Law Times

LAw times • August 5, 2013 Page 3 NEWS Triage, prevention touted as key to resolving access gap BY YAMRI TADDESE Law Times O f all of the analogies to describe the workings of the legal system, the law profession is known to choose health care. So while finding a cure to legal ailments will always be part of the justice system, many say prevention is just as important. And of all of the aliments the justice system now bears, lots of people would agree that access to justice is reaching a critical stage. In one of its four reports on access to justice, the National Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters refers to the first line of defence, legal prevention and triaging, as the early resolution services sector. The term relates to programs and services that educate the public about the justice system, tend to needs that might otherwise wind up in the courtroom, and offer alternative ways of dispute resolution. "Despite the fact that the ERSS deals with a much larger proportion of people's everyday legal problems than the formal justice system, it has not been planned, funded or co-ordinated on a sustained basis as an important sector in its own right. Nor is it seen as a critical element in providing access to justice," the committee's report states. "Consequently, the expertise within this sector has been underutilized in past access to justice initiatives. Without clear acknowledgement of the role the ERSS plays, access to justice will remain a lofty vision unconnected to the daily lives and problems of the majority of people." The scores of people struggling to access the justice system need urgent care, but as in the case of every epidemic, there are lessons to be learned for future prevention, says Sarah McCoubrey, executive director at the Ontario Justice Education Network. "I maintain that at the same time that we provide services for those people, we need to start to take a preventative approach . . . so that 15 years from now, we don't have the same level of crisis," she says. "Our approach at OJEN is to try to build the capacity of young people for the roles and legal conflicts they're going to have for the rest of their lives." McCoubrey adds: "Justice education is an approach that looks to eliminate the crisis rather than address the crisis before the courts right now. We see ourselves [as] part of the spectrum, by no means less or more important than the work that pro bono, legal services, the government, and the courts are doing." Through mock trials, learning materials, and meetings with pro bono lawyers and judges, the OJEN hopes more people will grow up knowing when to use the justice system. It's about creating confidence among young people that the justice system is fair and worth knowing about, much like the health-care system, says McCoubrey. "Everyone expects at some point in their lives to need the health-care system and they're not worried about it. They don't go to a surgeon to ask if they have a cold; they go to a pharmacist," she notes. The goal isn't to keep people out of court, says McCoubrey. "It's actually about getting the right matters in court and getting some of those other issues out of the court system and looking at the other strategies people could use to resolve their disputes, including informal kinds of dispute resolutions." As many family court judges would agree, sometimes what litigants need isn't legal help as much as counselling. At Family Service Toronto's Families in Transition program, the courts refer "a significant number" of couples that participate in therapy and counselling programs. The program helps estranged spouses resolve their own issues in what program manager Rhonda Freeman calls a "less litigious way." "I really believe that with the right services, access to the right services, and as early in the separation process as possible, that a lot of people won't need the courts," says Freeman. "Here our work is geared towards having parents manage their own issues as opposed to somebody else deciding." Access to Justice 'Our vision is that everyone would have a positive first experience with the justice system before they need it,' says Sarah McCoubrey. Photo: Yamri Taddese The earlier in the dispute resolution process people are able to access the programs, the better the outcomes, according to Freeman. The committee report also notes the importance of early resolution. In one of its 11 recommendations, the committee says "priority and resources should be directed toward serving people in the most just and effective way possible, as early as possible, as they begin to experience a legal problem." McCoubrey says part of what the OJEN hopes to do is help make the justice system less intimidating. Litigants should be comfortable enough with the system to know how to solve their legal issues early on when www.lawtimesnews.com it's less expensive, she notes. "People understand the health-care system and they're not worried that it's going to be a part of their lives. If we take that analogy to the legal system, people hope they'll never have to talk to a lawyer and that's not the right way to approach the legal system." Sitting in her 393 University Ave. office, she describes in simple terms what the OJEN is hoping to do. "Our vision is that everyone would have a positive first experience with the justice system before they need it," she says. The first interaction with the justice system often sets the tone for how people perceive legal processes, she adds. When litigants perceive the system to be fair and accessible, "they'll feel comfortable knowing who to ask and are more likely to resolve that issue early when it's cheap and when it's less stressful," says McCoubrey. LT This is the third instalment in Law Times' summer series on access to justice. The series will consider the issues raised in each of the working group reports prepared by the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters.

• Cover