Free legal advice in Hong Kong: where to get it

Hong Kong has several free legal services, and each does a different job. The Duty Lawyer Service gives free one-off advice from volunteer lawyers, with no means test. Other services explain court procedure to people acting for themselves, and legal aid pays for a lawyer to run a case. Pick the service that matches what you need now: general information, a short talk with a lawyer, help with procedure or someone to represent you.

Which service fits your problem

Free Legal Advice Scheme

The Free Legal Advice Scheme gives preliminary, one-off advice on your legal position in a genuine case. It is free and there is no means test. The lawyers are qualified lawyers who join as volunteers, and sessions run in the evening at Legal Advice Centres in District Offices and Home Affairs Enquiry Centres. The Duty Lawyer Service lists nine centres.

1. Go to a designated referral agency. These include Home Affairs Enquiry Centres, the Social Welfare Department’s Integrated Family Service Centres and Family and Child Protective Services Units, Caritas Centres and the Hong Kong Playground Association.
2. Make an appointment there for the Legal Advice Centre you prefer.
3. Attend the interview. The Duty Lawyer Service says each interview is allocated 20 to 30 minutes.

Thirty minutes goes quickly. Bring the key documents, a one-page timeline of what happened with dates, and your two or three most important questions. Ask about any deadline first.

Tel-Law: recorded legal information

The Tel-Law Scheme gives pre-recorded legal information by telephone and on the Duty Lawyer Service website. It runs 24 hours a day in Cantonese, Putonghua and English, across topics such as employment law, criminal law and general legal information. It explains the law in general terms. It cannot look at your documents.

If you are going to court without a lawyer

Procedural Advice Scheme

The Legal Advice Scheme for Unrepresented Litigants on Civil Procedures, known as the Procedural Advice Scheme, gives free advice on civil procedure. It covers people starting or taking part in cases in the Lands Tribunal, the Family Court, the District Court, the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Final Appeal. You must not have a lawyer or legal aid for the case. Since 4 September 2023 there has been no income limit, and you can apply online as well as in person, with your court documents. The scheme’s enquiry line is 2259 5017.

Resource Centre for Unrepresented Litigants

The Judiciary’s Resource Centre for Unrepresented Litigants helps people who are in, or about to start, civil proceedings in the High Court or the District Court. Matrimonial, lands, competition, employees’ compensation and probate cases are outside its scope. Staff help with general procedure only: they guide you on filling in court forms and preparing court bundles, but they will not give legal advice or comment on the merits of your case. The centre also has sample forms, procedure videos, daily cause lists and its FAQs on court procedure.

• Address: Room LG105, Lower Ground Floor 1, High Court Building, 38 Queensway
• Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:45am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm; closed on weekends and public holidays
• Telephone: 2825 0586

Tribunals

Tribunals built for people without lawyers have their own help for people acting alone. See our guides to the Small Claims Tribunal and the Labour Tribunal.

If you need someone to represent you

• Magistrates’ courts. The Duty Lawyer Scheme provides barristers and solicitors in private practice to represent defendants in the magistrates’ courts, including the juvenile courts, and at the Coroner’s Court.
• Other cases. The Legal Aid Department decides who gets a lawyer paid for by legal aid. Read our guide to legal aid in Hong Kong for the tests and the current financial limits.

The Duty Lawyer Service also runs a Legal Assistance Scheme for Non-refoulement Claimants.

Reading up first: CLIC

The Community Legal Information Centre (CLIC), run by the University of Hong Kong, explains everyday Hong Kong law in plain English and Chinese, from wills to tenancy. It is a good place to learn the terms before a free session, so you can use the lawyer’s time on your own facts. The government’s legal advice and assistance page lists other public options.

When to pay for a lawyer

Free services are short and one-off. If your case is large, urgent or complex, or you need someone to write letters and negotiate for you, consider paying a solicitor. Read how to instruct a solicitor, check the firm on the Law Society’s Law List, and compare firms in our law directory.

We are not the Duty Lawyer Service, the Judiciary or the Legal Aid Department, and this is not legal advice.