Visit Indigenous Legal Resources for Indigenous legal resources. Publicly funded legal aid services are available through the Legal Services Society of British Columbia in certain circumstances. They are accessible to www.legalaid.bc.ca. Other free or low-cost services, including online legal information, are available from the following providers: To find out if you are eligible for free legal advice or representation, visit Legal Aid (British Columbia). Clicklaw is a website operated by Courthouse Libraries BC to provide access to legal information to lay people. It covers dozens of topics and includes information on problem solving. Visit clicklaw.bc.ca. Unbundling works well for many people and many types of legal issues – but not for everyone. For more information about unbundled legal services and whether they might be right for you, see unbundlinglaw.ca. Justice centres in Vancouver, Victoria, Surrey, Nanaimo and Abbotsford provide help with family problems and everyday problems such as work, housing or debt problems. Access to Justice Centres offer free mediation services and limited legal advice.
Many of these services are available to everyone. Some services (such as family counselling lawyers) are available to low-income individuals. For more information, call BC toll-free at 1-800-663-7867 or visit the Government of British Columbia website. When seeking free legal assistance, we recommend that you first determine whether you are eligible for legal aid. In British Columbia, legal aid services range from legal information and advice to legal representation (a lawyer who handles your case). If your legal problem involves criminal charges, mental health or prison problems, serious family problems or serious immigration problems, you may be eligible for legal representation through legal aid. Please visit the BC Legal Aid website to find out if you are eligible for financial eligibility under their rules and guidelines. Most courthouses have lawyers who are called service advocates.
They offer free legal advice to people with limited resources who have a case at the courthouse that day. If you are on trial in a criminal or family matter, they can give you some brief advice. They may be able to speak on your behalf in court on simple matters. For business advice at your local courthouse, visit legalaid.bc.ca or contact your local legal counselling office. If you have a low income and are facing certain types of criminal, family or immigration problems, you may be able to get a lawyer free of charge from legal aid. Contact Legal Aid (British Columbia) at legalaid.bc.ca or 604-408-2172 in the Greater Vancouver Area or toll-free at 1-866-577-2525 elsewhere in British Columbia. Their website lists legal aid locations across the province. The Supreme Court Self-Help and Information Centre is a visitor centre near the Vancouver courthouse where you can get legal information, but not legal advice on family and civil matters before the Supreme Court. Staff can help you learn about the court system and court procedures, get legal information, find and fill out relevant court forms, find free legal advice, and learn more about ways to resolve your dispute without going to court. The website contains links to legal and judicial information, as well as a video entitled “Taking Your Case to the Supreme Court of British Columbia,” which explains the information you need to know before filing a civil lawsuit in court. Access Pro Bono operates the Lawyer Referral Service. This service will help you find a lawyer who will meet with you for free for 30 minutes.
Call 604-687-3221 in the Lower Mainland and 1-800-663-1919 elsewhere in British Columbia. We encourage you to contact a number of other legal service providers if you need legal assistance beyond what we can offer. Free legal services are often referred to as pro bono. This means free or voluntary work done for the benefit of the public. Visit Access Probono for information on pro bono legal services in British Columbia. “Pro bono” means “for the common good”. Through pro bono legal services, lawyers provide free legal advice and support pro bono to those who cannot afford a lawyer or legal assistance. Through Access Pro Bono, pro bono lawyers provide summary legal advice at a network of legal clinics across British Columbia. Other pro bono access programs offer representation services in limited situations.
Call 604-878-7400 in the Greater Vancouver Area or toll-free 1-877-762-6664 elsewhere in the province, or visit their website at accessprobono.ca. Instead of hiring a lawyer to handle your entire legal matter, you can hire a lawyer to handle certain parts. In this way, these tasks “stand out” of the parts you can do yourself. Unbundled legal services give you support where you need it most, at a price you can manage. You only pay for the tasks the lawyer is working on. The Access Pro Bono BC website provides a comprehensive list of legal resources and pro bono legal services in British Columbia. It also tells you where to get help with specific legal issues such as human rights, employment, or rental issues. Legal Aid BC has increased the amount a person can earn to get legal aid. Visit Youth Services for legal services and resources for youth. There is a wealth of free legal information available online.
Here are some of the best sources for British Columbians. Dozens of agencies provide legal assistance in specific areas for disadvantaged people or people with limited resources. Justice Education Society improves people`s legal skills through educational programs and resources to build legal knowledge, skills and confidence. Visit justiceeducation.ca. Legal Aid BC, the province`s legal aid provider, provides free legal information on family law, criminal law, immigration and Aboriginal legal issues. Your main website legalaid.bc.ca contains many publications in languages other than English. Their Family Law in BC under family.legalaid.bc.ca website provides self-help information for people in family conflict. Information for Aboriginal people can be found on the Aboriginal Legal Aid in British Columbia website at aboriginal.legalaid.bc.ca.
Ask a lawyer to handle your case and represent you in court. More than 25,000 people receive legal advice each year. The Tenant Resource and Advice Centre (TRAC) offers a telephone information line to help tenants resolve legal issues. They also provide free representation to tenants at dispute resolution hearings in limited situations. Call 604-255-0546 in Vancouver or toll-free 1-800-665-1185 or visit tenants.bc.ca. If you are arrested or detained and are in custody, you can call the Brydges line to speak to a lawyer. This is a 24-hour toll-free emergency number for legal advice. Call toll-free 1-866-458-5500. If you are not eligible for legal representation, you may still be eligible for other legal aid services. This includes public defenders and lawyers who advise by telephone. MOSAIC provides legal advice and representation to low-income immigrants and refugees. They help newcomers navigate the Canadian legal system.
Call 604-254-9626 in Vancouver or visit mosaicbc.org. CLAS provides free legal assistance to disadvantaged people across British Columbia and specializes in poverty, disability, workers` compensation, employment insurance, mental health, human rights and equality law. Their activities include test cases and charter litigation; Service Case Work and Legislative Reform; liaison and consultation with community groups; legal support for interest groups and law students; Publication of legal documents in support of self-represented litigants; and legal education and support for lay lawyers, community groups, law students and lawyers who volunteer their work.