Settlement Workers Guide to Identifying Your Client's Legal Needs: Difference between revisions

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An important part of a settlement worker’s job is interviewing clients to assess their needs. Clients may need help getting a job, finding housing, managing money, or dealing with a family dispute. Many of these topics have both legal and non-legal issues. As part of the assessment interview, you can help identify legal issues by asking the client to tell you more about their situation. Here are some examples:

==Housing==

You can explain that there are rules for tenants and landlords and show them what information is available online, what brochures they can get and where they can find others who can help with more information or legal advice.

Another client, when telling you why she needs to move, may say:

You can explain that family law has rules for couples who are separating and divorcing. Help her find family law information online or give her some booklets. You can explain where she can get legal advice.

==Managing money==

::''“I need a new credit card because the one I have now won’t work anymore.  The collection company is sending me letters.”''

This is a problem that the law can help with.  You can explain that this is called consumer debt and show them where they can get information and tell them where they might go for more help.

==Finding a job==

|consumer law

|}

The more you know about legal topics, the more likely you will recognize them as your client explains their situation. One way to learn about everyday legal topics is to go to the [http://clicklaw.bc.ca/ Clicklaw]. Click on a topic in the [http://clicklaw.bc.ca/solveproblems Solve Problems]section and you will see a list of subjects included in that topic. Or you can click on [http://clicklaw.bc.ca/solveproblems/alltopicsaz all topics & subtopics A – Z] at the bottom of the [http://clicklaw.bc.ca/solveproblems Solve Problems] section.