For persons without the ability to pay a lawyer, Legal Aid is available. Founded in 1970 by the Law Society and the Government, Legal Aid offers legal assistance to the needy. Check the white pages of your local telephone directory for the legal aid of office in your community. As well as providing legal aid to the needy, lawyers serve the community in many other ways. Hundreds of lawyers provide free advice to those who do not qualify for legal aid through a variety of organizations.
Lawyers also serve on the boards of numerous volunteer and charitable organizations.
Indeed, many such organizations actively seek this kind of contribution from lawyers, who invariably respond with generous donations of time, effort and resources. The Lawyer Referral Service is a program operated by the Law Society to assist people in finding a lawyer who will provide them with the legal services they require. It is an information service and is not connected with Legal Aid - nor does it provide any form of financially subsidized legal service. After being advised of the nature of the problem, or the area of law of concern, the Lawyer Referral Operator will give the names and telephone numbers of three lawyers practicing in the applicable field of law. The member of the public can then make an appointment with one, two, or all three of those lawyers, advising that they were referred by Lawyer Referral.