Legal help is finally here for low-income Ottawa residents embroiled in complex and costly civil litigations that are not covered by the province's legal aid program.

Law Help Ontario opened a new branch at the courthouse on Elgin Street Monday.

Starting immediately, lawyers from the group will be on hand to help people who can't afford legal representation.

Ottawa lawyer Heather Williams said she's expecting all kinds of cases.

"Your dog ate my cat, your fence is on my property line, no it's not -- those are the things that lawyers find interesting and like to deal with, but can be extremely stressful for the ordinary Ontarian that can't afford a lawyer and is faced with that sort of problem," Williams said.

Many of these are problems legal aid doesn't cover, she said.

Williams said that leaves a "significant void," and it leaves many low-income litigants to try to navigate their own way through the complex civil legal system.

There are two Law Help offices in Toronto, and Williams said their clients are often new Canadians facing the added stress of a new language.

"Our friends at the Law Help office in Toronto have told us if we build it they will come, and we've built it, and we're expecting them to flood through the doors probably starting the first day the doors are open," she said.

Williams said dozens of lawyers have already signed on to help out.

The Law Help Ontario office is on the fifth floor of the courthouse on Elgin Street.