Law can be daunting. Hiring expert advice to guide your decisions could save money in mistakes that cost more.
Find free legal aid programs and services by contacting your local bar association, visiting their website or calling them directly. Some bars also provide attorney referrals specialized in specific practice areas.
Legal Services NYC
Legal Services NYC is one of the nation’s premier non-profit organizations dedicated to providing free civil legal aid for New York’s low income residents, including direct representation, legal education programs and workshops, helplines, help lines and much more.
Combatting systemic injustice to ensure justice for low-income communities, they work toward preserving housing; providing access to high quality healthcare and education services; combatting poverty and economic security issues, while upholding women, immigrants, and communities of color rights.
Their Volunteer Lawyers Project offers walk-in legal services for litigants without lawyers who have civil cases pending before the City Civil Court, while ABA Free Legal Answers offers online pro bono service where qualified users are connected with attorneys who offer quick advice and answers regarding non-criminal legal issues.
Volunteer Lawyers Project
Volunteer attorneys offer legal information and advice to self-represented litigants in housing, consumer debt, name changes and small claims cases at Civil Court’s Help Centers. This project offers only advice – lawyers cannot represent litigants in court proceedings or file paperwork on their behalf.
VLP’s Limited Assistance Representation Program matches attorney volunteers with low-income individuals facing eviction in landlord-tenant cases. After receiving one-time training, these volunteer lawyers meet with clients, review evidence, and advise them of their legal rights based on law and factual circumstances.
ABA Free Legal Answers is an online service that enables income-eligible visitors to ask civil (noncriminal) legal questions of volunteer attorneys in participating states.
Court Help Center
The Court Help Center provides walk-in assistance to people without lawyers with cases in Housing Court, General Civil or Small Claims Part. Services offered include legal and procedural information but do not constitute advocacy or advice from court staff. Attorney consultations may also be made by appointment – fee charged: $1 per minute payable in advance of scheduling appointment.
Self-help programs and staff have certain limitations in providing assistance to litigants; please read the NOTICE OF LIMITATIONS OF SERVICESDISCLAIMER for details. However, resources exist online which can assist with representing yourself in family law cases, including forms approved by the Nevada Supreme Court – however these resources should only be used within Nevada courts.
Bar Associations
Bar associations exist at national, statewide and local levels and serve to regulate lawyers by providing continuing legal education courses and encouraging attorneys to volunteer pro bono representation services. Furthermore, they report trends in law and advocate for legal reform.
At ABA Free Legal Answers, residents from participating states can submit legal inquiries free of charge to licensed attorneys – although many of these attorneys may not have as much experience in handling complex cases as staff at professional civil firms; nonetheless, this website remains an invaluable resource.
Law Schools
Law school can be an intense academic journey. You’ll take classes covering administrative law, contracts, family law and constitutional law as well as learn legal analysis and writing techniques.
Many top-rated law schools boast of their impressive employment rates and strong legal practitioners who have graduated from them, but you should focus on your local job market in which you intend to practice as not all jobs require an elite law school education.
Most law schools provide hands-on experience through legal clinics, clerkships, internships and pro bono work. Furthermore, many offer networking and fellowship opportunities.
