A recent story in The Globe and Mail profiles a remarkable law student named Sam Michaels from York University’s Osgoode Hall. Michaels is the Founder and Director of a legal start-up that addresses a pressing need: affordable access to legal information for Canadians.

The venture, called the Legal Information Network of Canada (L.I.N.C.), is a web service which connects individuals and businesses to relevant legal information, resources and services. For $15, clients can submit a legal question to L.I.N.C. and receive a custom online report with legal information and referrals. As the client base grows, L.I.N.C. aims to reduce response time to a mere 30 minutes per legal question.

L.I.N.C.’s services could be an important resource for Canadians who are seeking legal information, but who don’t need to retain the ongoing services of a lawyer, or who simply don’t know where to begin. Rather than offering high-end, expensive legal services that are unaffordable for many people, or acting as a charity providing pro bono legal services for low-income individuals, L.I.N.C. aims to tap into an underserved market: middle-income earners with everyday legal questions.

L.I.N.C. provides the following services:

• Relevant information regarding the laws and their meaning
• Help finding the right court or tribunal
• Directory of legal aid clinics
• Referrals to lawyers
• Referrals to relevant legal services
• Direction and consultation regarding the landscape of the legal system

Clients can submit their legal questions to L.I.N.C. on the organization’s website and receive a response within 24 hours: http://www.canadalegalhelp.com/.

Image credit: www.planetofsuccess.com/blog/