Lawyer Referral and Information Services are operated as a public service by the state bar association. This service is designed to assist you in finding the appropriate service-provider to help you solve your legal problem. There are two steps to this process. First, helping you determine whether you need to see a lawyer, and second, referring you to a lawyer who handles your type of case or to an appropriate community or governmental agency if that will be of more help to you. Lawyer referral can also provide you with information on procedures in the courts and legal system in your community.
When you contact lawyer referral, be prepared to briefly describe your situation so that the consultant can determine what kind of help you need. Lawyer referral does not offer legal advice or free legal services. Once your situation has been reviewed, you will be referred to a lawyer, a government agency, or social service resource, depending on the nature of your problem. If you are referred to an attorney, your use of the lawyer referral and information service will entitle you to a half-hour initial consultation at no charge, or for a nominal fee that goes to fund the lawyer referral service's operation. If additional legal services are required, you may choose to hire the lawyer. It is important to discuss legal fees and costs with the lawyer. A written fee agreement protects you so that there is no question about what services the lawyer will perform, and what those services will cost you.
Contact the West Virginia State Bar Association at 1-800-642-3617 or 558-7991 for more information about lawyer referral and information services. Visit the state bar on the Internet at http://www.wvbar.org/ .
Most communities are served by one or more legal services program offices. These programs exist to provide free legal services in civil (not criminal) cases to individuals who have little or no income. Services are provided by staff lawyers and paralegals who have expertise with those types of cases most commonly encountered by individuals living below or near the poverty level. Eligibility for service is determined, in part, by income guidelines. For example, to be eligible a household of one would need to have an adjusted gross income less than $9,338 and a household of four an adjusted income gross income of less than $18,936.
Because of the high demand for services, and limited staff resources, legal services programs cannot serve everyone who needs assistance. Programs are only able to accept a limited number and type of cases.
A prepaid legal service plan allows you to receive legal services for a monthly charge. The basic service provided under most plans is generally legal advice and consultation by telephone and may also include brief office consultations, review of simple legal documents, preparation of a simple will, and short letters written or phone calls made by a lawyer to an adverse party. Other plans offer more comprehensive coverage for trials, marital problems, bankruptcy, real estate matters, etc.
Most prepaid legal service plans rely on a panel of lawyers in private practice to provide covered services. This panel may consist of one lawyer or firm which services a small group under a direct contract or a nationwide network of law firms all of whom have signed a participation agreement with the plan administrator.
The American Bar Association's American Prepaid Legal Services Institute has compiled a partial listing of prepaid legal plan sources. You can review this list at http://www.abanet.org for a plan available to you. In addition, ask your employer, union, credit union, or other organization whether a plan is available to you. You may already be a member of a legal service plan.
Another way to find a lawyer to provide free legal representation in civil cases is by contacting a pro bono program - also known as volunteer lawyer programs. Pro bono programs are operated by state, county or local bar associations; by legal services programs; by other agencies in the community; or independently. They use local attorneys who have agreed to provide free legal representation to eligible persons referred by the pro bono program.
Like legal services offices, pro bono programs generally have financial and case type limitations. Certain pro bono offices serve only one client group (e.g. people with AIDS) or provide assistance for only one type of case (e.g. bankruptcy). Other programs provide legal representation for a wide range of legal problems.