Law Times

Page 2 May 13, 2013 Law Times • NEWS Prof calls for court orientation for self-represented litigants Continued from page 1 "I sometimes say that doing these interviews, which I did for the whole of last year, was a little like spending a year in grief counselling. I mean, I got to the point where I needed a break," she says. "What's so interesting about this population [of self-represented litigants] is that there are so many of them but they're all so isolated." As she roamed the family courts for her research, she found a "chaotic" atmosphere with tensions running high as many people, with their children in tow, tried to get a handle on their matters. Nordlander, a receptionist at North Peel & Dufferin Community Legal Services in Brampton, Ont., knows all about that tension. Recently, she tried to bring a contempt motion against her ex-husband. "I did it wrong," she says. "I wasted a whole bunch of time doing it wrong and when they told me how to do it, it just got so frustrating. I just threw my hands up in the air and said, 'I can't do this!'" She adds: "It has traumatized me to have to go through this all the time. My mental health has suffered. It's really something like post-traumatic court disorder." The case has been before more than a dozen judges, says Nordlander. Once, she notes, she asked for her ex-husband's income disclosure in front of a judge. "The judge shuts me down because it's not the right type of court or I have to bring another motion. I can't just speak at the hearing. So this is all stuff I've learned." Nordlander was also surprised at how much time it took to represent herself. She has to take a lot of time off work, she says, which sometimes means a lower paycheque. At one point, she tried getting help from lawyers who offer unbundled legal services, but even that became unaffordable over time, she adds. Over the weekend, Nordlander was at a conference on self-represented litigants attended by leaders in the legal community. Self-represented litigants need an orientation when they first walk into court, says Julie Macfarlane. She was one of five self-represented delegates chosen to share their stories with law society leaders, Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell, and other legal heavyweights. The group met in Windsor, Ont., to discuss Macfarlane's report. Prior to the event, Nordlander says she was planning to make a point about legal aid. She has accumulated debt throughout her litigation, she says, adding it's not fair that she doesn't qualify for legal aid since the criteria considers only her income and not what she has borrowed. Macfarlane says self-represented litigants need an orientation when they first walk into court. This orientation would be about what to expect, "not just procedurally but also emotionally," she says. Many of the litigants she interviewed didn't know about mediation as an alternate route, says Macfarlane. Many study participants also described wanting a form of coaching, Macfarlane adds. Such coaching, according to the report, would help litigants manage the case themselves through practical advice on what to expect and what to say and do in court. LT Issue proves LSUC 'has no business regulating paralegals' Continued from page 1 lawyers who don't represent the majority going out there and making some comments that will put us back here." The paralegals also didn't have the full support of their own profession to back up the motion. A poll conducted on the Paralegal Society of Ontario's LinkedIn page showed tenuous support for the cause, Tzanis noted. "If I said that the support for this motion from paralegals has been 'tepid,' that would be an overstatement," he wrote on the LinkedIn page. "The vast majority of lawyers oppose the motion. Look at our poll on our LinkedIn site. We have nearly 1,000 LinkedIn members on the PSO site and just 33 people voted in support of the poll. You cannot say you have a mandate from paralegals to pursue this motion unless at least 50 per cent of paralegals support you." There are 4,500 licensed paralegals in Ontario. During the discussions ahead of the motion's withdrawal, the law society promised to communicate more openly about its followup to the 2012 report on paralegal regulation by David Morris, according to Tzanis. The report recommended creating training programs for paralegals that will allow them to practise more broadly. Paralegals have complained about the lack of communication ANNOUNCEMENT THE LAW FOUNDATION OF ONTARIO IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE JUSTICE STEPHEN GOUDGE AS THE RECIPIENT OF THE 2013 GUTHRIE AWARD The Law Foundation of Ontario is proud to select Justice Stephen Goudge of the Ontario Court of Appeal as the recipient of its 2013 Guthrie Award. In addition to being a highly respected appellate judge, Justice Goudge is an inspirational champion of access to justice through his activities outside the courtroom. He has also been a leader in promoting legal ethics and professionalism. The Guthrie Award was created in honour of past LFO Chair, H. Donald Guthrie. The award honours outstanding individuals or organizations for their contributions to access to justice and excellence in the legal profession. The Law Foundation of Ontario helps people to understand the law and use it to improve their lives. It provides grants for access to justice initiatives, awards fellowships, and supports the practice of public interest law and professional excellence. www.lawfoundation.on.ca Untitled-1 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 13-05-06 10:43 AM from the law society about which areas of practice it's considering opening up for them. The discussions within the law society's paralegal standing committee have been in camera, but the latest word is the LSUC will be making changes to share more information. Paralegal Andrea Sesum, who also participated in the talks with the law society, says a face-to-face meeting is a much better way of approaching the issue than a motion that would only widen differences. "I think we may need a little bit more strategic and critical approach when dealing with the law society," she says. "And we're also not there to create enemies." Perhaps the reason the motion didn't get a lot of support from paralegals was a lack of consultation with the profession prior to drafting it, says Sesum, who notes the motion didn't speak for all paralegals. Sesum has also submitted a white paper to the law society about the possibility of considering Citizenship and Immigration Canada a tribunal, which would mean paralegals could practise fully in matters related to the federal department. She says she decided not to approach the law society with a motion but instead preferred to sit down with the regulator's leaders. "They were very nice and they were listening to what we had to say. It was a friendly environment." Response on Twitter to the motion's withdrawal was swift with a number of lawyers commenting that if the reason for taking it off the table was the bar's mobilization against it, the controversy shows the inherent conflict of having one regulator for both lawyers and paralegals. "If Ontario benchers/lawyers mobilized against it, that is a massive conflict for @LawsocietyLSUC," tweeted Mitch Kowalski. "And exactly why @LawsocietyLSUC has no business regulating paralegals in the first place." But on the Paralegal Society of Ontario's LinkedIn page, Tzanis noted paralegal Marshall Yarmus, who led the motion in the first place, was part of the discussions to withdraw it as well. "I believe the choice to withdraw the motion was a prudent decision and we should all thank Marshall Yarmus for taking the initiative to make the motion and for making the decision to withdraw the motion," he wrote. He also had some words for paralegals who might criticize the withdrawal of the motion. "I would rather see paralegals contribute research papers and position papers rather than simply making negative and unhelpful comments in the blogs," he wrote. "Right now, we need well-researched, intelligent, cogent,  and persuasive reasons to expand the scope of practice rather than mere rhetoric attacking the decision to withdraw the motion." LT

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