Legal library offers help with forms.Free program at Columbia county law library helps local residents navigate legal paperwork

For those outside the legal profession, trying to navigate the court system can be intimidating and confusing. That’s why the Columbia County Law Library started the Legal Forms Clinic earlier this year.

In February, the library started offering the public assistance with filling out various legal forms.

“It’s really set up to help the low-income community and help the pro se litigation community,” meaning people who represent themselves in court, explained Pam Schultz Davis, the law librarian.

Difficulties with filling out legal forms for issues like divorce, custody, parenting plans, small claims or restraining orders have long been an issue in the court system.

“From talking with people at the courthouse, the people in the Trial Court Administrator’s office, and the judges, we knew that there was a real need in Columbia County for helping people find the right forms and helping them fill them out,” Davis said.

The clinic doesn’t provide legal advice, but can help people find out which forms they need and guide them through a maze of legal paperwork.

Community members can sign up in advance for appointments each Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. The clinic has been full almost every time, according to Davis.

PMG PHOTO: ANNA DEL SAVIO - Pam Schultz Davis, the law librarian, stands beside a wall filled with commonly used legal forms in the Columbia County Law Library, located just a block away from the Columbia County Courthouse in St. Helens.

PMG PHOTO: ANNA DEL SAVIO – Pam Schultz Davis, the law librarian, stands beside a wall filled with commonly used legal forms in the Columbia County Law Library, located just a block away from the Columbia County Courthouse in St. Helens.

“Sometimes people come in here and they’re terrified because they’ve never had any contact with a lawyer or a law library or a court,” Davis said. “We help guide them but we don’t actually fill out the forms for them. We just try to make them at ease and help them feel as comfortable as they can.”

Source: https://pamplinmedia.com/scs/83-news/432773-341882-legal-library-offers-help-with-forms