2008 edition of ‘On Your Own’ now in print for schools and social agencies, and via download for all

AUGUSTA — The Maine State Bar Association’s annually revised guide to adulthood for graduating high school seniors and other young adults is now available.

Maine high schools and social agencies may order copies of “On Your Own” by calling Rita Lessner at the MSBA at 207-622-7523. Schools should be prepared to provide the number of high school seniors expected to graduate this June. Orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis until the 2008 print run is exhausted.

In addition,  “On Your Own” is also now available for download at http://www.mainebar.org/images/temppdf/OYO2008.pdf .

Now in its 26th edition, “On Your Own” is subtitled "A short guide to your legal rights and responsibilities as an adult."

Written and updated annually by a panel of volunteer lawyers, “On Your Own” is a guide to job-seeking, credit and credit ratings, car purchasing, the court system, social relationships, smart shopping and other money matters, dealing with landlords, voting and much more.

The download version contains hypertext links for its page numbers, index numbers and Web site references.

“The horizon suddenly gets much broader for high school seniors when they graduate,” said Laurence Willey, the Bangor lawyer who heads the MSBA’s Community and Public Relations Committee, which revises the annual booklet. “Life becomes more complex. What should you do if you get arrested? Or get sexually harassed on the job? Or if your prospective landlord hands you a lease agreement to sign?

“We’ve done our best to answer these questions and many others. ‘On Your Own’ doesn’t provide legal advice — only an attorney can do that — but we’ve tried to provide good legal information,” Willey said. "In past years, as many as 25,000 copies have been distributed to graduating high school seniors and others, so we know it's considered a useful tool for young people going out into the world beyond their classrooms.

"We expect that other people of all ages will also find it useful after they download the pdf version from the Maine State Bar Association's Web site."