Where to Find Free and Affordable Legal Help
If you need legal help (and don’t qualify for free help), often it could leave you with no savings. Most solicitors offer 30 minutes of free advice, but you then have to pay high fees beyond that. But good legal advice is essential, if you are stuck in difficult situations.
Common Situations Requiring Legal Advice
- Family issues: Divorce, custody battles, or child support.
- Housing and rental disputes: Landlord-tenant issues or eviction notices.
- Employment matters: Wrongful dismissal or workplace discrimination.
- Financial concerns: Bankruptcy, debt collection, and consumer rights.
- Business needs: Starting a business or drafting agreements.
Legal Aid Services
This is for people who cannot afford legal advice, and depends on income and savings. You need to complete an assessment to qualify.
Examples of legal aid are if you are risk of domestic violence, about to be made homeless, being discriminated against or taken to court.
Non-Profit Legal Clinics
These operate in communities, providing low-cost advice, and often are staffed by law students or volunteer lawyers.
Citizens Advice has offices in most towns, though often you have to make appointments.
Examples of legal aid are if you are risk of domestic violence, about to be made homeless, being discriminated against or taken to court.
Law Centres have centres nationwide, and can help with landlord/housing issues, and problems with work, benefits and immigration status. Some help with discrimination, care, relationship issues and for children excluded from school.
They cannot help with Wills/probate, personal injury, parking or traffic offences.
LawWorks can locate legal clinics near you, offering help for employment, housing, consumer disputes, debt and welfare rights.
Advocate is a charity that offers free legal help from volunteer barristers. They cannot provide legal help for those qualifying for legal aid, nor for deadlines less than 3 weeks away, or those who can afford legal fees or have insurance to cover the issues they need help with. The site has a great list by subject to direct you to others who can help, if they can’t.
Support Through Court has volunteers to help those going to court alone, if you are representing yourself. For civil/family (not criminal) cases, trained volunteers can provide emotional and practical support including filling in forms, planning what to say, how to settle issues without going to court and providing details of where to find free legal advice.
Advicelocal offers help by postcode to find local help for benefits, work, money and housing problems.
Other places that offer free or low-cost legal advice are:
- Children’s Legal Centre
- Action Against Medical Accidents
- Shelter (homelessness issues)
- Flows & Rights of Women
Some insurance companies, trade unions and motoring organisations may cover your legal costs, so look to these first, before paying lawyers.
Low-Cost Legal Help Online
Obviously you have to be careful. But there are some reputable companies where at-home lawyers answer your questions for set fees, and due to the rent of big offices taken out, the fees are far lower, and you can review services after you’ve finished:
- Lawhive lets you find a local solicitor in 5 minutes, often up to 60% cheaper than high street firms. There are no hourly rates or hidden fees, and the savings of providing remote services are passed on to you.
- Rocket Lawyer offers affordable legal documents, rather than paying a fortune for others to write them for you. From tenancy agreements to employment contracts to prenuptial agreements and power of attorney.
- Expert Answers offers fixed price help from solicitors who work from home, passing the cost savings onto you. Founded by two solicitors, it has provided help for 400,000 people and has excellent reviews.
How to Complain of Faulty Goods/Services
Report dangerous or faulty goods or poor service to Trading Standards. This includes selling items to underage people, being scammed or being pressured into buying things you didn’t want (mobility scooters in-home etc).
Citizens Advice has good advice on how to complain before that, and has details on the alternative dispute resolution that some companies sign up to, to resolve issues without going to court.
How to complain to an ombudsman (not just for energy and water companies) is a good page. There are ombudsmen to help with train services, furniture retailers, new build sales, buying cars and pension schemes). And even issues with local councils.
Find Free/Affordable Legal Help for Pets
Cooper & Co offers legal help for various issues from vets to kennels to breeders to custody and liability. Also they can find someone to accompany you to court. Many cases involve the not-very-well-thought-out Dangerous Dogs Act.
