Where to get legal advice :Cross Stitch – Government, citizens and rights
You can get legal advice online, over the phone or face to face. You might also be eligible for legal aid to help pay for the cost of legal advice. Find out where you can go to get help and what to expect when you speak to a legal adviser.
You should check if you can receive legal aid to help with your problem. Legal aid is a scheme that helps people pay for legal advice. You might get legal aid if you meet certain conditions. You can find out more about legal aid using the links below.
Community Legal Advice
Telephone: 0845 345 4 345
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 8.00 pm. Saturday 9.00 am to 12.30 pm.
You can get free and independent legal advice about your problems and the best way to deal with them from the organisations listed below.
Community Legal Advice
Community Legal Advice can provide free help or legal advice over the phone. They can help with family, debt, housing, employment, education, welfare benefits and tax credits problems.
They will check to see if you are eligible for legal aid and put you in touch with a specialist legal adviser. If you are not eligible for legal aid, Community Legal Advice can still put you in touch with organisations that can help.
Telephone: 0845 345 4 345
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 8.00 pm. Saturday 9.00 am to 12.30 pm.
Calls to Community Legal Advice cost 4 pence a minute from a BT landline. Calls from mobiles will usually cost more. If you are worried about the cost of the call, they can call you back.
You can also text ‘legalaid’ then your name to 80010 and Community Legal Advice will call you back within 24 hours.
LawWorks provides free legal help for people who can’t afford to pay for it but who are not eligible for legal aid. This is known as ‘pro bono’ work.
You can find details about how they can help you and their legal advice clinics on their website.
Community Legal Advice in partnership with the Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD) provide specialist, independent legal advice in British Sign Language. If you are eligible for legal aid, you can use the webcam service on their website to get legal advice.
Some legal problems require specialist legal advice. These could include problems with housing, money or consumer issues. Specialist advice will help you get your problem dealt with more effectively. Use the link below to find organisations offering specialist advice.
You can get help and legal advice from a solicitor or legal adviser. They can tell you the different options available to you and help prepare your case if it needs to go to court.
When you first speak to your adviser, you should remember to have the following information with you:
- copies of any letters relating to your problem
- copies of any court documents relating to your problem
- any other documents that may help the adviser (for example, tenancy agreements, marriage or birth certificates)
If you think you might be eligible for legal aid, you should also take the following information with you:
- information about your and your partner’s income and expenses (for example, wage slips, bank statements)
- proof of any benefits you receive
- details of any savings you have
- your National Insurance number
Your legal adviser should explain:
- your options for resolving the problem
- your chances of getting the result you want
- if you might have to go to court
- your eligibility for legal aid and other ways to pay legal costs
- what you might have to pay if you lose your case
- how to complain if you are unhappy with the legal advice you receive
Before you leave the meeting, you should know:
- what you need to do next
- what your adviser will do next
- if you need to give your adviser any more information and documents
- if there are other key dates or deadlines you need to know about
- when your adviser will contact you again, or when your next meeting might be
- how long they think your case will take
You must tell your legal adviser everything about your case, so they can help you in the best way possible. Any information you tell them will be kept private and confidential.