Lawyer Referral/Do I need a lawyer?

You may also want to try contacting a lawyer, if you haven’t already. Whether or not to get a lawyer is a choice that each person has to make but oftentimes, especially in complicated cases or when the opposing party has a lawyer, getting a lawyer can really help. A lawyer would be familiar with the court rules, and the rules of evidence, which determine what can and cannot be said or used in court to prove his/her case. Also, if the abuser has a lawyer, it is often intimidating for someone to try to argue against a lawyer on his/her own and she may not know how to argue against the points or objections that the lawyer makes in court (such as what evidence is or is not allowed in court, objections against hearsay, and other legal matters that fall under the “rules of evidence”). However, it’s often not necessarily better to have just “any” lawyer, unless the lawyer is familiar with and sensitive to issues of domestic violence and has experience and knowledge of the subject matter at hand. The following page provides information about choosing and working with a lawyer: https://www.womenslaw.org/laws/preparing-court/choosing-and-working-lawyer

For someone who cannot afford a lawyer, s/he may be able to get help from a legal aid organization, which provides free or low-cost legal help in some cases. If you contact them and they can’t represent you, you may want to ask if you can at least get a free consultation with an attorney to answer some questions and to get brief advice. You may also want to try any law schools in your area because sometimes they have legal clinics and can take cases for free. For someone who can afford a lawyer, a lawyer referral service can help find a lawyer who has experience in the relevant areas of law [ADD IF THERE IS DV: - however, not all lawyer referral services screen for lawyers who are experienced in handling domestic violence cases.] You’ll find contact information for legal aid lawyers and a lawyer referral number for your state here: [INSERT LINK TO FINDING A LAWYER] [ADD IF THERE IS DV: Shelters and other domestic violence organizations may also be able to offer legal referrals if the legal services organizations cannot take your case - see here for local domestic violence organizations: LINK TO STATE AND LOCAL PROGRAMS]