UserService userService = CoreObjectFactory.getUserService();
// find the user ... if needed
if (StringUtils.isNotEmpty( (String) request.getParameter("persistanceId"))) {
User user = userService.findByPersistanceId(Integer.parseInt(request.getParameter("persistanceId").toString()));
// Populate the form
UserForm userForm = (UserForm) form;
userForm.setFirstName(user.getFirstName());