Where can you get legal information and help?

Duty counsel are lawyers who are located in family court. If your income is low enough and your case is about child custody, access, or support, you can get some legal advice and help from a duty counsel lawyer on the day you are in court.

Family court support workers help people who have experienced family violence and who are involved in the family court process. For more information, call the Victim Support Line at 1-888-579-2888 or 416-314-2447.

FLICs are located at every family court. All of the centres have free pamphlets on topics such as separation and divorce, court procedures, and family mediation. And, in some cases, you can be referred to an advice counsel lawyer.

If your income is low enough, advice counsel can give you legal advice about your case. If your income isn't low enough, advice counsel can still give you some general information about the court process.

FLICs also have Information and Referral Coordinators (IRCs) who can:

• help you understand your needs and the court process
• refer you to other services like counseling, help for abused women and men, addiction support, child and family support, and interpreters
• tell you about ways to resolve your issues without going to court, such as mediation

At some courts, IRCs may only be available at certain times. Contact your local FLIC to find out more.

FLIP is a free online resource that has legal and practical information on topics such as child custody, shared parenting, and support.

FLSCs offer a range of legal services, including help filling out court forms. If your income is low enough, a staff lawyer may represent you in court.

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) has a Family Violence Authorization Program. Under this program, free 2-hour family violence certificates are available to those who are experiencing or have experienced family violence and who need immediate legal help. The program is offered through some women's shelters, community legal clinics, Family Law Service Centres, and by calling LAO toll-free at 1-800-668-8258.

The LSRS is an online service that gives you the name of a lawyer in your community who can give you up to 30 minutes of free consultation. You can ask for a lawyer who speaks your language, or a lawyer who accepts Legal Aid certificates. You don't have to hire this person as your lawyer. You can't ask for a second referral for the same legal problem.

You can also call LSRS's crisis line at 1-855-947-5255 if you are unable to use the online service, for example if you are in custody, in a shelter, or in a remote community without access to the internet.

LAO helps low income people with legal help. If your income is low enough you may be able to get a Legal Aid certificate to pay for a lawyer for a certain number of hours. You might have to pay some of the lawyer's fees depending on your income and assets.

If you let LAO know you are a victim of domestic violence when you call them, you will be placed in a priority line for help with applying for a certificate. In urgent cases, you may be able to apply in person at a LAO office, and get a certificate, possibly on the same day you apply.

There are a few student legal aid clinics that are staffed by law students who are supervised by lawyers. These clinics are part of law schools located at the University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, Queen's University (Kingston), University of Windsor, Lakehead University (Thunder Bay), York University (Toronto), and Western University (London).

If your income is low enough, you may be able to get help with child custody, access, and support issues. Some also help with other family law issues like restraining orders and spousal support. They don't help with cases at the Superior Court of Justice.

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) has a phone line that offers general information and referrals to people of all income levels. You may be able to get free general legal advice over the phone from an LAO lawyer for up to 20 minutes. For more information, call
1-800-668-8258.