Legal-Help Start-Here Guide
Quick guide for clinics, referrals, and low-cost family-law help

Use this guide when the next right step is getting actual legal help or a better referral, not just reading more pages.

Gather first
- Any notices, orders, case numbers, or deadlines.
- A short one-paragraph explanation of the issue.
- The top two or three questions you need answered first.

Best next doors
- Volunteer Lawyers Project
- Family-law clinic information
- Pine Tree Legal Assistance
- Family Hub court-help lane if you still need official self-help material first

Use the call well
- Lead with the deadline, hearing date, or urgent issue.
- Ask whether the organization handles your issue type.
- Write down the next referral or document request before ending the call.

Then stabilize the record
- Once you have the practical legal-help route, use the prep checklist or story-intake page to keep your notes and documents from scattering.

Related site pages: resources.html, briefs.html, dashboard.html, story-intake.html