The law is hard enough to understand.

Trying to understand it in a foreign language and without a lawyer is a daunting task.

Alex Saingchin is fully aware of both.

The second-year student at Rutgers' School of Law in Newark spends hours perusing the intricacies of the legal system. But an interest in public service led him to enlist friends in an effort to take their burgeoning expertise to Asian-Americans in need.

Saingchin formed the Asian-American Legal Project and, after recruiting four veteran volunteer lawyers from other Asian-American groups, is hoping to host a series of free clinics.

The first, which focused on immigration issues, was in Jersey City, where one in six residents is Asian-American, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The group also has set its sights on hosting an event this autumn in Bergen County.

"We wanted to look at this from the ground up," said Saingchin, who describes himself as a Chinese-Cuban-American. "We found some organizations that work in advocacy for the Asian communities and asked what they needed. Immigration law was at the top of the survey."

Assemblyman Upendra J. Chivukula, D-Somerset, who was the first Indian-American elected to the state Legislature, said his office is often inundated with calls from Asians seeking legal assistance.

The assemblyman said he was pleased to see Saingchin's grass-roots effort take shape.

"The law can be complicated, especially for people whose first language is not English," he said. "And if people do not know the law, it is difficult to comply with it."

Hemant Wadhwani, president of the Asian-American Political Coalition, met Saingchin at a community development conference just as Saingchin was about to start law school.

The pair shared a goal of bringing legal services to Asians in need, and they worked during the past couple of years to recruit like-minded volunteers.

They were encouraged by the turnout at the Jersey City clinic and have already scheduled a second session for April 2.

The lawyers say they hope to set up a permanent legal aid center to address an assortment of needs, including housing, landlord-tenant disputes, small business, employment discrimination and health care.

"Within a year, we hope to be a full-time operation with one to two full-time, supervising attorneys," Wadhwani said.

However, building community support for a legal aid center could take years.

Sin Yen Ling, a staff attorney with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York, helped the New Jersey group set up its initial clinic. She said a need for a legal aid center definitely exists.

"There is a significant Asian population that is not compatible with the amount of community services, legal aid, non-profit agencies," she said. "The hard part is figuring out how to reach those individuals and provide services."

Jay Cho, a member of the legal aid project and a Demarest native, said he was hopeful the program would grow, even if it took time away from his studies.