4. Find a French lawyer

Here are some ways to find a lawyer that speaks French to help you with your family law proceeding:

The Association of French-Speaking Jurists of Ontario

The Association des juristes d’expression française (AJEFO) has a directory of French-speaking lawyers. You can search the directory by name, area of law, and city.

Student Legal Service Organizations (SLSO)

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) funds legal clinics provided by students in Ontario's law schools. Volunteer law students are supervised by full-time lawyers. These clinics are usually only offered to low-income clients who live in the area where the clinic is located. The University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic through the University of Ottawa is bilingual.

Ontario Family law Limited Scope Services Project

The Ontario Family Law Limited Scope Services Project has a directory of lawyers that provide unbundled services. This means you can hire a lawyer to help with one part of your family law case. For example, the lawyer might:

• research a legal question
• prepare a court document
• go to court with you for one step of your case, such as a case conference or motion

You can search by lawyer name, location, service type, and language.

The Ontario Legal Information Centre phone line

The Ontario Legal Information Centre offers a free 30-minute meeting with a lawyer to any person faced with a legal situation in Ontario. You can call 1-844-343-7462 to speak with a lawyer about any area of law in English or French. You may have to leave a message, and a lawyer will call you back.

Phone lines

Legal Aid Ontario has Francophone legal advice lines to give legal information and advice in French to people living in:

• Northern Ontario: 1‑877‑687‑2847
• Eastern Ontario: 1‑877‑500‑4508
• Greater Toronto Area: 1‑877‑966‑7345
• Southwestern Ontario: 1‑855‑650‑9716

Law Society of Ontario Directory

The Law Society of Ontario has a Directory of all lawyers and paralegals in Ontario. You can search the directory for legal practitioners who offer services in French.

Law Society Referral Service

The Law Society Referral Service gives you the name of a lawyer or paralegal in your area who can talk to you for up to 30 minutes for free. You can ask for a legal representative who speaks French.

You don't have to hire the lawyer or paralegal you get referred to. But you can't ask for a second referral for the same legal problem.

JusticeNet

JusticeNet is a not-for-profit organization that can help people find legal services when their income is too high for legal aid and too low to afford legal fees. Their website has a list of lawyers, paralegals, and mediators who charge reduced fees based on your income and the size of your family. You must register and pay a small fee to use their services.