Law Times

Law Times • apriL 23, 2012 NEWS LSUC changes referral service name Program expands May 1 to include paralegals BY MEREDITH MORRISON For Law Times becomes the Law Society Referral Service. "It' T Richard Lammers, vice president of the Paralegal Society of Ontario. "In our view, we should be treated the same as lawyers with respect to what's On May 1, the Lawyer Referral Service s something that's long overdue," says he Law Society of Upper Canada is expanding and changing the name of its referral service to in- clude paralegals. available out there on the law society web site." san Tonkin, the newly revamped service will also feature a larger staff to answer calls and a component for Internet re- quests. In addition, it'll offer more advice when necessary on what to do before con- tacting a legal professional. The new system will keep the 30-min- According to LSUC spokeswoman Su- ute cap on talk time. The old system has been in place for 42 years. In the last year, it handled 160,000 calls, a number expected to keep increasing. paralegals was part of an effort to pro- vide better legal service to the public and accommodate the number of people re- questing assistance. Lammers, however, says his organization Tonkin says the decision to include has been pushing for the inclusion of parale- gals in the service for some time. "The para- legal society meets with the [law society' standing committee quite regularly, and that was one of the issues that was raised. This is something that has been going on for years." When referring people to services, there will be clear boundaries on which types of s] Technology has become 'quite spectacular' Continued from page 1 to appear by Skype would interfere with the court's ability to make findings and assess credibility. Murray, however, determined otherwise. "In my view, if the technology that facilitates the video conference op- vours the applicant," she added. "With the conditions which I set out below, the respondent should suffer little or no prejudice in his coun- sel' in real time, and the 'lag' which counsel fears in the transmission of questions and answers should not exist. Requiring the applicant and her spouse to travel to Toronto would have a negative impact on their already financially-stretched household and would be damaging to the children' s ability to cross-examine. The cross-examination will be conducted money is certainly a factor, technology shouldn't replace human interac- tion in the family court system. " A trial regarding the life of two children should come down to more than money," says Benmor. "It's a factor but it's not the most important But Steven Benmor, the lawyer who represented M.E.C., says while s best interests." "It is clear to me that the balance of convenience on this motion fa- " wrote Murray. erates effectively, then the court will be able to observe the applicant and make judgments about her credibility, parties, counsel or the judges spending so much valuable time and money on travel. ferencing options at locations across Ontario, Internet access is scarce in most courthouses and there are only two fully equipped electronic courtrooms in the province. One is in To- ronto and the other is in Oshawa. Still, some observers say it' While there has been progress on installing video-con- " proach that would force the province's stagnant civil justice s time you say to judges, like they do in indus- system to enter the 21st century. "Maybe it' try: 'The train's leaving to the electronic world on Jan. 1 and s time for a more aggressive ap- matters will go to lawyers or paralegals. Cli- ents can also request either type of service. There are parts of the province where the service won't have someone to refer the potential client to. This is because practi- tioners need to pay a fee in order to have clients referred to them. In those cases, the service will direct the caller to the direc- tory on the LSUC's web site. According to Tonkin, the LSUC hopes the changes will "continue to fill an impor- tant community need by connecting law- yers and paralegals to people looking for assistance with legal matters." LT change required Legislative Continued from page 1 if you want to hop on board, then fine. If you don't, we'll let you do landlord and tenant and those kinds of actions,'" says retired Superior Court justice Tom Granger, a proponent of paperless trials. "Somebody owes it to the public to give them back access to justice." thing. Having to conduct a trial by Skype is a disservice and unfair. There could be technological problems that the court isn't prepared for or cues that the judge could miss." But Epstein says video-conferencing technology has become "quite approach to integrating technology in the courtroom that may prove more useful in the long run. "I will be curious to see how it goes," he says. "It'll be the first time we see technology come together like Still, Epstein says cases like P. v. C. could offer a less jarring spectacular" over the last several years and notes Skype has slowly begun to play an increasingly important role in family law. "As the world gets smaller and smaller, Skype has become extremely important in custody and access cases. People are now putting kids to bed by Skype, reading to them by Skype, and helping them out with their homework. It' changing family law." s really cost perspective. "Giving evidence-in-chief by Skype, for example, saves the province and the courts time and money. And I think the courts will turn to it more and more as time goes on." Benmor, however, says that could create problems in the long run. In Epstein's view, using technology like Skype also makes sense from a June in Toronto's electronic courtroom. says the petition has received mixed re- views with many practitioners in Ontario seeing the name change as unfavourable and government lawyers stationed in Que- bec showing strong support. Vincent him- self works in Gatineau, Que., in his job with the federal government. For her part, LSUC Treasurer Lau- From his interactions so far, Vincent rie Pawlitza says changing the name wouldn't be simple. "This would require an amendment to the Law Society Act," she tells Law Times. "Experience has shown that it is not this and I think we're all anxious to see what will happen." The trial in P. v. C. will take place during the first week of LT easy to get our governing legislation changed. Changing a name steeped in history must be done for a purpose. Pre- sumably, a name change ought to clearly describe our function to the public. A more accurate name would be the Lawyer and Paralegal Regulator of On- tario. With that said, I believe that there are more important priorities." LT PAGE 5 The issue of court technology has been on a lot people's minds, par- ticularly since Ontario Superior Court Justice David Brown's recent criti- cism of the justice system's document-management practices in his rul- ing in Romspen Investment Corp. v. 6176666 Canada Ltée. He's not alone, " "For there to be a fair trial, everyone has to be in the courtroom. Com- munication is 70 per cent non-verbal. What if the person on the other end of Skype just uses the excuse that they can't hear you and looks down at their notes and is coached on what to say? That wouldn't be fair and it wouldn't happen if they were before the judge physically. CANADIAN LAW LIST 2012 YOUR INSTANT CONNECTION TO CANADA'S LEGAL NETWORK Inside you will find: • an up-to-date alphabetical listing of more than 58,000 barristers, solicitors and Quebec notaries, corporate counsel, law firms and judges in Canada; however, in having a long-standing concern about the issue. A report released by the Ministry of the Attorney General in 1995, for example, called for more technology in the family court system, particularly in northern Ontario. "Special consideration should immediately be given to providing a full range of electronic, video, and teleconferencing technology for fam- ily law matters, particularly in northern Ontario, tario Civil Justice Review stated. "The existence of such technology would permit judges to have an increased presence in scattered and isolated communities without the " the report for the On- • • contact information for the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, Federal Cabinet Ministers, departments, boards, commissions and Crown corporations; legal and government contact information related to each province for the Courts of Appeal, Supreme Courts, County and District Courts, Provincial Courts, law societies, law schools, Legal Aid, and other law- related offices of importance. MORE THAN A PHONE BOOK Hardbound • Published February each year On subscription $149 • L88804-571-26084 One-time purchase $165 • L88804-571 • ISSN 0084-8573 Prices subject to change without notice,to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. Visit carswell.com or call 1.800.387.5164 for a 30-day no-risk evaluation CANADIAN LAW LIST www.lawtimesnews.com CLL - 1/4 pg - 3X.indd 1 1/20/12 10:48 AM

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