The director of Kansas University’s Legal Services for Students is hoping a new top floor office will help her department gain top-of-mind awareness with students who are in a legal bind.

Jo Hardesty, director and managing attorney for Legal Services for Students, said the office was preparing to move out of its hard-to-find location in the basement of the Burge Union and into a more accessible location on the third floor of the union.

“I think one of the things we still have an issue with is just letting people know we’re here,” Hardesty said. “We’re not the most visible office on campus. We’re excited about the move because we think it will give us more visibility.”

Hardesty said more KU students should become aware of her office because it was one of the few departments that literally could save students thousands of dollars.

That’s because the office provides students with legal services, and in some cases actual courtroom representation, for a fee of less than $20 per year, which is a bargain compared to the $80 to $120 an hour rates most area attorneys charge.

Each semester every KU student, as a part of their tuition, pays a fee that supports the Legal Services for Students department. In the fall and spring semesters the fee is $7 per student. For the summer semester it is $3.50. That fee entitles every student to make appointments to consult with an attorney in the department for free.