Help

Feb 04, 2010

By Susan Irwin, Executive Director / Lawyer, Rural Legal Services

We live in an increasingly complicated world. A world of voice mail with confusing menus rattled off at break neck speed by electronic voices, “self-help” kits and forms that seem to require at least a college diploma to understand and, of course, internet web pages that are supposed to answer all your questions.

Increasingly it is a challenge to get to talk to a “real” person about your problem or concern. If your problem involves legal issues, who can you call or where can you go, to actually talk to a human being about your rights and obligations? Well, if you live in northern Frontenac or northern Lennox & Addington counties, you could start by contacting Rural Legal Services to talk to one of our lawyers – at no cost to you.

Community Legal Clinics, such as Rural Legal Services, are part of Ontario’s legal aid plan. As a not-for-profit organization funded by Legal Aid Ontario and governed by a Board of Directors made up of interested individuals from the community, our mission is to provide area residents with access to justice through advocacy, including legal advice and representation, public legal education and referrals to other community agencies, government and legal services.

We provide the following information and advice services without charge:

identifying whether or not you have a “legal” problem,

identifying the legal issues,

discussing whether you need a lawyer and how to go about finding one if we are unable to help you further, and

identifying whether there are other services, such as government ministries or agencies, that also may be able to provide assistance.

In order to qualify for our more extensive legal services such as casework and representation before Ontario’s courts and administrative tribunals, you must reside in Northern Lennox & Addington County or Northern Frontenac County and have income within financial eligibility guidelines set by Legal Aid Ontario. If you are on Ontario Works, ODSP, or are a senior receiving the guaranteed income supplement you are automatically eligible for our casework services.

We can also take applications for Legal Aid Certificates that will allow financially eligible people to hire a lawyer to represent them, most often in family or criminal law matters. Decisions on Legal Aid Certificates are made by the area Legal Aid Ontario office in Kingston.

If you have a legal problem that we cannot help you with, and you need the services of a lawyer, then we will direct you to The Lawyer Referral Service operated by the Law Society of Upper Canada. This is also a free service and it is designed to put you in touch with a lawyer who will give you a 30-minute consultation without charge. The lawyer will not generally do any legal work during this appointment – it is designed to help you determine your rights and options. You can, of course, decide to retain the lawyer after the initial consultation and at that point you should be discussing the costs of the legal services. The referrals are made based on where you live and the nature of your problem, but it is up to you to make the appointment for the consultation. The Lawyer Referral Service is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, at 1-800-268-8326.

Help is available, and from real people. If you are getting the electronic run around, or have been sent forms or documents that seem to have been written in a foreign language, give us a try. Yes, we do have voice mail for those times when we cannot answer your call – but we do get back to you. Not only do we get back to you, but in appropriate cases we still make house calls!

Legalese is a column of general information and opinion on legal topics by the lawyers of Rural Legal Services, Box 359, Sharbot Lake, ON, K0H2P0, 613-279-3252, or 1-888-777-8916. This column is not intended to provide legal advice. You should contact a lawyer to determine your legal rights and obligations.