Joanna Garcia, Esq., president of the Hispanic Bar Association, said members are excited about helping the Bay Area Volunteer Lawyers Program in this effort.

“This is why many of us become lawyers -- to help the communities that we live in,’’ she says. “We hope many members of Tampa Bay’s Hispanic communities will take advantage of this fantastic program.’’

The free clinic, which began April 28, 2009, will be held one Tuesday evening each month at the George Edgecomb Courthouse, 800 E. Twiggs St., room 201, in Tampa. Clinic hours are 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., with the last person taken at 7 p.m. Services are provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

To determine which family forms packet is the one most appropriate for their family law issue, all self-represented litigants must first visit the Legal Information Center in Room 203 of the George Edgecomb Courthouse. They then take their packets to the clinic.

Walk-in hours for the Legal Information Center change each day, so people are asked to call (813) 864-2280 to listen to a recording that gives the hours and other instructions for the Legal Information Center, the Family Forms Clinic, and the Family Forms Clinic in Spanish.