Settlement Workers Guide to What is Legal Information and What is Legal Advice
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Understanding the difference between legal information and legal advice is very important. In this section, you will learn how they are different, and why it is important that your client also understands the difference.
Legal Information[edit]
Legal information helps people understand the law and the legal system. Legal information is available to the public, both on websites and in print.
Clients may need your help finding and understanding legal information. If they need further assistance, you can show them where to go for more legal information or for legal advice.
As a settlement worker, you can only assist your client with legal information.
Legal Advice is telling a client how the law applies to their situation or what they should do about their legal problem. Generally only lawyers provide legal advice.
There are some exceptions where trained people supervised by lawyers can give legal advice. For example, law students in the Law Students Legal Advice Program (LSLAP) are supervised by lawyers and can give legal advice. Community legal advocates who are supervised by lawyers may be able to give some legal advice such as telling somebody how to apply for a protection order or help you dispute an eviction notice.
Lawyers are regulated by the Law Society of British Columbia, which sets and enforces standards of professional conduct for lawyers.
Why is it important that settlement workers understand the difference between legal information and legal advice?[edit]
Settlement workers may be the first point of contact for a client with a legal issue. Helping clients at this early stage is very important.
Workers who understand the difference between legal information and legal advice will have the confidence to help their client:
- identify the legal issue,
- find and understand some of the legal information that can help, and
- know where they can go to next if they need more information or if they need legal advice.