What is CPLEA? Free legal advice in Alberta, Canada?!

Mar 18

CPLEA is a free, online legal resource for Albertans. It is a great place to find general information about a wide range of legal issues. Often times, the information on this website is prepared by lawyers, either as part of their own initiative or through government or Law Society access-to-justice initiatives.

CPLEA, and other organizations, provide legal information, free of charge, to the general population.

Is this free legal advice?! Technically, no. There is an important distinction between legal advice and legal information. Only a lawyer can give you legal advice. (*Sometimes, this doesn’t stop the internet-at-large from trying, but we there are lots of reasons to avoid free online legal advice!) The key difference between advice vs. information is that legal advice is context specific. Think - ‘given your situation, I would recommend that you take steps X, Y, and Z. to protect your legal interests.’ Information, on the other hand, is more general in nature. It can describe laws, procedures, or other rules, without making a recommendation to you. Irrespective of the general nature of legal information, good sources like CPLEA can be hard to find. Often, internet searches will show you information that is not jurisdiction (location) specific, which can be a big deal when it comes to the law.

If you are just looking to get some background information, or do your own research in a certain area of the law, CLEA is a great place to start! In the event that you are looking for legal advice, tailored to your specific needs, please feel free to contact us. We would be pleased to sit down with you to discuss your legal matter and provide you with a custom solution, based on all of the unique facts of your case.

Tom Hall