Often, an inheritance issue, the proper wording of a petition or a summons can make it difficult for people without legal knowledge. Paralegals - people who provide primary legal advice - can help in these situations. For ten years, social workers, teachers or librarians, after basic legal training, have been helping local people resolve these problems. There are currently 55 paralegals working in Moldova, covering more than 50 localities in 28 districts and the Chisinau municipality. Their services are part of the state-guaranteed legal aid programme. Oleg Buzulan's family in Balti bought an apartment in February this year. The man was afraid of falling into the trap of fraudsters, so he turned to a paralegal for help: "The paralegal consulted us and told us what documents to draw up, and when we went to the notary, we had all the documents ready and we didn't have to make several trips." Moreover, the paralegal helped them check the paperwork and guided them throughout the negotiations: "After we decided to buy the apartment, the seller asked us to pay a sum of money in advance, and we were afraid to give the money like that, without any insurance. The paralegal recommended us and helped us write a receipt as a guarantee. Thanks to the paralegal's advice, we bought with confidence. You know, a lot of shenanigans go on. We were afraid, that they would make a false power of attorney, but now we know that the apartment is registered on us", says Oleg Buzulan. Paralegals' services are free of charge With the help of such a specialist, Ana (she insisted we not publish her last name) from the village of Loganesti, district of Hincesti, solved a simpler problem. She is registered as unemployed with the National Agency for Employment and had to apply online for unemployment benefit worth more than 2700 lei. "We couldn't go to the Agency because there was a quarantine, but I didn't know how to apply online, so I went to the paralegal and she helped me. I couldn't manage on my own, everyone was quarantined and I had no one to ask. We are very lucky to have a paralegal in the village. And it's important that the job is unpaid," says the woman, who is happy that she has already received unemployment benefit. The person who helped Ana is paralegal Viorica Chirnicinii. A social worker by profession, Viorica has been offering paralegal services since 2010. Throughout this period, she has helped hundreds of people from Loganesti and the surrounding villages, becoming the community's trusted person. She has provided advice on various legal issues, related to inheritance, domestic violence, divorce and so on. In a case of domestic violence, we helped the victim get a lawyer paid from the state budget. Together with that lawyer, we help her to fill in the documents for sharing the property, for establishing the child's residence with her, and to obtain maintenance for the minor child," says the paralegal. Paralegals develop people's legal culture By the way, citizens can also request free legal information online by visiting the website Parajurist.md. In 2017, the National Association of Paralegals of Moldova was also created. Violeta Odagiu, executive director of the Association, says that at first people didn't really understand what kind of services paralegals offer: "They didn't want to come for consultation, and some didn't think it was a free service and didn't trust it. We offer primary legal advice, and if the problem is complex and beyond the paralegals' capabilities, we refer them to other services." If it goes to court, paralegals can help people file a claim and statement with the National Council for State Guaranteed Legal Aid. That way, some citizens can get qualified legal aid, a lawyer to represent them in court. Under a service contract with the National Council for State Guaranteed Legal Assistance (CNAJGS), paralegals are paid from the state budget, and their salary is quite modest (1,640 lei gross). Paralegals usually have offices provided by local town halls, and their work is supervised by the CNAJGS under the Law on State Guaranteed Legal Aid. This law regulates what the functions of a paralegal are, namely: providing information and advice at the request of the inhabitants of the community; mediating, on request, conflicts between members of the community; providing information to members of the community in which they work in order to prevent legal problems or conflicts from arising. Park rangers are obliged to provide at least 15 consultations per month. Paralegals also give public lectures and lessons to citizens to develop people's legal literacy. Maxim Pîrgari, principal consultant at the CNAJGS, says the service is becoming increasingly popular with citizens. He says that in 2019, paralegals across the country provided more than 14 thousand primary legal assistance consultations, and in the first five months of 2020, about 4880 were provided. This number quantifies both face-to-face consultations with recipients and primary legal assistance provided by phone or online. Currently, 55 paralegals are active in the Republic of Moldova in more than 50 localities in 28 districts and in the municipality of Chisinau, but they also provide legal advice to villagers in neighbouring localities. Those in need of paralegal assistance can contact the town halls of the localities mentioned in the infographic. Mariana Jacot