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Chapter 3. Legal services

Introduction

Obtaining legal assistance to address a legal issue or problem is defined by the terms of reference¹ as access to legal information, basic legal advice, initial legal assistance and legal representation. While participating in the legal system does not necessarily equate with accessing justice, barriers to that participation can adversely impact upon older people’s access to justice. This chapter reports on the comments that individuals, organisations and service providers made in relation to obtaining and providing legal assistance, as well as relevant literature on the subject. The consultations particularly concentrated on the types of problems experienced by older people in seeking to access legal services.