Free legal aid service is one of the areas where Hawassa University has been working. It focuses on providing free legal support for vulnerable segments of the surrounding community. Hawassa University Free Legal Aid Center operates under the College of Law & Governance, School of Law. The Center was established 2011 with aim of supporting those groups who suffer from different forms of discrimination based on their wealth, gender, health, social status, and age. Specifically, poor, women, children, prisoners, people living with HIV/AIDS, persons with disability and the elderly are the target beneficiaries of the free legal aid service.

The staff and students in the School of Law provide the free legal aid service. The students are selected based on their academic performance and the integrity they exhibit in the classes. In the last year (2012 Ethiopian budget year), about 20,000 vulnerable groups of the surrounding community were supported.

The coordinating office is located in Hawassa University main campus. To make the service more accessible to the community, two sites have been opened in Oromiya Regional State and nine sites in Sidama Regional State. Currently eleven service provision sites are serving the community. These are:

1. Hawassa University Free Legal Aid Center, Mirab Arisi Zone, Werede Court Branch, Oromiya Regional State
2. Hawassa University Free Legal Aid Center, Mirab Arisi Zone Prison Administration Institution Branch, Oromiya Regional State
3. Hawassa University Free Legal Aid Center, Bensa Branch, Sidama Regional State
4. Hawassa University Free Legal Aid Center, Yirgalem Town Prison Administration Institution Branch, Sidama Regional State
5. Hawassa University Free Legal Aid Center, Dalle Woreda First Instance Court Branch, Sidama Regional State
6. Hawassa University Free Legal Aid Center, Leku Town First Instance Court Branch, Sidama Regional State
7. Hawassa University Free Legal Aid Center, Wondo Genet First Instance Court Branch, Sidama Regional State
8. Hawassa University Free Legal Aid Center, Boricha First Instance Court Branch, Sidama Regional State
9. Hawassa University Free Legal Aid Center, Hawassa Prison Administration Institution Branch, Sidama Regional State
10. Hawassa University Free Legal Aid Center Hawassa City First Instance Court, Menaria Midib Chilot Branch, Sidama Regional State
11. Hawassa University Free Legal Aid Center in Cooperation with Mizan Young Lawyer Center, Hawassa City, Sidama Regional State

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