Can someone on this site represent me or referral me to a lawyer?
This site is not a lawyer referral service. It is a forum to post specific questions regarding your legal issue. The volunteer lawyers cannot call you, provide consultation, or represent you in court. If you are in need of other legal resources or are looking for an attorney to hire, then you may want to review the legal resource list at https://missouri.freelegalanswers.org/OtherHelp.
Can I get my legal questions answered even though I have a lawyer?
You cannot utilize this site if you already have a lawyer representing you. Volunteer lawyers have certain ethical rules which prohibit them from communicating with parties that are already represented by an attorney.
Can I get help with my speeding ticket?
Our volunteer lawyers can only answer questions related to civil legal issues. Legal issues that include a ticket, a potential fine, potential jail time, or other similar consequences imposed by a local, county, or statewide police department are not civil legal issues and cannot be addressed by the volunteer lawyers in this forum.
Why is my question marked as closed?
Questions can be marked as closed for multiple reasons:
- The lawyer who responded marked the question as closed when they finished responding;
- The site administrator had to close the question and posted a message stating why it was closed;
- You never responded to the answer or information that the lawyer provided, so the question automatically closed.
Please remember, you cannot ask more than one question per legal area, so please do not re-post the same question multiple times to the general question queue or it will be closed by the site administrator.
I have asked all three questions, what do I do now?
Each user may only ask three (3) total questions per year and each one must be on a different legal issue. See our page for other places to find help at https://missouri.freelegalanswers.org/OtherHelp and resources that might be able to assist you.
I need site technical help - who do I ask?
You may email the site administrator at freelegalanswers@mobar.org with questions about using the site. The site administrator will not respond to requests for legal help.
Why has no one responded to my question?
There are volunteer lawyers who respond to questions posted on the site. These volunteers select which questions they are comfortable responding to. The process for them to review and select questions may take several days or longer as it is based on their time availability and preferences.
In some cases, the question may ultimately not be selected by a volunteer to answer. To better ensure that your submitted question is answered be certain that you have asked a specific legal question about your civil matter. Understand that asking a very broad question such as, “How do I handle an upcoming hearing on my own?” or “Can you help me?” or “What can I do?” is much too broad for an attorney to respond to, and thus your question will most likely not be answered.
You may review your submitted question and add additional information to ensure that you have asked a specific legal question about your civil matter. Or, you may withdraw your question entirely and resubmit a question that is more specific.
Can I ask a question for someone else?
No, the question that you submit must pertain to your legal issue. If a question is asked on behalf of a family member, friend, or anyone other than the person who registered through Missouri Free Legal Answers and has the legal issue, then that question will be closed.
If I’m in a legal dispute with another party, do I have to give their name?
Yes, the volunteer lawyers must reasonably determine that in responding to a question, they are not creating a conflict of interest. By providing the name of the person you have a legal dispute with, you are assisting the lawyer in making this determination. A lawyer can’t knowingly help both sides of a legal issue or a case.
For example, they can help either a renter or the renter’s landlord in a dispute, but they can’t knowingly help both sides of the same dispute. It’s possible that the lawyer’s law firm or office they work for may be helping the other side in your case and the lawyer answering your question may not know it.
If the lawyer does know that they or their firm are helping the other side of your dispute, they can’t answer your question.
Question tips for clients
Do:
Ask a legal question.
When writing about your problem, don’t forget to include the specific question you’d like the lawyer to answer.
Get right to the point.
You only have 500 words. Outline the facts of your situation, and then ask a specific question that you want a lawyer to answer.
Write the name of the person/company you’re having a problem with.
Our lawyers want to make sure they don’t know the person you’re talking about. Include the name of the person/company in the “Opposing Parties” section.
Write down any court dates or upcoming legal deadlines!
But make sure they are real deadlines – if you don’t have an upcoming deadline, just leave that box blank.
Include a photo or paper related to your question.
Photos and papers can show lawyers exactly what you’re asking about. You can even take a photo of a paper and upload it.
Tell the lawyer more if asked.
A lawyer may need you to answer more questions, so be sure to check your email.
Don’t:
Don’t ask a lawyer about an issue that is handled in criminal court.
Our lawyers can only help with non-criminal legal issues.
Don’t ask the lawyer to call you.
Lawyers can only communicate through the online portal.
Don’t ask the lawyer to represent you pro bono.
If you just ask for a pro bono lawyer or a referral to a lawyer, we’ll have to close the question because that isn’t a legal question.
Don’t use all-caps to ask your question.
It’s hard to read a question written in all caps and our lawyers may not be able to answer you.
Don’t forget to come back to the question.
You’ll get an email when someone answers your question. Don’t forget to come back to see the answer.
Don’t use names of people or organizations in your question or replies, whenever possible.
Please keep this information confidential if at all possible.