It can be pricey to hire an attorney, but doing so may be necessary if you need assistance writing a will or a contract, or if you find yourself in any kind of legal predicament or issue. If you face this kind of situation, FVF Law can help you with many viable options.
According to USLegal.com and other similar websites, the average hourly rate for a lawyer is between $100 and $300. If you need a lawyer to get you out of a legal jam or preserve your assets but you don’t feel like you have any money to spare, it might feel like a barrier to getting legal representation. You can require the services of an attorney for the following reasons:
- Concerns pertaining to family law, such as a contested divorce
- Estate planning
- Injuries to the person
- Charges of a criminal nature
- A court order that prohibits certain behaviors
- Either you reorganize your company or disband it entirely; the choice is yours
- You are in danger of going bankrupt
In the event that you are unable to pay for legal representation during a criminal case, the court will appoint counsel on your behalf. To obtain legal counsel in a civil lawsuit, which is typically understood to be a disagreement between two private parties, you need to be willing to get inventive.
Where to Look for Legal Assistance That Is Free
If you are unable to retain legal representation due to financial constraints, consider the following alternatives:
- Make your way to the courthouse in the city
- Make use of the free consultations offered by lawyers.
- Investigate the various legal aid organizations
- Attend a law school event
- Make contact with the bar organization in your area or state
- Proceed to the local district court
You have a range of options available to you, depending on the specifics of your case, to obtain low-cost or free legal counsel and representation. Continue reading for additional details on each available choice.
Make Your Way to the Courthouse
There are certain courts that will provide free help to the parties in an uncontested divorce who prefer to fill out their own papers. In spite of this, if you don’t have a lawyer and something is taking you to court, regardless of whether it’s divorce or something else, it’s a reasonable step to call the courthouse and inquire what services are available to you.
Consultations with Free Lawyers Are Available
There are some attorneys who provide free consultations, which are often conducted over the phone or by video conferencing. Even if the call is only 15 minutes long, you may at least get a clearer idea of what you will be facing as a result of it. You could also be able to obtain some direction on who can help you for free or if there is a cheap attorney, or at the very least an economical attorney, who you can employ to represent you in the case.
Consider Approaching Legal Aid Societies
Legal aid societies are organizations that operate on a purely charitable basis and offer free legal assistance to those with lower incomes. Even though this is something that should be looked at, the difficulty that many families have is that their income is too high for them to qualify for assistance.
And just because you have a modest income does not guarantee that you will be eligible for legal assistance. The Legal Services Corporation is a nonprofit organization that was established by Congress in order to ensure equal access to justice for all Americans.
In 2017, the organization released a report stating that more than 80 percent of the civil legal problems occurred among lower-income Americans who received inadequate or no legal help in the previous year. However, there are a number of people that qualify for this. According to a study published by the 2020 Legal Services Corporation (LSC), there were about 53.9 million people in the United States who were eligible for LSC-funded civil legal aid in 2019, the most recent year for which data are available.
LawHelp.org, a non-profit organization whose mission is to link individuals with low and moderate incomes to free legal aid services in their regions, is a good place to look for further ideas.
