Introduction to Legal Help for British Columbians

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 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 clients in BC, organized by topics such as "Family", "Consumer and Debt" and "Human Rights".
• The second part is a Resource Guide 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 Clicklaw.
• The Guide concludes with a form to help a low-income client 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 www.clicklaw.bc.ca. Visit the "Solve Problems" section and then select the topic "Legal help & lawyers".

Thanks to

A special thanks to Allan Parker, Andree Harley, Linda Locke 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 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

Your comments on the content and format of this Guide are most appreciated. Please forward them to:

Cliff Thorstenson, Lawyer

Nicola Valley Advocacy Centre

Box 819, Merritt, B.C. V1K 1B8

Tel. (250) 378-9632 Fax. (250) 378-9796

Email: cthor@uniserve.com

In contract law, a promise made by someone about a certain state of affairs, like "the plumbing was replaced last year" or "I had a vasectomy two years ago." See "misrepresentation."

Under the Family Law Act, a term that describes the time a person who is not a guardian of a child, including a parent who is not a guardian, has with that child. Under the Divorce Act, a term that describes the time a person who is not a married spouse has with a child. See "guardian" and "parental responsibilities."

A person licensed to practice law in a particular jurisdiction by that jurisdiction's law society. See "barrister and solicitor."

(1) A lawyer or a person other than a lawyer who helps clients with legal issues, or (2) to argue a position on behalf of someone.