The grand opening was celebrated Wednesday evening, when guests could visit the offices where aspiring attorneys meet with clients just a few blocks away from the county courthouse.

“This really feels like our forever home,” Clinic Director Juliet Brodie said.

The clinic’s mission is to “provide exceptionally high-quality free legal services to those who live in the neighborhoods and region that surrounds Stanford,” on the university’s dime, Brodie said.

The university’s funding liberates the attorneys and students to “lawyer the heck out of every single case and teach our students to teach our clients what it really means to have a lawyer, to have a champion, full ride, on your side,” Brodie said.

“This is high-cost work, this is resource intensive work,” Brodie said. “Stanford University and Stanford Law School have chosen to continue to invest in brick and mortar in the community at a time when resources are thin, hard choices have to be made.”

George Triantis, dean of the Stanford Law School, said the community-based clinic helps students learn that “being an effective lawyer is not just about appearing in court.”

“The strength of the Community Law Clinic is not the space, but the space helps,” Triantis said.

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