What Can I Expect When I Call CLEAR?

Before we can assist you, we will ask you questions about your financial situation. In many counties, people age 60 or over can receive service without regard to financial situation.

In order to make sure we do not jeopardize your rights or the rights of another client because of a conflict of interest, our staff will ask you for information about the person, business or agency with whom you are having a problem.

If you are calling on behalf of another person, we will determine whether we can speak with you or whether we need to speak directly with the person on whose behalf you are calling.

If you are eligible to speak with a lawyer or paralegal, he or she will ask you about your problem. You can help by having any papers or documents concerning your problem with you when you call. It will also help if you have important information such as the names of people involved with the problem, and their addresses and telephone numbers.

Based on the information you give us, we may give you verbal or written advice that may help you to solve your problem on your own. We also have an extensive library of informational materials to help you understand your legal rights and to advocate on your own behalf. If your problem is covered by any of these materials, we will send them to you free of charge.

In some cases, we may try to solve your problem through negotiation.

What if I Need Someone to Actually Represent Me?

If your problem is more complicated and you need represention, we will try to refer you to a legal aid provider in your community that is currently accepting cases of the type you need help with.

The referred provider may be one of the following:

Columbia Legal Services Regional Offices, with five locations throughout the State of Washington;

Northwest Justice Project, with thirteen regional offices around the State of Washington;

Regional volunteer lawyer programs operated by County Bar Associations;

Other legal aid providers such as law school clinics, fair housing organizations, and other public and privacy advocacy groups.

Our staff try to make the best referral possible, however, we cannot guarantee that the agency or program you are referred to will be able to represent you. There may also be times when we will not be able to locate an appropriate referral in your geographic area. We will do our very best to see that you get all the help that is available to you.