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Law Times • February 22, 2010 NEWS Kopyto eager to clear air over legal aid Continued from page 1 "I think they actually really did step on our toes." In barring paralegals from family law, the current rules have made a dys- functional system even worse, Kopyto charges. Particularly vulnerable, he says, are women in divorce and custody litigation who don't qualify for legal aid but can't afford a lawyer. "Now, these women are streaming into court without any representation and they're being eaten alive by the [high-priced lawyers] of the world," Ko- pyto says. "It's a zoo down there. People who have clearly meritorious cases are losing them." Both the task force and the law soci- ety, however, said family law must be the domain of lawyers alone. "We were very much in favour of that being an area off limits to paralegals," Rosenhek says. "We were very much of the view that this is an area fraught with difficulties, is complex, and requires sig- nificant legal skill and knowledge." Rosenhek acknowledges critics' claims that the move has effectively restricted access to justice. "There's always tension between ac- cess to justice and public protection," he says. "We said and we will continue to say the paramount concern is public protection." Rosenhek points out as well that con- cern over disbarred lawyers practising as paralegals was part of the impetus for the push for regulation. Law society officials declined to com- ment on Kopyto's case. The good char- acter hearing follows his disbarment in 1989 for allegedly overbilling the prov- ince's legal aid program by more than $150,000. Kopyto has always maintained the dis- crepancy was a result of his own account- ing deficiencies and that his total billings to legal aid were fair and accurate. "My accounts had inaccuracies, but the work was done," he says. "I earned every cent." His current good character hearing will allow him to finally clear the air over the allegations, he says. At an ongoing hearing last week, he was also fighting the law society for dis- closure of all documents related to the regulation of the profession, arguing he hasn't had access to the information he needs to contest a multitude of allega- tions. "Almost every breath that I've taken over the last 20 years is there. But they haven't given me what I need to defend myself." Kopyto also maintains the onus is on the law society to prove he isn't fit to practise as a paralegal rather than the other way around. Two decades of legal work have given him "vested rights," he says. "I'm saying, 'You have to prove my bad character. I don't have to prove my good character.'" In addition, Kopyto claims the regu- lation of paralegals by lawyers is in viola- tion of federal competition laws. On that point, Simms agrees. She points to a Competition Bureau report that challenges the notion of one profession having control over a com- petitor. "To the extent that paralegals need to be regulated, the proper avenue for this is not through the law societies given the obvious conflict of interest that aris- es from having one competitor regulate another. Alternative means of regula- tory oversight should be explored," the report said. For his part, Kopyto welcomes parale- gal regulation but not by the law society, which he claims has adverse legal interests and has created an internationally unprec- edented monopoly over legal services. "They bit off more than they can chew and they're going to choke on it," he says. LT Litigation ebbs as workers accept less Continued from page 1 At the same time, Beresford said union representatives must continue to be tough to prevent employers from using financial hardship as an opportunity to wrest labour concessions. "The recession has been used by employers to try to gain a power conversation and, in some cases, arguably inappropriately. And that's not a sustainable ap- proach either." Other panellists, however, noted some companies that were unable to win concessions from unions were forced to close plants. But out of the recession, Be- resford foresees some sustainable changes to collective bargaining that will continue through the ul- timate recovery. Union representatives must make greater efforts to under- stand the business, he said. "Employers, if they're smart, will want the unions to know the business a lot better so the con- versations they have are based on fact, based on data, based on un- derstanding rather than who's the biggest dog in the backyard." In addition, he called the re- cession "the great focuser" that's prompting employers to put more emphasis on productivity and the effective use of informa- tion technology. The recession produced a number of other workplace trends over the last year, indicating the employment relationship was becoming more flexible in rec- ognition of extenuating financial circumstances, said Jules Bloch, a Toronto mediator and arbitrator. He noted, for example, that unions and employers have been jointly trying to figure out ways to save companies, including inven- tive approaches to pension plans. "Part of the game in a reces- sion is keeping people afloat until post recession." Stuart Rudner, an employment lawyer with Miller Thomson LLP, indicated that notice periods for terminations declined markedly over the course of the recession. "Employers tended to be of- fering less," he said. "And em- ployees were accepting less." A lack of litigation over no- tice periods may be due to the fear that the company wouldn't Reporter, Law Times Are you looking for an opportunity that warrants serious consideration? 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This may be one of the best available journalism jobs in the GTA. www.thecartwrightgroup.com/Careers /CLB-Media/ For more details visit: Ridout_LT_Feb9-16_09.indd 1 Reporter _ Job.indd 1 2/19/10 12:56:07 PM www.lawtimesnews.com 2/5/09 10:52:55 AM it all starts somewhere www.ridoutmaybee.com When it comes to IP in Canada, We're Well Read Ridout & Maybee LLP: Editors of the Canadian Patent Reporter survive long enough or that the company's finances were too dire to make a lawsuit viable, Rudner speculated. "Now that we're starting to see the recession coming to an end, we'll see that probably level off once again," he said. Rudner also pointed to a unique approach to salary and benefit continuances used to compensate employees until they land new jobs. Whereas traditionally employ- ees would be required to report when they find work, a different approach is to have them confirm they are out of work in order to continue to receive their salaries. "It's a lot easier for someone to forget to call and tell me they have a new job than it is for them to actually call and lie about it," Rudner said. The recession has also seen a scarcity of constructive dismissal claims, a further indication that employees were less willing to pursue litigation with employers, said Barry Prentice, a lawyer with Blaney McMurtry LLP. "I've experienced employees accepting far greater changes to their employment relationship in the last 18 months to two years than they ever would have three or four years ago," Prentice said. Employees appeared to be will- ing to accept changes to the terms of their employment in recogni- tion that employers needed to be able to reorganize, he explained. "I think it comes down to a case of economic necessity. From an employer's point of view, they have to make changes in order to survive." A lack of job alternatives may also have prompted employees to endure significant changes to their jobs whereas previously they may have alleged constructive dis- missal, left their posts, and filed for damages, Prentice said. LT PAGE 3