OCC Legal Clinic

About the Legal Clinic

The Legal Clinic provides free legal advice for any Binghamton University student. The Legal Clinic operates on first come-first served basis. For more information, contact Off Campus Programs and Services at occ@binghamton.edu or 607-777-2797. Please note: This phone number is for the Office of Off Campus Programs and Services. The Off Campus staff are not attorneys and can only answer questions about the legal clinic, they cannot provide legal advice. 

How can the Legal Clinic help?

During the fall and spring semesters, the Legal Clinic is available for both in-person meetings and consultations via email. If you would like to meet with a lawyer, please be prepared to share all relevant documents to your case so the attorney can provide the best advice possible.

Consultation Agreement

The legal services provided through Binghamton University’s Off Campus College Legal Clinic are limited to the legal counsel and advice provided to you during your consultation. Unless there is a written retainer agreement or engagement letter signed by both you and the attorney, legal services are limited to your consultation.

Anyone who consults with an attorney through the Legal Clinic understands and agrees to the following:

  1. There is no fee for this consultation.
  2. The legal advice provided is limited and will terminate upon the completion of the consultation.
  3. You will give the attorney the names of all pertinent parties involved in the legal matter, and if the attorney consulted has a conflict of interest with any party, there will be no consultation with that attorney.
  4. The attorney consulted with is not agreeing to represent you in any ongoing capacity without a written retainer agreement or engagement letter signed by you and the attorney.
  5. The legal counsel and advice that the attorney will provide is limited to the legal issue and facts that you identify during the consultation.
  6. Everything discussed with the attorney during the consultation, and all documents provided, will be kept confidential to the fullest extent permitted by law and as required by the Rules of Professional Conduct governing attorneys in New York State.
  7. The attorney consulted with will use their best efforts in giving counsel and advice, but that they make no guarantee of a successful conclusion in any case or matter to which counsel and advice is given.
  8. The attorney consulted may not possess certain legal knowledge or expertise in all areas of law, and as such, you understand and agree that the consultation is limited to only that knowledge and experience the attorney may have within their particular or specific practice area of law. Such examples of specialized areas of law not covered by the legal clinic include, but are not limited to, immigration law, intellectual property law, and workers compensation. Also, the attorneys at the legal clinic do not perform legal research; any advice is limited to the attorney’s immediate knowledge only.
  9. Attorneys at the legal clinic may help you identify the legal issue or specialized area of law that requires further legal assistance and refer you to other attorneys outside the legal clinic. Such referred attorneys are not connected with the legal clinic, and as such, you may be required to pay legal fees for such referred attorneys for their legal services.
  10. Although advice on landlord/tenant law is often provided at the legal clinic, certain legal services are outside the scope of the legal clinic. Examples of such legal services outside the scope of the legal clinic include, but are not limited to, full and complete lease reviews, writing letters to your landlord on your behalf, and drafting lease provisions. 
     

In addition to the in-person and Zoom legal clinics, our legal partners who operate the campus Legal Clinic can assist students through email: PLEASE RESPECT THE PARAMETERS SET FORTH ABOVE BY OUR LEGAL CLINIC PARTNERS.

  • Nicholas Scarantino - nscarantino@lgtlegal.com (Nick will be unavailable from 8/28-9/11)
  • Erin Van Vleck - erin@vanvlecklaw.com

Students can also meet with an attorney during the fall and spring semesters from 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. Meetings with Nicholas Scarantino will be in UUW B08. Meetings with Erin Van Vleck will be on Zoom. The Zoom link is listed next to the corresponding date:

August 23
 Nick Scarantino
August 30
 Erin Van Vleck - Virtual
September 6
 Erin Van Vleck - Virtual
September 13
 Nick Scarantino
September 20
 Erin Van Vleck - Virtual
September 27
 Nick Scarantino
October 4
 Erin Van Vleck - Virtual
October 11
 Nick Scarantino
October 18
 NO CLINIC - FALL BREAK
October 25
 Erin Van Vleck - Virtual
November 1
 Nick Scarantino
November 8
 Erin Van Vleck - Virtual
November 15
 Nick Scarantino
November 22
 NO CLINIC - THANKSGIVING
November 29
 Erin Van Vleck - Virtual
December 6
 Nick Scarantino
December 13
 Erin Van Vleck - Virtual