On six Saturdays during the academic year, a representative group from the Athens legal sector collaborates with University of Georgia faculty, personnel, and students to facilitate pop-up legal clinics.
Coordinated by Athens paralegal Terri Mobley, State Court Judge Ryan Hope, and UGA Law Clinical Associate Professor Elizabeth Grant, these pop-up clinics provide guidance on a range of legal issues to underserved residents of the community.
“The pop-up clinics offer complimentary legal consultations to assist individuals in representing themselves, or to direct them to additional resources,” Grant stated. “Numerous individuals served cannot afford legal representation and encounter issues that do not fall within the purview of law school clinics or legal aid organizations, making a pop-up clinic their sole source of legal assistance.”
The clinics are held in conveniently located venues throughout Athens-Clarke County, including establishments like Goodwill, the Athens-Clarke County Library, and churches on both the east and west sides of Athens. During the 2024-2025 academic year, the clinics aided 289 community members from 25 counties seeking guidance on custody matters, landlord-tenant conflicts, wills and probate, among other concerns.
“It’s as purely volunteer-driven as it can be,” Hope remarked. “And the community has engaged and recognizes the significance of what we are accomplishing.”
The volunteer initiative encompasses a diverse array of backgrounds — including judges, private attorneys, legal aid attorneys, paralegals, UGA School of Law clinical faculty, students, UGA undergraduates, and various other volunteers. While judges are unable to provide legal guidance, they assist in recruiting attorney volunteers, provide court forms, and highlight the importance of the clinics.
Since their inception in 2017, the clinics have witnessed significant growth, expanding from approximately 30 individuals seeking legal assistance to nearly 90 attendees at each clinic. Hope and Grant have observed how the clinics aid individuals in resolving longstanding issues, including a case involving someone needing assistance with a lawsuit to resolve an old credit card obligation.
“I remember one man attempting to finalize his divorce in a nearby county using child support documents he had purchased online, but his petition had been denied twice,” Grant shared. “An attorney at the pop-up clinic was able to assist him in filling out the correct child support forms at no cost, leading to the successful finalization of his petition.”
Besides addressing community needs, the pop-up clinics also deepen UGA Law students’ insights into the legal profession and community concerns.
“It’s beneficial for students to witness community collaboration firsthand, shadow attorneys, and explore diverse styles of legal practice,” Grant explained. “In the clinics, students encounter common legal challenges that individuals face and understand how one person can confront interrelated issues, such as a family law situation that also involves disability law.”
UGA Law students are accompanied at the clinics by a variety of other UGA students eager to assist the community. Some students act as translators for Spanish-speaking residents, while members of the Kappa Alpha Pi pre-law and government fraternity manage a crafts table to engage children while their parents receive legal support.
Jamie Parrott, a job coach at the East Athens Goodwill Career Center, has observed the advantages of hosting a pop-up clinic.
“At Goodwill, we continually seek ways to remove barriers for individuals and assist them in finding employment. Frequently, inadequate access to quality legal advice and representation can hinder individuals from reaching their goals,” Parrott noted. “The collaboration with Athens Access to Justice and UGA’s law school is invaluable, enabling us to provide the community with a service they might otherwise lack access to.”
Ultimately, School of Law Dean Usha R. Rodrigues emphasized that the legal profession is inherently a service-oriented field.
“Helping and serving others is the essence of what lawyers do. Regular involvement by our students and faculty in the Athens-Clarke County pop-up clinics complements the remarkable work accomplished through the law school’s 18 clinics and externship programs. These essential opportunities not only enable us to enhance the lives of others but also allow our students to cultivate substantial real-world legal skills,” Rodrigues stated. “I am delighted to report that our students have averaged over 87,000 service-learning hours annually in recent years.”
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