Washington, DC -- HALT - An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform, a national leader in the publication of self-help legal manuals, has just released a greatly expanded version of its book, The Legal Resource Directory: Your Guide to Help, Hotlines and Hot Websites, this week.

Produced in commemoration of HALT's 25th anniversary, The Legal Resource Directory tells consumers where to get answers to the myriad of legal issues and concerns they face everyday. Unlike other areas of consumer interest-where information about products, services and prices abound-legal consumers are often in the dark about how to handle even the simplest problem.

"Once again, HALT comes to the rescue of the beleaguered consumer with a straightforward guide to a wide variety of legal resources," stated Jack Gillis, consumer advocate and author of The Ultimate Car Book 2002: The Most Comprehensive Buyer's Guide. "The Consumer Federation of America applauds HALT for continuing to provide the resources to help prevent consumers from becoming victims of our increasingly complex legal system."

Shirley Rooker, President of Call for Action-an international non-profit network of consumer hotlines that offer free and confidential assistance-calls HALT's books, "wonderful self-help guides." Over the years, HALT has fielded tens of thousands of calls from consumers who want to take charge of their legal affairs but need information, direction or a referral to do so. Now all the information they need to get quick and accurate answers to their legal questions is packed into one handy reference guide called The Legal Resource Directory. It contains HALT's knowledge of the best resources available to deal with common legal needs from handling a dispute with a local business, to filing a complaint against a lawyer, to reporting fraud or abuse of a government program. Answers to these and many other "How do I do it?" questions can be found in The Legal Resource Directory.

The Legal Resource Directory specifically addresses the needs of seniors and their caregivers, consumers, car owners, crime victims, legal clients and those going pro se (doing their own legal work).

"Knowing where to turn when you have a legal question is crucial. There are literally thousands of agencies, non-profit organizations and websites available to help," said HALT Program Director and author Theresa Meehan Rudy. "HALT's book sorts through all that information and puts you in touch with the best referral resources out there. Having it at your fingertips can save you time and money in legal fees." In addition to its resource listings, The Directory provides background information on resource organizations listed, explains what kind of help they offer, and whenever possible, includes toll free numbers and websites for getting in touch. Some of the listings included are:

• Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid Offices
• State Offices on Aging
• Senior Organizations
• Select Federal and State Agencies
• Consumer Protection Offices and Better Business Bureaus
• Television and Radio-affiliated "Call for Action" Programs
• Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies
• National Consumer Organizations
• Community Mediation Programs
• National Alternative Dispute Resolution Programs
• State Bar Programs for Resolving Complaints Against Attorneys
• Victim Assistance and Compensation Programs
• Victim Rights Organizations
• Self-Help Legal Publishers
• Advocacy & Support Groups
• Independent Paralegals
• Legal Telephone Services
• Prepaid Legal Service Plans
• Legal Research Tools
• Pro Se Resources