This is not a lawyer
What this service gives is real. What it never does is just as real: here is the exact limit, and where to look for legal help when a situation goes beyond it.
This site describes what a letter usually contains: the right recipient, the right structure, the references that generally apply. It never tells anyone what to do about their case, predicts no outcome and assesses no chance of success.
Where a large sum, a home, a job or a short appeal deadline is at stake, the opinion of a qualified professional remains irreplaceable. What this service gives does not replace it: it comes before it, or alongside it.
What this service actually gives
A tried and tested letter shape, the words that suit the register of a complaint, a method that holds in most countries, and for some templates a legal reference checked against its public source, with the date it was read. None of that is vague or improvised.
A well-written letter does not become legal advice merely because it cites a piece of law. It stays a letter, written by the person sending it and on their responsibility alone: this service supplies the tool, never the decision.
What it never does
Four limits that are not crossed, whatever the situation described.
- Tell anyone what to do about their case.
- Predict an outcome, one way or the other.
- Assess chances of success, in percentages or in words.
- Stand in for a qualified professional when a situation calls for one.
When a letter is no longer enough
Where to find real legal help
What this service does not do exists elsewhere, in forms that change from country to country but come back, almost everywhere, in the same roles. Here are the ones to look for, and how to find them where you live.
Legal aid
Full or partial coverage of the cost of a lawyer for anyone who meets means conditions. It exists in most countries under a name of its own, often close to “legal aid” or, in France, “aide juridictionnelle”. Searching for those words together with the name of your country usually leads to the service that grants it, often attached to justice or to social affairs.
A professional body of lawyers
In most countries, lawyers belong to a bar or professional body that keeps their register and sets their rules. Many run a duty service or a free first consultation, and point you to a lawyer competent in the subject at issue. Searching for “bar association” or, in France, “ordre des avocats” together with the name of your town is usually enough to find it.
A consumer association
For a dispute arising from a purchase, a subscription or a service, these associations know the practices of the sector and often help their members word a complaint or judge whether it is well founded. Many offer low-cost membership, and some answer a first question free of charge.
A sector ombudsman
Banking, insurance, energy, telecommunications and postal services often have their own ombudsman, independent of the company complained about. They usually step in after a complaint has had no satisfactory reply, free of charge, and look for an agreement between the two sides rather than ruling between them.
A public legal information point
A place, sometimes a physical one, sometimes run by a voluntary body, where first legal information is given free, without an appointment or simply on request. It goes by different names depending on the country and the town: a town hall, a library or a university often keeps the list.
How to search, wherever you are
A search engine, the name of the role you are looking for in your own language, the name of your country or town, and the word “free”: that combination alone is usually enough. Your country's official justice or consumer affairs site generally lists these services, as do town halls, libraries and community centres, which often keep an up-to-date list.
The rest of the service, and how it can be checked.