Law Times

PAGE 4 NEWS April 2, 2012 • lAw Times Continued from page 1 Trudell, who notes he appre- ciates Segal's ability to change course aſter nearly 40 years as a public servant, feels the move is a positive one. "If you know and respect people and you have de- veloped the problem-solving ca- pabilities you are meant to as a lawyer, it's just a recipe for success," says Trudell. "He's been involved in sev- eral major cases and worked extensively with legal aid and has a lot of energy for the practice of law. I'm really honoured to have him here with us. He's the perfect person to service the aboriginal community and it's amazing that he can now take his experiences and help individual clients." For his part, Segal says that while he made the move to take on a "new" and "exciting challenge" as counsel and consultant, he's grateful for his time in the public service. "My decision has been made all the more difficult because I have truly looked forward to every day on the job as if it were the first day of my articles," he says. "Aſter this length of time, one naturally reflects on the cases done, courts appeared before, projects un- dertaken, and people encountered. . . . I am very thankful to the Hon. Dalton McGuinty for giving me the opportunity to serve the public as deputy attorney general these last eight years." Segal, a certified specialist in criminal law, was called to the bar in 1977. "It has been a delight to work with my colleagues in the best legal system in the world," he says. "I am proud of my col- leagues and the work we have done together." Peter Wallace, secretary of the provincial cabinet, wished Segal well in his new role. "He is a valued colleague, men- tor, and friend to many of us," says Wallace. Trudell, meanwhile, says Segal's arrival will be a boost to the prac- tice at Simcoe Chambers. "There's a lot of talent here at the firm and when you add Murray, well, that's just magic." Ontario licensing fees higher than New York Continued from page 1 Nan Berezowski, a lawyer at Berezows- ki Business Immigration Law in Toronto and an attorney in New York, agreed. He noted most Ontario lawyers have already been making significant efforts to cut costs despite wide variation in profession- al licensing fees. "The differences between fees in the U.S. and Canada are quite significant," said Berezowski. "In the U.S., it costs $375 for two years, and here I believe it is $1,800. So I'm not sure if it becomes feasible here to cover the overhead of implementing the changes suggested when we're already do- ing a lot to cut costs." Other suggestions offered by the bar during the session included sending young lawyers to work for Ontario's unrepresent- ed low- and middle-income earners and reducing the time lawyers spend in school in order to gain more practical experience to address access to justice. But Winkler largely dismissed the sug- gestions. In his view, the bar will simply have to do more with less and can't turn to the province to address its access-to- justice woes. "If I go to Ontario with this, they will send me back to train my Labradors," said Winkler. "Lawyers simply need more modest expectations. They need to scale costs to what people can afford and that may mean going back to a set fee for their services." But Pawlitza argued access to justice shouldn't come down to a "who blinks first" approach between the judiciary and the bar. "The court system is a difficult maze to Chief Justice Warren Winkler lectured the bar at the cross-border event in Toronto last week. 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AVAILABLE RISK-FREE FOR 30 DAYS Order online at www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 navigate and one, I would argue, that the judiciary had a significant role in creating," said Pawlitza. "The legal landscape is cer- tainly changing. I think we do have an un- usual distribution in Ontario and lawyers are oſten not inclined to leave metropoli- tan areas. So that may account for some of the issues here." Still, Ontario's access-to-justice plight may prove less dire than south of the border, according to Lippman. He noted the U.S. economic down- turn has leſt New York's justice system struggling to provide the state's poor with basic services related to matters such as tenant-related legal issues and family law representation. "State courts have truly become the emergency rooms for the ills of our so- ciety," said Lippman. "Access to justice shouldn't just be a luxury in good eco- nomic times, just like you can't say we have to turn you away from our hospitals because we don't have enough funding. I mean, if the judiciary doesn't stand up for the civil legal services of the poor, who will? We need additional funding to protect the individuals of our state." But according to Winkler, the profes- sion won't be turning to the government any time soon. Solutions to access to justice, he noted, will rest with the bar. "We already have the social safety net that the U.S. is looking for," said Win- kler. "We're not looking for that. Ontario is looking to the bar. We have to try to tailor a solution for clients that's more affordable for them and if that means lawyers have to give up their BMWs, then that just may be the case." LT LT www.lawtimesnews.com Segal grateful for time in public service Phot o: Robin K unisk i

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