Letter · Legal Aid & Community Legal Practice
Limited-scope (unbundled) retainer letter in plain language
Original plain-language letter confirming exactly what a community legal centre or legal aid lawyer will and will not do, deadlines, the client's tasks, costs, confidentiality and when help ends, for limited-scope or short-term services.
- Kind
- Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send.
- Where it applies
- Australia, New South Wales
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 17 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked against the cited sources on 17 October 2026.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use whenever you agree to help with only part of a legal problem (for example, advice, drafting one letter, or one court appearance). Do not use it where the client cannot understand or manage the remaining work and limited help would leave them worse off; consider fuller assistance or referral.
How AI may be used
AI may tailor plain-language scope wording and deadlines from the lawyer's file note, and simplify reading level. The lawyer decides the scope, makes sure it suits the client's capacity, and checks every deadline.
AI may
- Turn the lawyer's file note into the "what we will do" and "what we will not do" lists in plain language
- Check reading level and suggest simpler wording
- Prepare a draft translation for checking by a qualified translator
AI must not
- Must not decide the scope of the service or whether limited help is suitable
- Must not calculate or state limitation periods or court deadlines without the lawyer checking them
- Must not be used with a tool not approved for client information
The lawyer checks
- The scope is clear, suitable for this client, and matches what was agreed
- Every deadline in the letter is correct and diarised by the centre if the centre promised a reminder
- Costs disclosure obligations are met (or the letter states the service is free)
- The client understood the letter, with an interpreter if needed
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Legal Aid & Community Legal Practice
- Application for legal aid (Legal Aid NSW): guide to helping a client apply
- Community legal centre intake, safety and conflict-check form
- End-of-service (file closing) letter in plain language
- Sign-off checklist for AI-assisted self-help factsheets and kits
- Client notice and choice: AI-assisted notes, summaries and translation (plain language)
All precedents for Legal Aid & Community Legal Practice · Tasks and AI use in this area