Sources of free or low-cost legal advice and information
Making Referrals for Legal Services – Before referring someone to legal services, review these considerations to keep in mind.
Legal advice and representation
- Community Legal Clinics - Provide free or low-cost legal advice and representation to eligible people in Ontario living on a low income. Most clinics provide services in housing, social assistance, and employment. Some provide services in consumer protection, and immigration and refugee law. Clinic services are based on location.
- Specialty Community Legal Clinics - Specialty clinics provide legal advice and representation to particular demographic communities or focus on a particular area of law. Most specialty clinics are not limited to serving a specific geographic area.
- Legal Aid Ontario – Provides a variety of legal services in English and French for financially-eligible people in Ontario on a low income. Areas of law covered include some types of criminal, family, mental health, immigration, or refugee law problems
- Student Legal Service Organizations - These student-run legal clinics at Ontario law schools provide legal advice and represent people in several types of civil law cases and also minor criminal cases.
- Legal Services in Ontario – This list from CLEO provides information about free and low-cost legal services in Ontario.
- JusticeNet – Offers reduced-cost legal services to people whose income is too high to qualify for legal aid but too low to afford standard legal fees. Services are available in many different areas of law.
Free 30-minute consultations
- Community Legal Clinics – A person may be able to receive up to 30 minutes of free summary advice from a community legal clinic in areas of law that they cover.
- Pro Bono Ontario – Their phone hotline offers up to 30-minutes of free legal advice on civil law matters in Ontario (does not cover family, immigration, or criminal law matters).
- Ontario Legal Information Centre – Offers a free 30-minute meeting with a lawyer over the phone or virtually.
- Law Society Referral Service – If a match is available, provides the name of a lawyer or paralegal who can offer a 30-minute free consultation to help a person understand their rights and options.
Community-specific services
- 519 Access to Justice Services – Free virtual and over-the-phone legal services for 2SLGBTQ+ communities.
- Luke’s Place – Offers free summary legal advice for women who have experienced abuse within their relationship and have a family law issue.
- Human Rights Legal Support Centre – Provides legal assistance and advice to people in Ontario who have experienced discrimination.
- Canadian Council of Muslim Women – The council’s Legal Services Coordination Program provides culturally appropriate legal services coordination for Canadian Muslim women seeking legal advice and counsel on family law issues.
- Barbara Schlifer Commemorative Clinic – Provides counseling and free legal services to women from diverse communities who have experienced violence. Multilingual interpretation including ASL is available.
- Muslim Legal Support Centre – Offers free legal services to people who identify as Muslim and are living on a low income in Ontario.
- Newcomer Legal Clinic – Provides free legal supports on immigration law to immigrants, refugees and people without status living in Northwestern Ontario.
- Artists’ Legal Advice Services - Offers a virtual legal clinic by appointment that provides free summary legal advice and information to artists in Ontario.
- Korean Legal Clinic – Serves Korean-Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area, providing culturally appropriate legal services, resources and education.