Delaware State Courts Legal Assistance

Delaware State Courts

REPRESENTING YOURSELF

The court process can be very complicated. Representing yourself may take a lot of time, may be difficult, and may be confusing. The Court will expect you to follow the same rules attorneys must follow. If at any point throughout the Court process you are not sure about representing yourself, you should talk to an attorney.

Please remember that COURT STAFF CANNOT GIVE YOU LEGAL ADVICE. If you have a question about what options you have or what you should do, you should talk to an attorney. Just because you talk to an attorney does not necessarily mean that you must hire that attorney to represent you. Ask the attorney if he/she is willing to meet with you for a consultation to answer your questions without having to hire that attorney for full representation. Also ask before you meet with the attorney what fees, if any, are involved for the consultation.

Click here for a list of some things that court staff can and cannot do for you.

LEGAL SERVICES

If you would like to find out if you qualify for free legal assistance by one of the legal service providers below, you can call the Legal Help Link:

New Castle County: 302-478-8850
Kent and Sussex Counties: 1-800-773-0606.

If you do qualify, the Legal Help Link will transfer your call to the appropriate legal service provider.

By calling the same number, you can ask for the Lawyer Referral Service to schedule a 30-minute meeting with an attorney for a reduced fee.

Civil Matters:

Community Legal Aid Society, Inc.
Provides civil legal services to members of our community who have low incomes, who have disabilities, or who are age 60 and over.

New Castle County:302-575-0660
Kent County: 302-674-8500
Sussex County: 302-856-0038

Delaware Volunteer Legal Services (DVLS)
An organization of volunteer attorneys that provides legal assistance to low-income clients with problems in a variety of civil areas. DVLS also provides "The Legal Help Link," the centralized case intake service stated above that assures that callers are referred to the appropriate legal service organization or to a private attorney for assistance.

New Castle County: 302-478-8850
Kent & Sussex Counties:
1-800-773-0606

Legal Services Corporation of Delaware, Inc.
Provides legal representation to Delaware's low-income population in civil matters such as bankruptcy petitions and advice, consumer problems, housing problems, and unemployment benefit problems.

New Castle County: 302-575-0408
Kent County: 302-734-8820

Limited Legal Assistance Program
     Free 15 minutes of legal assistance. Volunteer attorneys are meeting with eligible self-represented litigants for a one-time fifteen-minute meeting. The attorney will not be meeting with the self-represented litigant outside of the program. Nor will the attorney represent the litigant in court.

    There is no income eligibility for this service. Instead, to be eligible, people seeking assistance must not have received previous legal assistance regarding the same issue and their question must be one that can be asked and answered within the fifteen-minute timeframe. People using the service will be directed to legal service providers and reference materials for further assistance.

     Currently, the Limited Legal Assistance Program is available at the Self-Help Center in the New Castle County Courthouse, 2nd floor, 500 N. King Street, Wilmington, DE in the areas of:

CIVIL FAMILY LAW: MONDAYS from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

This service is available by appointment or by walk-in, time permitting. TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT and to be screened for eligibility, visit the Self-Help Center or contact Karen Antonelli at 302-255-2599.

This program is coordinated by the Administrative Office of the Courts. Program sponsors include: the Delaware State Courts, the Delaware State Bar Association, Delaware Volunteer Legal Services, Inc., Community Legal Aid Society, Inc., Legal Services Corporation of Delaware, Inc., Widener University School of Law, and the Delaware Paralegal Association.

Criminal Matters:

The Office of the Public Defender
Provides indigent defendants their constitutional rights in criminal cases. The responsibility of the Public Defender is to represent every person arrested or charged with a crime who cannot afford an attorney.

New Castle County: 302-577-5200
Kent County: 302-739-4476
Sussex County: 302-856-5310

Online Help:

Online, you may find a lawyer using services such as the Lawyer Locator in the Martindale Directory which provides access to the Law Directory, or you can use another of their free services, Lawyer Directory from LexisNexis or the Personal Injury Lawyer Directory from Martindale.