It never hurts to talk to a lawyer, and it may be the best thing you can do if you think you have a legal problem that you can’t resolve yourself. If you’re persistent, you can probably arrange a free consultation with a lawyer who will talk to you on the matter.

Short of hiring a lawyer, though, you may want to look at alternative sources to resolve your legal issues. For example:

* Many companies and public utilities offer customer service departments that effectively address consumer problems and complaints.





* Many state attorney general offices and other agencies provide consumer protection departments. (But it’s not usually a good idea to try to gain an advantage in a legal dispute over adversarial parties by threatening to contact a government agency if they don’t comply with your demands. It is possible that such action could be characterized as attempted extortion on your part.)


* If you have a problem with a regulated industry such as banking or insurance, contact the agency in your state responsible for overseeing that industry
* Many community groups such as elder associations, civil rights groups and other organizations offer free legal help and information.

Some disputes may be resolved by using increasingly popular litigation alternatives such as mediation or arbitration. Businesses and individuals might agree to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) rather than court action to resolve legal conflicts.

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