Find legal advice and information

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1. Overview

You can get legal advice and information to solve common problems, for example about:

  • debts
  • decisions about benefits
  • discrimination at work
  • immigration statuses
  • disagreements with neighbours
  • making arrangements for children, money or property if you divorce or separate

Get advice and information as early as you can. It might stop a problem from getting worse.

You may need to find a legal adviser with specialist training in the area of your problem, for example a solicitor. They could help you solve it, or give you advice about what to do next.

You might be able to solve the problem without going to court, for example by working with a mediator.

If you need to go to court to solve the problem, you can find out how to prepare for a court hearing.

2. Find a legal adviser

A legal adviser might be able to help you solve a problem, or give you advice about what to do next.

You can find and pay for a legal adviser yourself, or get help to pay if you’re eligible for legal aid.

You might also be able to get free or lower cost advice from a legal adviser.

Find a solicitor

You can get legal advice from a solicitor. They usually charge for their services.

A solicitor can also:

  • write legal documents like wills
  • research and prepare court cases
  • help to resolve disputes and disagreements
  • work with other legal professionals, for example hire a barrister to represent you in court (if needed)

Find a solicitor through:

You might be able to get help paying for a legal adviser such as a solicitor if you’re eligible for legal aid.

There’s a different way to get free legal advice in Scotland or free legal advice in Northern Ireland.

Legal aid can help you pay for the costs of a legal adviser, for example for:

  • legal advice out of court from a solicitor
  • representation in a court or tribunal by a barrister or solicitor

You’ll usually need to show that:

  • your case is eligible for legal aid
  • the problem is serious
  • you cannot pay for legal costs

Find out more about legal aid, and whether you’re eligible.

Legal aid can also cover the costs of family mediation to solve problems out of court.

A solicitor may be able to help you for free (also known as ‘pro bono’ work).

You can find a pro bono solicitor through a law clinic near you on the Law Works website. A law clinic usually also gives free initial advice.

If you’re on a low income, you can ask questions and get free legal answers from volunteer solicitors.

You can also search for local free or lower cost support on the Advice Local website.

Find a barrister

A barrister will usually be hired by a solicitor to represent you if a case goes to court. You may be able to contact a barrister without contacting a solicitor first if you live in England or Wales.

Find a barrister (known as an ‘advocate’ in Scotland) in your area through:

3. Solve problems out of court

You may be able to solve your problem without going to court using alternative dispute resolution. This is normally quicker and cheaper than going to court.

The type of alternative dispute resolution you can use depends on what your problem is about and how you want to work with the other side to solve it.

Get help to reach an agreement

You can use mediation or conciliation to ask an impartial professional to help you reach an agreement. They’ll help you and the other side consider different options to resolve the dispute.

The terms of any agreements you reach will be decided by you and the other side, not the mediator or conciliator.

Mediation can be used to resolve most types of family and civil disputes, such as:

Conciliation can be used for solving problems with consumer goods and services and workplace disputes.

Ask a professional to decide the issue

You can use arbitration to ask an impartial professional to listen to both sides of the dispute and decide the outcome. The arbitrator’s decision is legally binding.

Arbitration can be used to solve civil and family disputes, such as:

Ask a professional to investigate a complaint against a company

You can use an ombudsman to investigate and resolve a complaint about a company or organisation. You should complain to the company directly first. If you cannot solve your problem through their complaints procedure, then make a complaint to the ombudsman.

Ombudsmen are free to use, and their decision is not usually legally binding. This means you can use another dispute resolution process or take your case to court if you’re unhappy with the decision.

There are different ombudsmen for different industries. Find the right ombudsman for your complaint.

When you should not use alternative dispute resolution

Some cases are not suitable for solving out of court, such as:

  • cases involving domestic abuse
  • issues that need urgent court action (for example to prevent you from losing your home)
  • emergency cases (such as child protection)

You should get help with your legal problem instead.

Get independent advice

You can get independent advice about out of court options from:

4. Going to court

You may need to go to court to solve some legal problems. If you go to court, you can get legal advice and information to help you prepare.

A solicitor can advise you about your court case. A barrister or some solicitors can also represent you in court. They usually charge for their services, but you might be able to get help to pay for one.

Find a solicitor or barrister.

Represent yourself in court

You have the right to speak for yourself in court without a legal professional.

If you choose to speak for yourself, you’ll need to prepare for the court hearing. Find out how to represent yourself in court.

If you want legal support with your court case but cannot pay for it, you may be able to get free legal help from barristers through an organisation called Advocate.

If your court case is in the civil and family courts, you can also get: