About the Center

The legal tips which follow were written by the Coordinating Attorney for Student Legal Services. They are also available in hard copy version in Room AO22, Brady Commons. SLS is a Missouri Students Association and Graduate Professional Council program established by University of Missouri - Columbia students in 1974 and funded exclusively through their student activity fees since that time. The Coordinating Attorney is licensed to practice law in the State of Missouri.

Disclaimer

Be sure to enter with care, as relying on general legal information can be dangerous. These Tips were originally prepared to provide supplementary preventative legal education for students with free access to the SLS attorney. Despite the credentials and the care taken by the authors, no publication is an adequate substitute for individual consultation with an attorney regarding the facts particular to your case. Please use our materials as a guide, but, remembering that even a subtle difference can change the outcome, follow up by seeing a qualified attorney if you are actually presently involved in a legal dispute or conflict.

Also be cautious about what attorneys call jurisdiction and venue. Laws differ from state to state, and a particular court's interpretation of the same law could be strict or flexible depending on locale. These tips are based on Missouri law, and, when a municipality is involved, it is the City of Columbia, Missouri, unless otherwise noted. Similarly, the county ordinarily involved is Boone County, Missouri, in the Mid Missouri area. You may find that the laws, ordinances, court rules and customs in your locale are the same or similar, but please take care to check this out!

Finally, law is constantly evolving. Statutes are often amended or even repealed (thrown out completely). More importantly, court interpretation in an actual case can instantaneously clarify or contradict reasonable inferences drawn earlier about how the law applies to certain facts. For this reason, we will be reviewing our material as often as possible to make sure that it is up to date. To protect yourself, take care to note the date of publication on any tip, and to look for an update or comments immediately following, also noting when the Center added the supplementary material.

Legal Tips Available

Access to Student Records
Consumer Protection
Credit Concerns
Criminal Offenses
Drinking Laws
Driving Laws
Drug Convictions and Financial Aid
Employment
Jury Duty
Landlord/Tenant Laws
Missouri Sex Offenses
Small Claims Court

Portions of the information contained in the legal tips are provided by the Missouri Bar and Legal Aid of Western Missouri, with their express permissions.

In addition to the online legal information, a hard copy of all the above tips, and many more, are available in the Legal Information Center located in the reception area of AO22 Brady Commons.  For a complete list of the tips and booklets available in the Legal Center click here.