Law Times

PAGE 8 NEWS February 7, 2011 • Law Times Advisory group proposes ways to improve family law BY JUDY VAN RHIJN For Law Times As part of the reform of the family law system in Ontario, an advisory working group has been given the challenge of finding ways for the public to access legal advice at all stages of a relationship breakdown without requiring the con- sumption of limited resources. The group has now met the challenge by proposing ways to readjust how current resources ANNOUNCEMENTS could be used. A member of the group, Judith Nicoll of McIn- nis & Nicoll in Toronto, says that while the first thoughts turned to the trend towards unbundled legal services, it felt unable to proceed on that given that the Law Society of Upper Canada was looking at the issue but wasn't yet ready to release its findings. "We were not able to fully support that movement with- out the law society's blessing. They are still looking at how to protect lawyers who offer those services. We are concerned at what happens when you change a small piece of the puzzle but not the whole puzzle." After that, members began a reconsideration of the use of legal aid resources, particularly the eligibility requirements. "The threshold for who can get a certificate in a family law matter is very low," Nicoll says. "We recommend an expansion there, including the use of con- tributory certificates. At pres- ent, they are issued in fewer than 10 per cent of family law cases. They would be of greatest assistance to those who would otherwise end up representing themselves." The group was mindful of statistics that say that in at least 50 per cent of cases, one or both parties don't have representation. "It's a strain on services at the courthouse in terms of staff and judicial time," Nicoll points out, not- ing she's particularly concerned that judicial resources should be used more effectively. "You can't have judges spending the whole day explaining how the system works." Untitled-2 1 2/1/11 1:43:47 PM She sees the expansion of the dispute resolution officer program outside of Toronto as a major advance. "The [of- ficers] have been very success- ful in Toronto. The success rate in resolving matters is greater than 50 per cent, and there are no statistics taken to show the other benefits of attending. The [officer] can help get the case judge ready so that people have their ducks in a row when they leave the process." The program was expanded to Brampton, Milton, Oshawa, and Barrie, Ont., at the end of 2010 and is well on its way to being rolled out provincewide. While the starting point for seeing dispute resolution offi- cers is an application to vary maintenance, there's also an option for lawyers to choose a case conference with them rather than wait for a judge to be free to attend. "The issue is timing," Nicoll notes. "The Family Law Rules say you have to have a case conference before you can take further steps. A case conference with a [dispute resolution officer] satisfies that and can be held for the purpose of moving forward. This will be a major focus of [the program] in the new locations." Nicoll has 12 years of ex- perience as a dispute resolu- tion officer herself and believes it's a helpful, low-cost way to get people through the doors. However, she's concerned about trying to do too much on the backs of pro bono law- yers. While Toronto dispute resolution officers receive an honorarium of $250 per day, in the new locations the scheme is purely pro bono. Another proposal that ema- nated from the advisory group was the expansion of efforts to prepare legal kits that as- sist people representing them- selves. "That kind of movement is already afoot," Nicoll says. "We need to get the kits into the hands of self-represented litigants so they have as much information as possible before they appear." The group was also in fa- The Honourable Robert N. Weekes Purser Dooley Cockburn Smith LLP is pleased to announce that has joined the firm as Counsel. The Honourable Robert N. Weekes brings his extensive experience and perspective from the bench to our litigation team. We are pleased to have him join our litigation team and provide our clients with the benefit of his insightfulness and assistance in managing and successfully resolving client files. the business law firm pdcslaw.com John R. Cockburn, Q.C.* David F. Smith* Scott R. Fairley Robert N. Weekes (The Honourable) Katie J. James Tiffany V. Little Melanie C. Hoad Andrew Zyp Aanchal S. Khan David Lucenti J. Daniel Dooley** Eric O. Gionet Jennifer Craddock-Jones Sabrina A. Lucenti Jason M. Botelho * Certified by the Law Society as a Specialist in Corporate and Commercial Law ** Certified by the Law Society as a Specialist in Civil Litigation PurserDooley_LT_Feb7_11.indd 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 1/31/11 9:29:05 AM vour of expanding the role of duty counsel and advice coun- sel. "They are already on the ground at the courthouse," Nicoll says. "If they could deal with more people despite the low economic threshold, it would be of great assistance. Some people don't need much help but they need a bit of help." Nicoll is pleased that the Ministry of the Attorney Gen- eral is listening to the proposals and that reforms are gradually being rolled out. This summer, family mediation and informa- tion services will be expanded provincewide as part of the ancillary services contemplated in the unified Family Court. "It will allow cases that are ap- propriate for mediation to go to trained mediators on-site," Nicoll says. LT

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• Helping Kids
• Scrutinizing Experts
• Focus On Family Law/Trusts & Estates