Before you come to see us…
Tips for using our advice services
If you are visiting us to receive some legal advice, we would recommend that you:
Bring in a copy of any paperwork which relates to your question, such as an employment contract, tenancy agreement, or court summons. You may also have emails or letters that will provide us with useful information about your situation.
Make a note, or create a timeline, of the events that you wish to receive advice about. Our drop-in service interviews are generally about 30 minutes long and your clear recollection of what has happened enables us to give you the best advice we can in that limited time.
Bring a friend or family member along with you if you think it might be helpful to do so. We realise that legal information can sometimes be technical or unfamiliar, so having a translator or a trusted supporter who can help may make sharing – and remembering - this information easier.
Let us know in advance if you have any particular challenges with communication or a disability. Our drop-in services are equally available to you but you may find it easier to schedule a day-time appointment with us to streamline the process of receiving advice.
As we are a charity we are unable to pay for a translator. If you don’t have a friend/whanau who could help please contact us as we have some languages spoken by staff and volunteers. NZSL interpreters are paid for by iSign for legal appointments.
Please feel free to bring in a toy, book or entertainment device for any children who come with you to your appointment. We do have some toys and games but we realise that your tamariki may be more happily occupied with their own choice of entertainment.
Let us know if your legal problems are causing you to lose sleep or otherwise suffer from stress. We can provide you with names and contact details for support services who may be able to help.
Disability access.
We appreciate that seeking legal help is not always easy and it can be even more of a challenge for those living with a disability. If you have mobility issues, CLC has a disability car park directly in front of our office, and our interview rooms and wharepaku are easy-access and located on the ground floor of our premises at 198 Montreal Street.
If you have a preferred communication method or otherwise need some additional support to access our services, we’ll do our best to accommodate that. Please contact us at admin@canlaw.org.nz or call 03 3666 870 or text us on 027 5370 156 and we’ll help you identify how best to access our services.
Our general do’s and don’ts…
Because we are a Community Law Centre and a non-profit, naturally we have restrictions on what we can and can’t do.
In general, we CAN ….
Give information by phone and email on most areas of law.
Provide limited ongoing work for people who met our eligibility criteria.
Offer specialist advice in the areas of family, tenancy, low level traffic offending and employment.
Provide education seminars.
Supply information, leaflets, and resources.
Witness most statutory declarations, certified copies and affidavits. An appointment is not necessary for this just drop in during our business hours.
In general, we CAN’T….
Give a second opinion where a lawyer is already acting for you.
Advise landlords.
Advise employers.
Advise businesses.
Advise on relationship property or prenup agreements.
Do conveyancing work.
Advise on company/commercial law.
Prepare and execute wills or trusts.
If you need help with something we can’t assist with we are more than happy to point you towards those who can help.
Privacy Statement.
This privacy statement explains how Community Law Canterbury collects, stores, uses and shares your personal information.
If you phone us requesting legal information, we will ask you to provide us with your name and a contact phone number. We use this information to reply to your query and to administer our services.
If you are meeting with us to receive legal advice, we will ask you to provide us with your name, your address and your contact details. We use this information to provide you with legal advice – both at our meeting with you and if we are following up after your appointment with us. We also use this information to check that we don’t have any conflict of interest that would prevent us for providing you with legal advice.
Our general legal services are primarily funded by the Ministry of Justice. In return for this funding, the Ministry ask us to provide information to them about our clients, including such things as their ages, income levels, ethnicities and the like. To protect your privacy, we anonymise this information before providing it to the Ministry. You are not legally required to provide this information if you object to doing so but please be aware this may affect our ability to provide ongoing legal advice for you.
We store all our data (including your personal information) on a secure computer platform and in locked storage. We protect our data with all reasonable technical and process controls.
You can ask us for a copy of your personal information at any time and we will provide this in accordance with the terms of the Privacy Act and our obligations under the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008.
We will only use and share your personal information where you have agreed to this, where it necessary for us to undertake our work for you, or if required by law. Our records containing your personal information will be securely destroyed after seven years.