Need legal help?

Last updated July 2009

CLEONet cannot give legal advice or help you with a specific legal problem. So we have put together the following information, which is divided into three main sections. The information applies to Ontario.

Finding a lawyer

Many people find legal help by asking family members, friends, or co-workers to recommend someone. But it is also important to get answers to the following questions: Are they recommending someone who knows the area of law that you need help in? Can a paralegal help you in this area or do you need to work with a lawyer? How much does this person charge?

The Law Society of Upper Canada has information on its web site to help you find the legal assistance you need at www.lsuc.on.ca/public/a/public.

Lawyer Referral Service

You can call the Lawyer Referral service (LRS) to get the name of a lawyer. You then call the lawyer and, within three business days, the lawyer should call you back to arrange a free 30-minute consultation. The consultation will help you find out about your legal options and whether you want to hire the lawyer.

You can access the service by calling 1-800-268-8326 or 416-947-3330 (within the GTA)

To read more about the LRS, including what type of questions you can ask during your consultation and how to contact them, visit http://www.lsuc.on.ca/public/a/faqs---lawyer-referral-service/. The LRS is run by the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Services for victims of domestic violence

If you are a victim of domestic violence and can't afford to pay for a lawyer to help you with a family law matter, you can get a free 2-hour appointment with a lawyer through Legal Aid Ontario. To find out more about this service, you can contact the women's shelter in your area or you can call Legal Aid Ontario at:

Toll-free: 1-800-668-8258
Toronto area: 416-979-1446
Toll-free TTY: 1-866-641-8867
Toronto area TTY: 416-598-8867

If you are a woman who needs legal help because of domestic violence, you can call the Assaulted Women's Helpline. They can do crisis counselling, give emotional support, and make referrals to shelters and legal services. The helpline answers calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and can give information in a number of languages.

Toll-free: 1-866-863-0511
Toronto area: 416-863-0511
Toll-free TTY: 1-866-863-7868
Toronto area TTY: 416-364-8762
#SAFE: #7233 on your Bell, Rogers, FIDO, or Telus mobile phone
Web site: www.awhl.org
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Getting legal help if you are someone with a low income

In Ontario, people who have low incomes can get free help with some types of legal problems through:

Community legal clinics

Community legal clinics have lawyers and community legal workers who can give legal advice and represent people in certain areas of law, such as:

  • social assistance
  • housing
  • workers' compensation
  • employment
  • Canada Pension Plan
  • immigration and refugee
  • human rights.

Some legal clinics do not offer help in all of these areas. But they can often refer you to somewhere that can.

To get services from most legal clinics, you must live in the area they serve and your income and assets cannot be above a certain level. To find out if you qualify for services, you can contact your local legal clinic. There is information in the section further down called How to find your local community legal clinic, student legal aid services society, or legal aid office to help you find the legal clinic nearest you.

Student legal aid services societies

There is a legal clinic or what is called a student legal aid services society (SLASS) at each of the six universities in Ontario that have a Faculty of Law.

To get help from a SLASS, you must live in the area it serves and your income and assets cannot be above a certain level. At a SLASS, law students, who are supervised by lawyers, can help with certain kinds of legal problems, such as:

  • less serious criminal charges
  • small claims court
  • housing
  • immigration and refugee.

There is information in the section further down called How to find your local community legal clinic, student legal aid services society, or legal aid office to help you find out if there is a SLASS near you and what areas of law it can help you with.

Legal aid certificates

People with low incomes may be able to get a legal aid certificate to pay a lawyer to help them with legal problems in certain areas of law, such as criminal, family, and immigration and refugee.

There is information on the Legal Aid Ontario web site about who can get legal aid and what kinds of cases are covered at www.legalaid.on.ca/en/getting/faq.asp.

There is information below about how to find the legal aid office nearest you.

How to find your local community legal clinic, student legal aid services society, or legal aid office

  • Contact Legal Aid Ontario at 1-800-668-8258 or 416-979-1446. Their TTY numbers are 1-866-641-8867 and 416-598-8867.
  • Visit Legal Aid Ontario's web site at www.legalaid.on.ca/en/contact/default.asp.
  • Look under "Legal Aid" in your phone book.
  • Check out CLEO's publication "Getting legal help: Community Legal Clinics in Ontario" for a list of community legal clinics, student legal aid services societies, and specialty clinics at www.cleo.on.ca/english/pub/onpub/subject/legal.htm.

Return to Getting legal help if you are someone with a low income.

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Criminal Law Offices

Legal Aid Ontario has three Criminal Law Offices that can help people who have a legal aid certificate and who have been charged with a criminal offence. They may also be able to help you if you qualify financially for legal aid but cannot get a certificate because you are not likely to get a jail sentence if you are convicted.

You must live or have been charged in the area served by the Criminal Law Office.

Barrie area: 1-866-296-0648 or (705) 719-0289
Brampton area: 1-866-296-0646 or 905-874-0147
Ottawa area: 1-866-296-0647 or 613-233-0239

Family Law Offices

Legal Aid Ontario has three Family Law Offices that can help people who already have a legal aid certificate and who need help with a family law problem, such as custody and access, and child or spousal support.

If you live in Ottawa, Toronto, or the Thunder Bay area, use the numbers below to call for more information.

City of Ottawa: 1-800-348-0006
City of Toronto: 1-800-331-9618
Thunder Bay area: 1-800-393-8140

Refugee Law Office

The Refugee Law Office, which is in Toronto, represents refugee claimants who already have a legal aid certificate and can also help people who are being detained for immigration reasons.

For more information about their services, you can call the Refugee Law Office at 416-977-8111 or 1-800-668-8258, or you can read their brochure in Portable Document Format (PDF) at www.legalaid.on.ca/en/info/PDF/RLO%20pamphlet.pdf.

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Getting legal help in courts and tribunals

Duty counsel at courts

If you are at court and don't have a lawyer, you can look for the duty counsel office or ask to see duty counsel. There are duty counsel lawyers at criminal and family courts. Duty counsel lawyers will help you for free but you may first have to show that you can't afford to pay for your own lawyer. And, there are limits to what they can help you with.

In criminal cases, duty counsel can give basic advice, ask for adjournments, and help with bail hearings and guilty pleas.

In family court, duty counsel can give basic advice, prepare and review documents, represent people in some motions and hearings, and help with settlement negotiations.

Tenant duty counsel at the Landlord and Tenant Board

If you are a tenant who has to go to the Landlord and Tenant Board and you don't have any legal help, you may be able to get help when you arrive at the Board from a tenant duty counsel. There are tenant duty counsel at many Board locations. Tenant duty counsel are lawyers and community legal workers.

Tenant duty counsel will help you for free but you may first have to show that you can't afford to pay for your own lawyer. And, there are limits to what they can help you with. Tenant duty counsel can give basic advice, help negotiate settlements with landlords, and review and help fill out some forms and documents, especially those related to eviction. They can sometimes assist tenants at hearings with procedures such as urgent review applications and requests for adjournments.

To find out if there will be tenant duty counsel at the Board location you are going to, call your local community legal clinic before you go to the Board. For information on how to find your nearest legal clinic, you can:

Law Help Ontario Self-Help Centres

If you cannot afford a lawyer to help you with a civil legal issue and you live in the Toronto area, you can get general information on court procedures, help filling out forms, and some legal advice from the Law Help Ontario centres at Small Claims Court and Superior Court.

These services are free, but you must be able to show that your income is below the Law Help Ontario limit. For more information, visit Law Help Ontario's web site at www.lawhelpontario.org.

Family Law Information Centres

There are Family Law Information Centres at courthouses that deal with family law. All of the centres have free pamphlets on topics such as separation and divorce, court procedures, and family mediation. Many of the centres have staff who can give information and make referrals to community agencies and legal services. During specific hours, some of the centres have lawyers from Legal Aid Ontario who can meet with you.

For more information, you can contact your local courthouse or visit the Ministry of the Attorney General's web site at www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/family/default.asp and click on the link for Family Law Information Centres.

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