Finding Legal Aids in New York

One of the growing trends throughout the country is providing free legal aid to persons who cannot afford adequate legal representation. When it comes to legal aids in New York, there are a number of different ways to locate attorneys who have chosen to provide legal assistance to persons who require the services of a lawyer, but whose current circumstances prevent them from being able to hire legal counsel.

One of the easiest places to look is in the yellow pages for your local telephone service provider. A number of attorneys will include in their information their affiliation with a legal aid program. By scanning through the section for attorneys and also looking under the heading of "legal aid services" it is a safe bet that you will find several attorneys in the New York metro area that may be able to help.

A visit to the local courthouse may also yield some results. A number of the court houses in the New York metro area maintain listing of attorneys that are available to take on cases where the defendant does not have assets to use for payment. Many of these will also be affiliated with one free legal program or another. These legal aids in New York listings are free for the asking, so you may be able to find an attorney off this sort of list that would be right for you.

Checking with friends may also be a good way to find several legal aids in New York. Perhaps a loved one has needed legal counsel in the past and was unable to afford it. In this scenario, your friend might be able to introduce you to the attorney that he or she was able to work with. At the same time, your friend may still have documents with lists of free legal aid attorneys in the area.

If all else fails, check out the Internet. When it comes to legal aid in the city and state of New York, you will find a number of sites that discuss the structure of the programs, who sponsors them, how to qualify for free legal aid and where to make your application. In some cases, you can begin the process online.

Keep in mind that you will not receive legal aids in New York just on your say-so. You will have to prove that you are unable to pay for attorney services and then submit an application. Once you are accepted, then you will be able to meet with an attorney and begin the process of dealing with whatever legal issue you have on your plate.