Through some Web sites you can hire a lawyer -- who may be a great distance away -- to either handle your entire case, or just to give you advice or prepare some forms for you. You should be careful and check references, especially when dealing with for-profit vendors over the Web. There are many online directories of lawyers, and services that match clients and lawyers. Many of these are for-profit enterprises. Some earn revenue from fees charged to clients, others support themselves by offering books, forms or other information for sale to the public, and still others charge lawyers a fee to participate. Remember that lawyers are licensed to practice on a state-by-state basis. If you are hiring a lawyer, make sure that he or she is licensed in the appropriate state. You can make sure the person really is a lawyer by contacting the state agency that licenses lawyers
You can also try to handle a legal matter yourself. People without legal training may be able to handle some simple legal matters themselves -- this is called proceeding "pro se" or "pro per." Taking on a legal matter yourself can be risky, however. Each step may involve tax or other consequences that you may not think about. Doing it yourself also requires a lot of time and energy to learn the proper procedures and law. But sometimes people feel that they can't afford legal representation or they just want to do it themselves.
Who else qualifies for a free lawyer? In non-criminal or "civil" cases, you do not have the right to a free lawyer. But there are many legal aid and pro bono programs that provide legal help for the poor in civil cases. People whose income is low (below the federal poverty guidelines - see below) are generally eligible for free legal help through these programs. In addition, people who are elderly, disabled, the victims of domestic violence, enlisted in the military or in other special circumstances may be eligible for help even if their income is a little higher. Because these community-based programs often operate with very small budgets and don't have enough resources to serve all eligible people, they handle only certain types of cases and must turn away many people who ask for help.
Street lawyer
