The Pro Se Bankruptcy Clinic at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law is assisting unrepresented community members in Sacramento in navigating bankruptcy and overcoming debt.

McGeorge Professor Linda Coco started the Pro Se Clinic last month and the clinics are booking up fast. She said, although the cliental is good for the clinic, it is not an overall good sign for our country.  

In her PhD research in legal anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, Coco wrote about how in America, "wealth is concentrated at the top with the majority of people situated at the bottom of the income hierarchy.” Coco explains that “bankruptcy is the one way to reduce the pervasive suffering under American Capitalist structures.”

She added that this is ironic given that the American political project was fundamentally based on risk-taking. According to Coco, most of the founding fathers were debtors so it is the history of the country.

“Americans are risk takers,” she said. “The right and access to bankruptcy is part of the United States Constitution.”  

Coco's  PhD focused on bankruptcy. She worked as a law professor at St. John's University in New York and then Barry University in Florida where she started the bankruptcy clinic and ran that for 13 years. She volunteered for the Department of Justice as an enforcement person and became interested in bankruptcy.

The Bankruptcy Clinic is a one-semester clinic, offered in both fall and spring. It is counted for three graded units including a 90-minute weekly seminar. Students are required to engage in 120 hours of client representation and counseling.

Enrollment in the clinic is limited to six to eight students.

"We had the privilege of meeting the Honorable Chief Judge Christopher D. Jaime, who graciously gave us a tour of the bankruptcy courtrooms and his chambers," Seraphina Bedoyan ’27 said.

The clinic provides pro bono legal assistance in bankruptcy (Chapter 7 cases only).  

“The law students are doing wonderful, they’re giving back to the community,” Coco said. “Hopefully this sparks a passion in them that otherwise might seem exceedingly dry.”

Coco said students get practical experience as well as understand fact patterns and the class pairs with Bankruptcy Clinic. Students do everything from preparing a petition to providing guidance.

According to Meghna Kini ‘26, the clinic is a great way to expand those skills, including thinking on their feet and being able to answer questions. 

“The Bankruptcy Pro Se Clinic is a clinic that helps unrepresented (pro se) debtors with their Chapter 7 & Chapter 13 bankruptcies,” Kini said. “The clinic is great because it helps people fill out their paperwork, which is tricky for those who may have never seen those forms or do not know what the questions are asking.”  

The clinic is in the McGeorge Community Legal Services building at 2925 34th St. in Sacramento. The Bankruptcy Pro Se Clinic helps community members facing legal problems not only in bankruptcy but also in Elder & Health Law and Immigration. The clinics are under the supervision of experienced faculty led by law students in a law-office environment.

For those who are in need of services, schedule a meeting with the Pro Se Bankruptcy Clinic.