When your patron needs legal advice, they may ask you to recommend a lawyer for them to contact. Providing such a recommendation can cross professional boundaries, but there are some tools you can show your patron so they can search for and choose a lawyer on their own.
Canadian Bar Association BC Find-A-Lawyer tool:
This tool lets you search for lawyers in BC by name, firm name, within a specified radius of a town or city, by area of practice (family, wills & estates, etc.) and/or by a language the lawyer speaks. Entering your search terms will give you a list of lawyers and their contact information. Patrons can then contact a lawyer directly.
This service, run by Access Pro Bono, connects members of the public with lawyers they can retain. Patrons can call the service and explain their legal issue; staff will then provide the name and contact information for a lawyer. Users of the program receive a 15-minute free consultation with the lawyer before deciding if they want to proceed with retaining them.
If your patron wants to make the best use of their consultation with a lawyer, they may want to prepare for their meeting ahead of time. Choosing a lawyer from Dial-A-Law provides some good tips on what to think about or prepare for a first meeting with a lawyer.
BC Notaries Association Find a Notary tool:
Depending on the legal issue your patron is experiencing, they may be able to consult a notary. Notaries can help prepare wills and personal planning documents such as power of attorney, provide certified copies of documents, prepare affidavits, and more. Notaries do not represent people in court.
You can use the Find a Notary tool to search for notaries in a town or city, by postal code, by last name, and/or by a language the notary speaks. If your patron is unsure whether they need a notary or a lawyer, they can check out the Choosing a Notary and Services BC Notaries Provide on the Society of Notaries Public of BC website to see if a notary is right for them.
If your patron is asking for legal advice or for more than you can provide as a legal information professional, check out our guide on Legal Information & Legal Advice. The guide provides some scenarios you can use for practice, tips for legal reference, and phrases you can use to set boundaries with patrons.