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LEGAL ASSISTANCE
There will be times when you will need to
provide referral information to service members
who may need legal assistance. These members
will need to know what type of legal assistance is
available in the Navy. The questions concerning
legal assistance will be most likely raised during
counseling interviews. The information in the
following paragraphs is designed to help you
handle these questions. After reading this section,
you should have a good idea as to what services
are available and to whom you should refer the
service members who have questions concerning
legal assistance.
The Department of the Navy legal assistance
program provides free attorney assistance to
members, their dependents, and other eligible
clients regarding personal legal matters. The
legal assistance program provides for in-office
attorney advice, aid, and referral. The following
two related programs provide additional services:
1. The preventive
law
program
that
promotes “legal readiness” and education to help
individuals avoid legal problems
2. The expanded legal assistance program
that provides in-court representation in certain
geographical areas concerning selected legal
issues
This legal assistance is provided at legal
assistance offices located at naval legal service
offices
(NLSOs)
and
detachments.
Legal
assistance services are also available at other
legal offices where judge advocates are assigned.
The personnel who provide legal assistance
are attorneys and judge advocates who are
authorized by the Judge Advocate General, or by
his or her designated representatives, to perform
legal assistance functions. Nonlawyer legal
officers, Legal men (LNs), independent duty LNs,
and legal clerks assist attorneys, but they cannot
provide legal advice or provide services that call
for the professional judgment of an attorney. Fig.
8-8 shows an LN initially counseling a service
Figure 8-8.-A Legalman counseling a service member.
8-17
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