently enrolled as a student.”

WKU SLS is located in Tate Page Hall, Room 252, and, also according to the WKU SLS website, the office includes “an office for the clinic supervisor, a reception area for interns, a records room and two consultation rooms. In addition to this area, a small lobby is available for clients to wait for their consultation.”