Resources.

Facing a legal problem can feel overwhelming. The good news is that there is a wealth of information available to assist people with understanding their situation, identify solutions, and connect with help. Sometimes you don’t actually need to retain an attorney to resolve an issue. Sometimes you can’t afford to pay for legal representation. Regardless of the circumstances, there is a broad network of legal help available to you. The resources on this page are meant to point you in the right direction and hopefully provide some peace of mind.

LawHelpNY

LawHelp is a comprehensive source of legal information and self-help forms on a variety of legal topics. This is a great site to use if you have a legal problem and don’t know where to start.

NYS Court Help

If you are going to court on a matter and do not have an attorney, you can find information and court forms provided by the New York State Unified Court System here. You can also look up information for particular courts and download petitions and other filing forms.

eCourts

On eCourts you can access future appearance dates for cases in New York State Criminal and Family Courts. You may also view information on both active and disposed cases in Civil Supreme and Local Civil Courts, and by signing up for eTrack case tracking service you can receive email updates and appearance reminders for Civil Supreme and Local Civil Court cases.

If you can’t afford an attorney:

Civil legal services agencies provide free, high quality legal representation to individuals across a wide range of issues. If you need help and can’t afford to pay an attorney, reach out to your local provider to see if you qualify for their services.

A note about Family Court: in New York State, most family court matters carry a right to counsel - meaning if you qualify based on your income, an attorney will be assigned to your case free of charge. If you think you might qualify, be sure to request to be screened for assigned counsel at your first court appearance.