The following pro bono (free) programs offer brief legal help to people who can’t afford a lawyer.
Access Pro Bono Society of British Columbia
At Access Pro Bono, volunteer lawyers provide brief legal advice at legal clinics throughout BC. Call 604-878-7400 (Greater Vancouver) or 1-877-762-6664 (elsewhere in BC).
BC Family Maintenance Agency
BC Family Maintenance Agency (BCFMA), formerly Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP), can help you collect your support payments for free if you already have a support order or agreement filed in court.
To enroll, call the number for your area:
- Lower Mainland: 604-678-5670 or 1-800-663-9666
- Northern & Interior: 250-434-6020 or 1-800-663-3933
- Victoria: 250-220-4040 or 1-800-663-3455
- Enquiry BC: 1-800-663-7867 (ask to be connected to the nearest BCFMA client office)
Or you can:
- submit an online application,
- download an application, fill it out, and mail it in, or
- request that an enrollment application be mailed to you.
The Law Centre, Victoria
If you live in the Capital Regional District, you might be able to get free legal advice from University of Victoria law students at The Law Centre in Victoria. Call 250-385-1221.
Multicultural organizations
QMUNITY
QMUNITY is a BC centre for the 2SLGBTQ+ community (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer). It provides free counselling, social and support groups, and other services.
TRU Community Legal Clinic, Kamloops
Thompson Rivers University law students give free legal help and advice at the Community Legal Clinic in Kamloops. Call 778-471-8490.
UBC Indigenous Community Legal Clinic
The UBC Indigenous Community Legal Clinic is located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside on traditional, ancestral, and unceded Coast Salish territories. UBC law students give free legal advice, assistance, and representation to eligible clients throughout BC who can’t afford a lawyer and who self-identify as Indigenous persons.
Call 604-822-5421 (Greater Vancouver) or 1-888-684-7874 (elsewhere in BC), or email iclc@allard.ubc.ca.
UBC Law Students’ Legal Advice Program
University of BC law students run free legal advice clinics throughout Greater Vancouver. Call 604-822-5791.