A NOTE FOR
PARENTS
Carolina Student Legal Services, Inc. is staffed by competent, dedicated, and caring attorneys and support staff. We have three attorneys: Fran Muse, Tristan Routh, and Layne Guyton; and we have one legal assistant, Caitlin Dareff. Combined, our staff has more than 40 years of legal experience. For our attorneys, this experience includes positive relationships with Orange and Chatham County prosecutors, judges, and other local attorneys. Truly, we all understand that defending a legal issue can be overwhelming for not only the student, but their family as well. Further, without legal advice or representation, a promising academic career or future job prospect can be negatively derailed. Because of this, our entire staff is dedicated to assisting your student pursue the most advantageous course of action.
Background:
CSLS's services are limited to currently enrolled, full-time UNC-Chapel Hill students. CSLS provides legal assistance and representation to students in various areas of the law, including landlord-tenant, consumer disputes, expungements of criminal records, domestic violence, uncontested divorces, and more. We also provide notary services. If your student’s issue is an area of law that we do not handle, we may be able to still provide a referral. Please see our Eligibility and Representation page for more information.
Attorney-Client Privilege:
As members of the State Bar of North Carolina, CSLS attorneys adhere to the rules of professional conduct. Therefore, when your student is faced with a legal issue, please know that your student is our client. This means that any and all communications pertaining to your student’s legal matter is governed by attorney-client privilege. Because of this fact, CSLS cannot discuss your student’s legal matter with you or any other third-party, unless we have explicit permission from the student through a written waiver of the student's attorney-client privilege.
The Initial Intake Appointment:
Even though your student can waive their attorney-client privilege, please know that our attorneys will typically meet with them alone during the initial intake appointment. It is during this meeting that your student provides documentation for the attorney to review and details about the background of their case. The attorney will then recommend a course of action. After the initial intake appointment and after your student informs us in writing that we can speak to a parent or other party, we would be more than happy to communicate with you about their case.
Fees:
CSLS’ services are at no additional cost to your student. CSLS is funded from a small fee which is assessed each semester along with tuition as part of student activity fees. However, your student will be responsible to pay for any court filing fees or court costs.