You are bound to run into a situation sometime in your life when you will need a lawyer. The legal system can be hard to understand for the average person, yet it can also be difficult to navigate the situation you are in without the help of a lawyer.

Seeing a lawyer and obtaining some professional legal advice is always going to be beneficial to you, especially if you are looking to better understand your situation and open up a few more options.

As great as working with a lawyer sounds, it is still important to know when you need one and in what situations they can most benefit you with their services. In this blog, we’ll cover how you can determine when you need a lawyer, as well as an introduction to the world of legal advice.

What can a lawyer do?

Before knowing when you need a lawyer, you first need to understand the scope of services a lawyer can provide you with. A lawyer’s work depends largely on your own personal requests - meaning they can help you with a case from the beginning to the end, or only on certain parts as you requested.

Although many people understand lawyers to work in court, they can also simply provide you with helpful legal advice. This may include:

* Reading and explaining complicated legal documents for your understanding

* Helping you fill in forms for particular registrations (for example, trade mark registration)

* Helping you fill in an application for legal aid

* Giving you a professional opinion on your situation, your options, potential outcomes and what steps you should take.

In addition to representing you in court, a lawyer can also act on your behalf in other matters. (for example, speak and/or write). They can write your letters and emails for you, as well as negotiate with other parties on your behalf.

What situations can a lawyer help you with?

To know when you will need a lawyer, you also need to understand the types of situations a lawyer can help you with. Although a lawyer is most commonly hired for the sake of legal representation in court, there are many other situations that they may be able to help you with. 

A few examples of situations a lawyer can help you with include:

* When you are starting a business. A lawyer may help you draft the necessary contracts, fill out legal documents and help you register for intellectual property protection (usually done by trade mark attorneys).

* When you are getting a divorce. A family law lawyer will provide you with advice on filing your divorce papers, and may even represent you in court to ensure that you gain favourable outcomes.

* When you are drafting a will. A lawyer will ensure that your will is legally binding and expected as you intended once you pass.

To help you prepare for the unexpected situations in life, it is important to understand when you will need a lawyer. By knowing what a lawyer can do and different situations a lawyer can help you with, you are sure to understand when in life you will need a lawyer.