Finding Legal Help

You have options when you are facing a lawsuit. A lawyer (sometimes called an attorney) is a professionally trained and licensed person who advises you about your legal rights, prepares legal documents, and represents you in court or before government agencies. This page can help you see if you qualify for a free court-appointed lawyer or explore other free legal options. It also provides resources for hiring a private lawyer on a budget, hiring a licensed paralegal practitioner (LPP), or representing yourself.

🔍 Need to find a lawyer or see if someone is a real lawyer? 

You can use the Utah State Bar's Licensed Lawyer website. Choose Search by Legal Category to find a lawyer who handles your specific type of case. You can also use Search ALL attorneys by Name to verify that a person is legally allowed to practice law in Utah. Court staff cannot recommend specific lawyers. 

What are you trying to do? 

Court-Appointed Lawyers and Free Legal Help

Do you qualify for a court appointed lawyer?

Most people do not get a court-appointed lawyer. A court-appointed lawyer is a public defender or volunteer attorney assigned by a judge only if you prove you cannot afford to hire your own and your legal issue falls into one of these categories: 

Utah Code § 78B-22-201, § 78B-22-201.5, § 78B-22-202, and § 78B-22-203

If your case is not listed above, the court cannot assign a lawyer to you. However, you can still seek free help through non-profit agencies or legal clinics, hire a private lawyer or licensed paralegal practitioner, or represent yourself. 

Legal Aid and Free Clinics

Some courts have "pro se" ("pro say") calendars where lawyers represent people for free at court hearings. But there are some limitations:

• Help is limited to the hearing - after the hearing you will represent yourself
• You must already have an open case and be scheduled for a hearing on the pro se calendar
• Help is only for a few types of cases and at a few court locations

Look at the list of Utah Pro Se Calendars to see if your case qualifies. If you qualify, attend the hearing and follow any instructions to get help.

There are some agencies that will represent you for free even if you are not entitled to a court-appointed lawyer. All of these organizations have restrictions on how much help they can provide, and many limit their help based on your income. See the Agencies and Organizations web page for more information.

There are also some agencies that will offer free advice, but not representation. Some of them also have income limits. See the Legal Clinics web page for information on free legal clinics where you can talk to a volunteer lawyer for free to receive limited advice. 

Hiring a Private Lawyer or Licensed Legal Practitioner (LPP)

When you hire a lawyer, you can pay them to handle your entire case from start to finish. If you cannot afford that, you can hire a lawyer to do just part of the work, or find a lawyer who who bases their fees on your income.

Limited Legal Help (Unbundled Legal Services)

Instead of paying a lawyer to take care of everything from beginning to end, you can hire a lawyer to do only specific jobs for a predetermined fee. For example, the lawyer and client could agree that the lawyer will:

• only advise the client about the strength of the case, or
• help draft a document, or
• review a document the client has drafted, or
• coach the client for a negotiation, or
• help with the discovery process, or
• coach the client for a hearing, or
• appear in court on behalf of the client for one hearing only, or
• any combination of these kinds of services

You can find lawyers willing to provide limited legal help by using the Utah State Bar's Licensed Lawyer website. Look under the Payment Options section in the search filters and check the box for Unbundled Services.

Sliding Scale Fees and Other Options

Some lawyers charge a sliding scale fee based on your income. This means how much you pay depends on how much you earn. Some lawyers will also provide a free consultation. Others will charge a flat fee for services. You can search for lawyers by payment options using the Utah State Bar's Licensed Lawyer website. Choose Search by Legal Category, then choose Payment Options and search options you want. 

Licensed Paralegal Practitioner (LPP)

A licensed paralegal practitioner (LPP) is a professionally trained and licensed person who helps people with legal problems. They advise people about their legal rights and options and prepare legal documents in debt collection, family law and landlord-tenant cases. You can read more about what LPPs can and cannot help with on our Licensed Paralegal Practitioner page.

You can look for an LPP using the Utah State Bar's directory. Click the option for Licensed Paralegal Practitioners. You can ask if your LPP is willing to provide unbundled services, free consultations, a flat fee or other options.

Representing Yourself

If you do not qualify for a lawyer or cannot afford one you can try representing yourself using these resources.

Self-Help Center

The Utah State Courts' Self-Help Center provides free legal help to people who do not have a lawyer. The Self-Help Center provides information to help you understand your rights and responsibilities, and to help you resolve your legal problems on your own if you cannot afford a lawyer or if you choose not to hire one. Services are available statewide.

Self-Help Pages and Forms

Go to the Self-Help Directory on the Utah Courts website to find topics such as divorce, eviction, or protective orders. Self-Help pages help you understand your options, explain basic court processes, and link directly to related forms.

You can also use MyPaperwork, our free online interview tool that walks you through answering simple questions to automatically generate your court forms in some kinds of cases.

Law Libraries

If you need to look up court rules, court cases, or specific state laws, law libraries offer free access to legal books and online research tools when you visit in person. Law library staff can't give you legal advice, but they can show you how to use their resources. You can visit these law libraries in Utah:

• Utah State Law Library: Matheson Courthouse, 450 South State Street, Salt Lake City. 801-238-7990.
• James E. Faust Law Library: 383 South University Street, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. 801-581-6184.
• Howard W. Hunter Law Library: Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Provo. 801-422-3593.

Problems with a Lawyer or Legal Help

Complaints About Lawyers

The Utah State Bar's Consumer Assistance Program is designed to help resolve conflicts between clients and their lawyers or paralegals. This program also allows you to file a complaint against a legal professional besides your own.

The Bar also offers a Fee Dispute Resolution Program to work out fee disputes between clients and their lawyers or licensed paralegal practitioner.

If you want to file a formal complaint against a lawyer or licensed paralegal professional you can contact the Office of Professional Conduct.

Unauthorized Practice of Law

Only lawyers and Licensed Paralegal Practitioners licensed by the Utah State Bar can practice law in Utah. Paralegals, notarios, immigration consultants and others may not give legal advice or otherwise practice law unless they are licensed lawyers or Licensed Paralegal Practitioners. You can use the Utah State Bar's Member Directory to see if someone is a licensed Utah lawyer or Licensed Paralegal Practitioner (LPP).

Supreme Court Rule of Professional Practice 14-802 defines the practice of law. The rule also says that giving clerical help to fill out court forms is not the practice of law if no fee is charged. 

What happens if someone acts as a lawyer without a license?

Utah law has strict rules to stop this, and to protect you if you hired someone who acts as a lawyer but doesn't have a license:

• If you hired an unlicensed practitioner, you can sue them in court to get your money back and make them pay for any harm they caused.

• If a judge finds that an unlicensed person filed paperwork in your case, the judge can throw those documents out. The judge must also order the unlicensed person to pay back any money spent on attorney fees and court costs.

• The Utah State Bar can take unlicensed practitioners to court to force them to stop and make them pay fines.

• Because practicing law without a license is illegal, local prosecutors or the Attorney General can investigate and file misdemeanor or felony criminal charges. (Utah Code § 78A-9-103)

If you believe someone is practicing law without a license, you can report them on the Utah State Bar's Unauthorized Practice of Law web page.

Utah Code 78A-9-103