LIAISON WITH OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

A working relationship between the legal assistance office and certain government agencies should be established. Where there are frequent dealings, personal contact should be made. These agencies include the following: . IRS and state tax agencies-Many tax rules and

policies apply only to the military. Special information relative to service members' status should be gathered, and a supply of all the pertinent tax forms should be maintained in the office.

l Social Security Administration-Social Security rules and regulations are of special interest to career service members, retired service members and their dependents, and also dependents of deceased service members. A supply of (he several brochures issued by the Social Security Administration should be maintained. 

. Department of Veterans Affairs-A working knowledge of the VA procedures is especially important. 

. Department of Justice-The Justice Department is responsible for enforcing the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act and the Civil Rights Act on behalf of the U.S. Government and its agents and service members. Liaison with the attorneys in the Justice Department who are assigned to such duties will encourage proper enforcement under the Soliders' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act. Lack of proper enforcement should be brought to the attention of JAG. 

l Immigration and Naturalization Service-The immigration statutes are of particular importance for counseling noncitizen service members such as those who come from the Philippines. The International Law Division of the Office of the Judge Advocate General maintains an expertise in this area as well.

. Customs Office-There are many service members who return from foreign duty stations and encounter problems with the Customs Service to make this more than a merely academic interest to the legal assistance attorney and his or her staff. 

. Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS)-Dependents of active duty service personnel and retired service members and their dependents are eligible for

CHAMPUS benefits. If a claimant believes that a claim has been improperly denied (not just returned for further substantiation), the claimant may send the claim to the Executive Director, CHAMPUS, Denver, Colorado 80240, for consideration. l Consumer agencies (federal, state, and local)-The Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission maintain field offices in major cities in the United States. At the state and local level, many consumer protection divisions have been created in the state attorney general's offices and in the county prosecuting officer's agencies. . State motor vehicle departments-The legal assistance office staff should be familiar with the location of the closest motor vehicle department office and the modus operandi of that office. Also, a supply of the department's brochures and forms should be obtained for use by clients.

COOPERATION WITH OTHER NAVY AGENCIES

The Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society is commonly known only for its financial assistance. However, the society provides other services such as budget counseling for individuals and families who need help in managing their financial affairs. The society can also make a loan to a service member.

The Navy Federal Credit Union provides services that include debt consolidation loans, savings plans, and financial advice.

LEGAL ASSISTANCE RECORDS, FILES, AND REPORTS

Command records showing client contact and the general nature of assistance are maintained by the legal assistance office for administrative and statistical purposes. Although such records should not contain privileged or confidential information and are, therefore, not privileged, maintenance of these records must comply with the Privacy Act. Information in these records is used to contact clients and former clients about assistance provided, to guard against conflicts of interest in providing legal assistance, to develop statistical evaluation of services provided, and to provide information for better assisting clients and administering the office.

Legal assistance case files (for example, those containing privileged or confidential information) belong to each legal assistance attorney who is solely responsible for their content and maintenance. The legal assistance office will provide storage facilities for files. Higher authority may from time to time make suggestions regarding the maintenance of files. Before transferring from a legal assistance office, the legal assistance attorney must store, destroy, or, if the client approves, turn over to another attorney the client case files.

The legal assistance office filing system should be simple enough to operate so it takes only a minimum amount of time for anyone in the office to file papers. Four types of files should be maintained. They are the client case file, the office reading file, the reference material file, and the forms file.

THE CLIENT CASE FILE

An individual client case file should normally be opened only for those matters that will require follow-up visits, correspondence, and similar material. Current active files should contain all documents, papers, notes, and so on, that relate to the client.

The record of each client's visit (or telephone call, i! advice is given in this manner) should consist of, at a minimum, a completed Legal Assistance Case Record, NAVJAG 5801.9, or similar locally prepared form. The file should contain a detailed description of the client's problem and the advice given. Where there is inadequate space on this form, a supplementary sheet containing the attorney's notes should be attached. All action taken by an attorney, including consultation, telephone calls, research, and his or her opinion and advice, must be clearly entered on the attorney's notes. The best time to do this is immediately after the action.

If the case is resolved in one visit (or perhaps one consultation and a follow-up visit to execute a document), a client case file would not normally be opened. The client's case can be opened, disposed of, and the Legal Assistance Case Record and any supplementary attorney's notes filed immediately.

LEGAL ASSISTANCE OFFICE READING FILE

A copy of each outgoing piece of correspondence should be placed in chronological order, most recent on top, in the monthly legal assistance office reading file. This file should be maintained separately from the regular office reading file. These files maybe destroyed after 2 years. Material contained in the legal assistance reading files, as well as the individual client case files, is privileged.

REFERENCE MATERIAL FILE

A separate index and series of files should be kept for reference material other than that which normally would be placed in the library. Included in this category are notes, releases, pamphlets, and bulletins not subject to being serialized or kept by category in loose-leaf or bound form. It is important that this system be kept up to date since these items are often highly relevant to pending cases.

FORMS FILE

A good, well-indexed form file can be of immeasurable importance to a legal assistance office, especially where it relates to matters of local practice. Considerable savings in time and effort can be made by reference to a previously drafted form. However, do not let the form file get too large; discard or change any forms in the file that are obsolete or no longer used.

FILING PRACTICES

All papers filed, other than original documents not susceptible to being punched, should be secured in the file. Letters and replies should be in chronological order, with the most recent on top.

Every effort should be made to see that files are not retained on the lawyer's desk unless they are actually being used. In larger offices, a chargeout slip or card should be used to indicate where the file is located.

FILE RESPONSIBILITY

Responsibility for the maintenance of the client files should be assigned to one person. It is a mistake to assign the newest person in the office to the important job of filing. Proper files management is vital to the smooth operation of an office and it requires an experienced clerical assistant be assigned this duty. Clear, written instructions must be given to the person responsible for the files.

FILE RETENTION

When a matter has been concluded, the case file should be closed quickly to conserve valuable filing space. Only two items should be kept: (1) the Legal Assistance Case Record and (2) the attorney's notes containing the file history. All documents, including those drafted by the legal assistance attorney, should be returned to the client together with whatever correspondence and memorandums the legal assistance attorney determines that the client should have. The remainder of the file can then be destroyed.

January of each year should be scheduled for the destruction of all 2-year-old closed files. For example, in January 1994, all files closed during 1991 may be destroyed.

LEGAL ASSISTANCE OFFICE REPORTS

Only one regular report is required for the legal assistance program. This is an annual report of the number of legal assistance cases handled during the calendar year. This is broken down by types of cases and includes time figures. The information required for the annual report is obtained from the individual Legal Assistance Case Record, NAVJAG 58 10/9. This should be tabulated and transferred onto a Legal Assistance Report, NAVJAG Form 5801/3, on a monthly basis. At the end of the year, the figures for the month of December can be added to the already prepared totals for the previous 11 months and the annual report quickly and conveniently prepared. This job should normally be done by an LN or secretary assigned to the legal assistance office.

Any legal assistance provided by Reserve lawyers must also be reported. If the Reserve lawyer provides the legal assistance at a base legal assistance office, then each of the matters handled by him or her should be included in the reports made by the active duty legal assistance officer, as these matters are part of that office. In some areas, legal assistance is rendered by the Reserve lawyer in his or her office. In that event, a separate report must be made by the CO of the law firm to which the Reserve lawyer is attached.

SUMMARY

As you can readily see, the legal assistance program is an important part of your duties as an LN. The effectiveness of the legal assistance program is only as good as the personnel who are providing the assistance. Remember, you will be working very closely with both legal assistance clients and legal assistance attorneys and your attitude and ability to provide the type of assistance requested will be the measuring stick that legal assistance clients use to assess the value of the services provided by the legal assistance office.