Law Help Ontario at Small Claims Court

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Law Help Ontario at Small Claims Court

Have a motion or trial at the Toronto or Ottawa Small Claims Court? Are you self-represented? Can't afford a lawyer?

Maybe we can help:

Duty Counsel are free lawyers that offer limited services to the public on a first come, first served basis.

Duty Counsel Lawyers assist self represented litigants by:

attending your trial or motion,
helping you to identify legal issues relating to your case,
providing general information on the rules and procedures of Small Claims Court, and
answering general legal questions.

If you only need legal advice, your meeting will be limited to 30 minutes. Priority is given to self-represented litigants with trials and motions on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Regretfully, we are unable to book appointments or guarantee representation at your trial or motion.

The lawyers that volunteer at Law Help Ontario will not become your lawyer.

The scope of legal services provided at Law Help Ontario is limited to brief services. Any services with respect to potential representation at a motion, trial or appeal are at the sole discretion of the volunteer lawyer.

Qualifying for Assistance

In order to qualify for the Duty Counsel Project, you must be acting as an individual--corporations and businesses do not qualify. Your primary source of income must be from one or more government support programs OR your household income must not exceed the project's financial cut-offs of total gross income from all sources, per year. If you have any questions regarding your eligibility, please visit the Small Claims Duty Counsel office.

Family Size Financial Cut-Off

Number in family Annual Household Income

1 $36,000 / year
2 $54,000 / year
3 $61,992 / year
4 $73,992 / year

Other Qualifying Factors

In the legal profession, a lawyer (or law firm) cannot represent you if the opposing parties are also their client. This is commonly referred to as a "conflict of interest." When you apply for assistance, we will confirm that the opposing parties are not being represented by the volunteer lawyer or their law firm. If a conflict of interest exists, regrettably, we will not be able to represent you in court nor offer summary legal advice.

Court Fee Waivers

If you qualify for our services, you may also qualify for the Small Claims Court Fee Waiver program; please ask a Court Staff employee for details on fee waivers.

Please note: Working with Duty Counsel is not the same as hiring a lawyer or paralegal to assist you. Duty Counsel have a short period of time to advise you regarding your case. Therefore, we always recommend that you hire a lawyer or paralegal who is able to carry your case from start to finish.