Lawyer Referral Service

No. Right now, we often cannot give a referral. Our Lawyer Referral Service is small, and we get far more requests than we can handle.

We decide who gets a referral. We take turns among the lawyers in our program, based on the area of law and where you live in Nova Scotia.

If we can't give you a referral, we may suggest other ways to find a lawyer.

Contact the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia. Before you do, please read "Before you ask for a referral" and "Is a referral right for you?" above.

We will ask you some questions to find out:

• whether you have a legal problem that a lawyer in private practice can help with
• what kind of legal problem it is
• whether another service could help you, such as Nova Scotia Legal Aid or a community agency
• what legal information might help you now

Some questions may be personal. We ask them so we can understand your situation and give you useful information.

Our service is anonymous and confidential. Our Legal Information Educators all have law degrees. Their main job is to give people information about the law. Even if we can't give you a referral, they may be able to give you information to help you take your next steps.

Because we are so busy, it may take us some time to reply. Our normal response time is 2-5 business days. 

No. Our Lawyer Referral Service cannot help with urgent or time-sensitive problems.

Right now, we may not be able to reply quickly. Even if we give you a referral, we don't know the lawyer's schedule. We can't promise they will be able to meet with you by a certain date.

If you have a deadline, such as a court date or a time limit to file papers, don't wait to hear from us. Start contacting lawyers yourself today.

No, they are not free. They are not legal aid lawyers, and they don't work for free (pro bono).

The lawyers in our program work in private practice. They agree to a lower fee for the first meeting only. That meeting is up to 30 minutes and costs no more than $20 plus tax.

After that, you and the lawyer work out the fee. This usually means you pay the lawyer's regular fees. We do not control or track lawyers' fees. We can't promise they will charge less than other lawyers.

If you hire a lawyer, make sure you understand how they will charge you. See How Lawyers Charge for their work for more information.

We will give you the contact information for one lawyer. It's up to you to contact them. Tell them you were referred by the Legal Information Society's Lawyer Referral Service.

The law firm must first do a "conflict check." This makes sure they are allowed to meet with you. For example, they can't meet with you if they already work for the other person in your case.

The first meeting is up to 30 minutes and costs no more than $20 plus tax. It is usually at the lawyer's office. Some lawyers may meet by phone or video instead.

In the meeting, you talk about your problem. The lawyer gives you an idea of your options and what it might cost. Don't expect the lawyer to do legal work in this meeting. Legal work includes giving legal advice or an opinion, and reading or writing documents.

Get ready for the meeting. 30 minutes goes by fast.

• Read our Guide to a Successful Interview with a Lawyer.
• Write a short summary of your problem.
• Bring copies of important papers, such as court orders, contracts, or financial information. You can leave copies with the lawyer if you hire them.

The rules for our referrals:

• The referral is only for a first meeting. You don't have to hire the lawyer, and the lawyer doesn't have to take your case.
• The lawyer does not work for us. They are a lawyer in the community who agreed to offer a first meeting at a lower fee.
• A referral is not a recommendation. We don't rate lawyers.
• In the first meeting, the lawyer doesn't have to give you legal advice or do legal work for you.
• We don't know the lawyer's schedule. We can't promise you a meeting by a certain date.
• We give only one referral for each legal problem.
• We can't promise you will find a lawyer through our service. You may still need to look for a lawyer after your referral.
• We are not responsible for any part of your case.
• If you hire the lawyer, you work out the fee directly with them. This usually means their regular fees. See How Lawyers Charge for Their Work.

Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Closed weekends and holidays.

Please note that, unfortunately, we cannot accept messages for return phone calls and we do not offer a call-back option. 

Sometimes we are so busy that we have to turn off our email form for a while. If the form is off, please check back later.

We know:

• what areas of law they work in
• where they are
• what kinds of fee arrangements they may consider (for example, regular fees, contingency fees, limited scope retainers, flat fees, or service fees)
• whether they meet in the office, by phone, by email, or by video
• how long they have been a lawyer
• whether they can come to you instead of you going to their office
• whether they offer notary public services
• whether they are a lawyer anywhere other than Nova Scotia
• whether they offer service in languages other than English

No. We don't give out lists of lawyers. If we can give you a referral, we give you the contact information for one lawyer. We choose based on where you live and your area of law.

No. Lawyers choose whether to join our Lawyer Referral Service.

No. We give only one referral for each legal problem. We can't promise you will find a lawyer through our service. You may still need to look for a lawyer after your referral.

If the referral we gave you did not work out, go here for information about other ways to find a lawyer and legal help.

The lawyers in our program are not free. If you can't pay a lawyer's regular fees, a referral probably won't help you.

Here is a list of free and low-cost legal services in Nova Scotia, or you can contact us by phone, email or live chat for free legal information. We may be able to suggest other places to get help.