Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Forms Of Affordable Legal Assistance

By Vicki Diaz


During the course of life, there may come a time when one requires the services and advice of a lawyer. When starting up a company, a lawyer and an accountant are the two key professionals that should be hired. However, the cost of seeking or consulting their services may be very high. It is therefore necessary to learn about the various forms of affordable legal assistance that one can acquire.

Legal counsel can be sought from family members and friends who are qualified lawyers. These can either advice or represent you in court. Their advice may be obtained freely or at discounted costs. The advantage of dealing with people you know personally is that they would give you a hundred percent quality service. They can also be sought in future for any matters that may arise.

The other way to acquire this help at low rates is through contacting legal aid agencies. These provide free services to people below a certain income level. It is therefore necessary for you to prove that you are below that income level before they can start representing you. These agencies also limit their services to cases related to issues that affect your daily life. These could be employment issues, domestic violence cases, evictions and immigration problems.

Most lawyers are required to take up pro bono cases every year. This means that they work on cases for free. Most Bar Associations may require that every lawyer commits some hours in a year to pro bono work. The challenge in this is finding the lawyers who have not met the required hours. This may involve a lot of research work and time.

It is also common practice for law schools to hold clinics that allow their students to get hands on experience by representing low-income people. The students are permitted to offer legal counsel to their clients but under the supervision of their teachers or experienced attorneys. The clinics may however be limited in the fields of law that they can actually involve themselves in.

Some companies have prepaid plans that operate like insurance plans. They state the areas they cover and should you choose to purchase it, you make payments towards it. Such plans may provide advice through telephone conversations and office consultations that are brief. The main problem in this is that you may not be able to choose a lawyer personally.

There are also services designed to help the public look for lawyers. They are referred to as lawyer referral services and through them you can identify those who offer free or low-cost services. Other lawyers are known to offer free consultation the first time you seek their advice. You should use such an opportunity to learn all you can about their services.

Some communities have developed non-profit programs meant to help the poor in their communities. Senior citizens are also given free lawyer services upon their retirement. The varying forms of affordable legal assistance discussed above are readily available to all who seek them.




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