Q. Where can I get legal advice?

Reference Librarians are here to help you use and access legal materials. Reference Librarians do not practice law. We are here to connect you with legal information, but we cannot provide legal advice or do legal research for you.

We can:

Help you find books, articles and primary legal sources that can answer your question

Help you locate items when you have a citation

Help you locate forms that may be applicable to your situation

Show you how to use our catalog and databases for your research

Help you develop a research strategy for your question

We can’t:

            Advise you on how to handle a legal situation or interpret the law for you

            Tell you which laws or cases are applicable to your case

            Read definitions, cases and statutes to you over the phone

            Help you fill out forms

Print or send documents from our databases to anyone outside of the current Harvard Law School community

Do legal research for you

If you are seeking legal advice or representation, please refer to the following sources for information on how to get legal advice, find a lawyer or locate legal resources:

General resources:

Lawhelp.org: Find legal information, forms and a state-by-state list of legal service organizations

In Massachusetts:

Massachusetts Bar Associations's Mass Lawyer Referral Service /866-MASSLRS (866-627-7577)

Boston Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service/(617) 742-0625)

For information about  services for people with low incomes, contact:

Greater Boston Legal Services 617-371-1234 or 1-800-323-3205

The Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School 617-522-3003

Outside of Massachusetts:

American Bar Association Consumer Guide to Legal Help

Other Research Resources

For public law libraries in other states, try our guide to Local Law Libraries.

If you are looking for free sources for legal research, please consult our guide to Free Legal Research Sources-United States 

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