When I was at school participating in a legal clinic I had lots of clients facing eviction and we had plenty of tricks to use. Most popular was to demand a jury trial, which could take a month or two to organize, during which time the tenant wasn't paying rent and so could save enough to move.
Kind of shocked to hear about this happening at a "legal clinic". I'm familiar with the business structure behind these types of programs and they're invariably seedy characters involved with a paralegal group and lots of cold calling. Clogging up the courts so you can avoid paying rent...shrug
Who said anything about going to court? It's a simple delay tactic to give the client time to save enough money for a deposit on a new place. By the time the court date is even set, they have already moved. Know that the client by this point is probably locked out of their apartment. Not all landlords act legally. By initiating legal proceedings the client can get back in, getting a place to sleep so that they can continue working.
As for seedy, this isn't ambulance chasing. This is law students helping the poorest of the poor. Nobody ever cold calls anyone (Where did you see that?). There is no profit to be had. Most legal clinics are funded by law schools and similar institutions. And I say "funded" as in they give them a place to meet clients. Our clinic moved around, seeing people in church basements and community centres after hours. The licensed lawyers we worked with all acted pro bono. This is poor people being treated very badly and needing the help of lawyers they cannot afford.
The business pitch is usually "delay evictions now". The cold caller will get a list of properties that have recently gone into foreclosure. They call and offer to delay your eviction by 3-5 months as long as you pay them $400/month. Then they have paralegals file paperwork with the courts to contest the eviction. Basically they're using due process to delay being evicted and instead of paying their landlord they're paying the cold caller. I first saw this scam being run by a group of former drug dealers.
I would complain to the state bar about your legal clinic behaving unethically. The whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
That's not a legal clinic. That's a law firm or, i suspect, a referral service (a clearing house) that farms cases out to cutthroats. Legal clinics don't take fees. Clients don't pay and cash settlements almost never happen. Clinics are generally staffed by law students. Complain away. Every local bar promotes clinics as a means of serving indigent communities. None would consider the assertion of a client's right to a jury trial as any sort of wrongdoing.
"The bulk of the clinic’s work consists of litigation in the Boston Housing Court, defending evictions and prosecuting affirmative cases to improve housing conditions and to prevent utilities from being shut off."
I could see applying for a jury trial if you need time to...gather evidence to get ready or something but...just to be able to keep living there "rent free" ??? I guess if the landlord has done something awful and you want to get back at them maybe but...
Or to prevent the client becoming homeless for lack of money to pay a deposit, a cycle that does no good for anyone.
Americans have a right to a jury trial in these situations. A jury of you peers, as opposed to a bench trial by a judge, is a civil right. A trial you are going to loose is a bad idea, but the act of asking for one is always a reasonable assertion of one's rights.
The basic procedure:
http://www.courts.ca.gov/27723.htm