View source for Introduction to Legal Help for British Columbians

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==Purpose of this Guide==

This Legal Help Guide is a resource for non-legal professionals in British Columbia who have clients or patients with legal problems and little money to deal with them.

It is meant to help you:

* guide your client or patient in taking the '''first steps''' toward addressing their legal problem, and

* make the best '''referrals''' for your client or patient to information, assistance, advice or representation to address the legal issue.

==Reason for this Guide==

Because legal resources are often not available locally in many areas of British Columbia, the usual first "point of contact" to get help with a legal problem is not a lawyer or legally trained advocate, but a friend or helping professional such as a counsellor, doctor, nurse, teacher, government worker, public librarian, or religious leader.

It is hoped that this Guide will help you - the friend or helping professional - provide basic information and appropriate referrals to friends, clients or patients who find themselves with common legal problems.

==Organization of this Guide==

There are three parts to this Guide:
* The first part describes '''common legal problems''' faced by low-income persons in British Columbia, organized by topics such as "Consumer and Debt", "Criminal Law", and "Family Law". 
* The second part is a [[Resource List]] describing '''legal resources''' and how to obtain them. It includes sources of legal information, assistance, advice and representation, such as legal aid representation, workers' advisers, and the website [http://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/ Clicklaw]. 
* The Guide concludes with a form to help a client [[Preparing for Your Interview|'''prepare for their interview''']]. When completed, it will contain a lot of the information a lawyer or advocate will want to know at a first interview with a client.

This Guide is available online on Clicklaw, at [http://www.clicklaw.bc.ca www.clicklaw.bc.ca], and it is featured in the "Solve Problems" section.

==Thanks to==

A special thanks to Allan Parker, QC, Andree Harley, Linda Locke, QC, and Glen Ferrier for their input and assistance with initial development of this Guide. Also, thank you to the Law Foundation for providing the funding and to Jill Veitch for editing and layout support for the first two editions.

For the third edition of the Guide, thank you to the many [[Legal Help Guide Contributors|reviewers and contributors]] who collaborated in updating and extending the Guide using wiki technology.

==Please note==

This Guide explains the law and legal procedures in general. It is not intended to give legal advice on your particular legal problem, and should not be relied on for that purpose. Information in this Guide is accurate as at November 2011. Please note that fees and guidelines outlined in the Guide are subject to change.

==Your comments==

[image:Tracks-bw.jpg|120px|right|Legal Help for British Columbians]
Your comments on the content and format of this Guide are most appreciated. Please forward them to:

: Courthouse Libraries BC
: Tel. 1-800-665-2570
: Email: [mailto:editor@clicklaw.bc.ca editor@clicklaw.bc.ca]


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