If you have a legal problem, you may need to hire a lawyer to help you resolve it. Lawyers can help by:

• filing or responding to a lawsuit
• defending you against criminal charges
• drafting forms and legal documents
• interpreting the law for a given situation
• navigating difficult or complicated legal situations.

The Finding an Attorney page of our Hiring an Attorney guide goes over different options for locating a lawyer to help with your legal issue. You may want to start by using a lawyer referral service or a legal directory.

Lawyer referral services

These services usually consist of a 30-minute consultation with an attorney for free or for $20. This is a good option to help you figure out what kind of lawyer you may need and get referrals to attorneys in your area.

Lawyer referral services are often run by local bar associations, although the State Bar also has a has a lawyer referral service. See the Lawyer Referral Services page of our Find a Lawyer guide for a list of state and local services.

Legal directories

Legal directories provide a list of attorneys in a given location or by their area of practice. See the Legal Directories page of our Find a Lawyer guide for a list of legal directories.

Free or low-cost legal assistance

If you can't afford to hire a lawyer, you may want to call a legal hotline, attend a legal clinic, or call a legal assistance organization. See the library’s Legal Help guide for options.

Related FAQs & Guides

FAQs

• Can I get free legal help? I can't afford an attorney.
• I'm having trouble with my lawyer. What can I do?

Guides

• Find a Lawyer
• Hiring an Attorney
• Legal Help