Dear OBA Members,
Late this afternoon, the Law Society released a report of its Access to Justice Committee, which makes recommendations for the development of specialized paralegal licenses to provide family law services. The Committee seeks approval of these and other recommendations at the Law Society Convocation tomorrow morning (December 1, 2017 at 9 am).
Notably, the Committee’s Report includes the following recommendations:
“1. Develop a licence for licensed paralegals and others with appropriate training to offer some family law legal services, following resource-related discussions with government. Recognising the urgency of the need, this licence will support training in process navigation, form completion, investigating forms such as financial, motions to change, and uncontested divorces, and possibly other areas outside the courtroom context.
2. At the same time, assess what additional family legal services by providers other than lawyers, and including advocacy, are in the public interest, and consider how to develop a further expanded licence, following resource-related discussions with government.”
The release of the Report this afternoon provides no opportunity for the OBA (or the Law Society) to receive any kind of input from our members on these important recommendations.
The OBA has previously noted the significant range of complexity in family law forms. In family law all documents are considered "forms", including pleadings, orders, Minutes of Settlement, briefs, etcetera. The lack of consideration of this issue in the Committee’s Report and the vagueness of the associated proposal make it difficult to see how Convocation could make an informed decision on this important recommendation.
It is essential to increase access to justice in family law services but equally important to do so in a manner that protects the public interest, given the significant issues at stake.
OBA President Quinn Ross has written to Treasurer Paul Schabas to communicate these concerns, and request that Convocation defer this motion to allow for meaningful consideration and input.
As the proposals have been put forward for debate and decision at Convocation tomorrow, you may wish to connect directly with your local Law Society Bencher if you have related questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Fareen Jamal
Chair, OBA Family Law Section
Sharon Shore
Chair, OBA Access to Justice Committee
Related OBA Submissions
· Comments on the Family Legal Services Review Report, May 2017
· Comments on MAG Consultation Paper, April 2016