Help Accessing Legal Support (HALS)

Law for Life is delighted to secure new funding to help people navigate the legal system.

The project objectives are to improve and sustain access to early legal support to avoid unnecessary court proceedings and to prepare litigants in person (LiPs) for proceedings where these are necessary. It also aims to build a stronger evidence base to inform service delivery.

Law for Life is:

Getting help to litigants in person as early as possible by:

• Raising awareness of our early intervention help through community engagement programmes and building the capacity of trusted intermediaries.
• Providing our best of the web information service, which provides a high-quality selection of the best information available on the law and rights in England and Wales.
• Maintaining and improving our range of guides which support early resolution by:
  • Setting out potential options and courses of action at an early stage.
  • Explaining when and how to get help.
  • Acknowledging the emotional aspects of the problem and providing guidance on the skills needed to manage it.

Supporting people to manage their way through the court or tribunal process by:

• Providing the Going to Court hub - a one-stop shop for specialist information for LiPs.
• Providing our help directory and automatic signposting service directing people to wider sources of help across a range of legal problem cluster issues.
• Providing our digital appeals and mandatory reconsideration tools, which maximise LiPs’ chances of success at review and appeal stages, reducing the need for appeal.
• Maintaining and improving our range of step-by-step guides, which enable LiPs to understand the strength of their case, negotiate with other parties, and, where possible, avoid court. For example, our guide on finances on divorce helps users to understand what division of assets a court would likely order, so they are equipped to reach a fair agreement.
• Providing the Affordable Advice service which supports clients to understand their legal position, what settlement they should aim for, and how to negotiate a solution avoiding court.

Building the evidence base by:

• Monitoring and evaluating using web analytics, user surveys, feedback and user interviews.

All our services, resources and evaluation will be underpinned by the principles of legal capability - the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed to move towards a solution and navigate processes and structures.

The funding is from the Ministry of Justice and is administered by the Access to Justice Foundation (AtJF).

_{Last edited 27 March 2023}