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What is legal assistance?

Legal assistance describes a range of legal services, from the provision of generic legal information and advice, to representation by a legal professional in court. The definitions and descriptions of different types of legal assistance used in this report are given below. We acknowledge that, in practice, it can be difficult to differentiate between these different forms of legal assistance.

Plain language legal information

Plain language legal information is generic material presented in non-legal language about legal issues that people might face. It may be information about specific laws, legal problems or legal processes, or about where to get legal advice or representation. It is usually made available in the form of pamphlets, comics,¹ multi-media (e.g. videos, DVDs, audio), by telephone (person-to-person or via recorded information) or on the internet. Legal information may be distributed directly to clients or passed on verbally through support workers. In this report, ‘legal information’ refers only to the plain language legal information described above, not that found in text books, case law and legislation.

Legal advice

Legal advice involves the application of legal information to the individual circumstances a person is facing. Legal advice may be given face-to face, by telephone or, in some cases, by email. An example of legal advice is when a solicitor advises a client about a particular course of action, after she has received a letter of demand to pay a debt.

Initial legal assistance

Initial legal assistance is when a lawyer advocates or negotiates a matter for a client, without having to lodge formal court proceedings or commence litigation. An example of legal assistance is when a solicitor writes a letter on the client’s behalf in response to a demand to pay a debt. The vast majority of legal problems are resolved through initial legal assistance avenues, by direct negotiations or correspondence from a legal professional to the other party or their representative.²

Legal representation

Legal representation covers services provided by legal professionals that go beyond initial legal assistance. These services may include drafting documents (e.g. wills, contracts) and representing a person in a legal matter (e.g. negotiating child residency and contact agreements). Legal representation also includes preparing documents for court appearances (e.g. statements of claim, affidavits) and representing people in court and tribunal processes.