https://www.clao.org.uk/where-we-are/highland-and-islands/
https://www.clao.org.uk/where-we-are/highland-and-islands/
Please see our update for full details on how we are delivering our services.
Do you live in Highland, Moray, Western Isles, Orkney or Shetland? Are you eligible for legal aid? Do you have a legal problem that falls within one of our case types?
If you have answered yes to these questions, we may be able to help you. Contact us to discuss your legal issue and we will assess if we are able to take your case.
Contact CLAO Highland and Islands to find out if we can help you with cases relating to:
Highland and Islands
Monday to Friday 09.00-17.00
Our office is located at 2 Castle Wynd, Inverness city centre. It is situated on the upper level directly above Bella Pasta on Bridge Street.
There is a staircase to the immediate left of Bella Pasta which gives access to the office entrance.
Alternatively, stair-free access is via Castle Wynd. This is a short way from Bridge Street.
The office is accessible and on one level.
If you have mobility issues please inform our office when speaking to a member of staff.
See more information on accessibility – making it easier to access our services
Information if you are getting to CLAO Highland and Islands by bus, train, car and bike.
Open in Google Maps to generate directions for various modes of travel.
Local buses are operated by Stagecoach and services 2, 3, 4, 5, 5A, 8, 107, 107A and 109B stop at Queensgate, Inverness, which is around a five minute walk from our office.
Inverness train station is around a 10 minute walk from our office.
There is on street public disabled parking directly outside our office. We also have some limited private parking spaces available which are slightly further away from the office and can be booked in advance by contacting the office. Priority will be given to people who would otherwise be unable to access appointments.
Alternatively there is chargeable on-street parking on certain side streets, for example Church Street or Union Street. The closest carparks to the office are the Eastgate Mall, TK Maxx Carpark and The Rose Street Multi-Storey Carpark.
There are bike racks located in the city centre, a short walk from the office.
A member of staff will greet you on arrival at your pre-arranged appointment time.
Please note that we cannot currently admit visitors who do not have a pre-arranged appointment.
For further details about the special arrangements we have put in place for Covid-19 please see this update.
Our office has accessible meeting rooms and accessible toilets.
Access to the reception area of our office is through double doors. We have an accessible toilet and access to most meeting rooms is through doors with a minimum of 800mm width.
Assistance dogs are welcome in our office. Please let us know in advance if you would like us to make any special arrangements to help accommodate them. We will have a bowl of water available for them.
Portable induction loops are available from Reception on request. Hearing aid users must turn their hearing aid to the “T” position to use the induction loops.
We can arrange to book British Sign Language interpreters and interpreters who speak languages other than English, if we know you require this.
If you need to bring a support worker or friend to the meeting with you, please let us know.
If you do not have childcare to allow you to attend an appointment please make us aware of this, so that we can agree the best way to meet. We do not have childcare facilities on site.
Please let us know in advance of any requirements that you have or support you need to visit our office or communicate with us. This will help us to ensure that a suitable room and any additional services are booked.
If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you can contact CLAO Highland and Islands for help:
Members of the public can use telephone or email to contact us.
Please note that CLAO Highland and Islands does not offer a drop in service. You will not be able to speak to a solicitor if you come to the office without contacting us beforehand to arrange an appointment.
Please contact us by phone or email and we can assess what we can do to assist you.
If we have advised you that we are considering taking on your case you might be offered an appointment with one of the CLAO solicitors. If you are given an appointment at our office, please let us know if you have any mobility problems. We try to be flexible about appointments so if you have any problems attending an appointment you can phone us as soon as possible to try and arrange an alternative. If you fail to attend an appointment without good reason, or rearrange several times without good reason, then we may not be able to assist you any further.
If you are offered an ‘emergency’ appointment it will be because your legal issue needs urgent action. If you miss an emergency appointment, that may mean that it is then too late to do the legal work needed to resolve your problem and a new appointment may not be possible.
You should have any legal paperwork which relates to your case available for the appointment. When coming to a first appointment, you should also provide a form of photographic ID, such as a driving licence or passport and proof of your address (for example, bank statement, benefit award letter or utility bill dated within the last three months).
The rules of legal aid mean that we have to check your financial position at the first meeting. You must provide confirmation of any income and capital including any savings or investments. It is important that you provide the financial information as we may not be able to do any work for you until we have seen this. If you are not sure what is needed you can call the office first to check.