About us

The Civil Legal Assistance Office (CLAO) is a network of three offices in Scotland that helps clients with certain civil legal problems. We cover four geographical areas. We do not deal with criminal law.

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Who we are

We are solicitors and business support staff employed by the Scottish Legal Aid Board. We have three teams of solicitors based in Inverness, Aberdeen and Edinburgh who cover Highland & Islands, Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire, and Edinburgh & The Lothians respectively. We have one solicitor covering Argyll & Bute.

You can read about the work our solicitors do and their varied roles and locations on the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s website.

What we do

We aim to get better outcomes for people and contribute to wider objectives of the Scottish Government through:

  • the provision of legal casework within specific areas of civil law
  • referring and signposting to other solicitors
  • working with other advice and support agencies
  • responding to legislative consultations seeking views on proposed changes to the law where we have direct and practical experience of the relevant area of law.

The help we provide varies by each area we cover, depending on local needs and other advice or legal support that is available.

The Our Offices section gives details of the types of legal work done in each area.

As part of the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s Client Legal Services directorate, we also offer traineeships, support and training.

Who do we help?

We can only provide assistance to people who are eligible for civil legal assistance.

We only work in four areas of Scotland and cover specific legal problems in each area.

What if we can’t take your case? Please see information on what happens if we can’t take your case.

How will we use your data?

You can find full details in our Privacy Notice.

What to do if you have a complaint about the Civil Legal Assistance Office?

We have a complaints procedure in place.

Consultations

See responses we have made to consultations

Consultations

Background

The Civil Legal Assistance Office (CLAO) was set up in 2008.

CLAO solicitors and support staff are employed by the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) as framed by Part V provisions of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986.

The commencement of Part V of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act in 2001 paved the way for the provision of civil legal assistance by solicitors directly employed by SLAB. Before then, civil legal assistance was available generally only through solicitors in private practice and law centres.

The Part V service became known as the Civil Legal Assistance Office in 2009.

CLAO's service mix

  • Casework
  • Referral and signposting to other providers of legal assistance and support
  • Second tier support to other providers (including training)
  • Partnership/development project working with local and national organisations operating in the defined geographical areas.