Friday, May 24, 2013

Various Ways Of Getting Affordable Legal Assistance

By Vicki Diaz


Law is considered a very important profession. For one to be qualified as a lawyer, they must undergo intensive training and pass relevant exams. It is thus no surprise that their services are highly demanded. For the low-income earners, discussed below are some of the ways and places from where you can acquire affordable legal assistance.

Having a family member, a relative or a close friend who is a qualified lawyer would be the best place to seek such counsel. You can ask basic questions about any issue that you are facing and their recommended steps of action. Caring relatives and friends would not want to let you down so they would take the best course of action. They can also be easily persuaded to offer their services at lower costs.

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 Bar Associations around the world have provided a way to assist the less fortunate in society. This is by requiring lawyers to offer pro bono services. This means that they offer legal counsel for free for specific hours per year. Identifying the lawyers who have not met the required hours is not easy and will involve a lot of research.

Law schools also urge their students to represent people with low incomes. This is done through clinics that the schools organize. It is during these clinics that the students acquire experience that will become handy once they become licensed professionals. The students must however be supervised during such representations by their teachers or other qualified lawyers.

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.

Lawyer referral services have been started to help out anybody who may require the services of an attorney. These have listed contacts for both expensive and easily affordable lawyers. Some law firms are known to offer free first time consultation services. You can utilize such an opportunity to enquire further about your case or anything else touching on law.

Agencies that help people aged sixty years or more have also been started. This age group is composed of retired citizens who cannot easily afford to pay a lawyer. For people seeking affordable legal assistance, they can choose any of the methods discussed above.




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