Law Times

Law Times • may 14, 2012 Toll-free number no substitute for live person: association NEWS Continued from page 1 Ontario's clinics can more accurately pair changes in demo- graphics and technology with the evolving needs of the clinics' clients." The paper shows while LAO' increased to nearly $70 million this year from $36 million in 1998-99, they're not necessarily meeting client needs more quickly or efficiently. "The growth in the number of clients served by the clinic law delivery system has been very mod- est despite significant recent investments. "In other words, increases in funding have not s budget for clinics has decision in the Supreme Court. Both would get a single assist toward their total. If you use this type of system, it will bring down clinic averages. It' tool that you would have seen used 20 years ago." s a type of measurement ries and pay for infrastructure projects, Abramowicz says the majority of the money was part of demonstrably translated into much more access to jus- tice or better client services. As discussed in the 2010 discussion paper on administrative savings, between 1999 and 2009, LAO increased clinic funding by 57 per cent. Adjusted for inflation, this represents a 30-per-cent increase in funding while the number of assists during this period only increased 12 per cent." According to the paper, much of the new funding went to salaries and infrastructure rather than service expan- sions that would boost access to justice and technological improvements, such as web-based client services, that it says should be the clinics' goal. But Lenny Abramowicz, executive director of the legal clinics association, says while his organization appreciates the report' initiatives based on a number of statistics that assigned assists to particular tasks," says Abramowicz. "So, say 15 minutes were spent giving summary advice to a client and then four years were spent winning a groundbreaking "They determined clinic dedication to access-to-justice s suggestions, its findings missed the mark. to catch-up compensation. Prior to increased government funding, there was a mass exodus of staff from the system who could no longer afford to support themselves on the compensation they were receiving. After the increased funding, clinic lawyers are still earning close to what arti- cling students make on Bay Street. So I can't apologize for that. They have to be able to make a living, and the catch-up compensation helped several legal clinics across the prov- ince avoid being shut down." Abramowicz notes a large chunk of the money the compensation" given to the clinics by the provincial gov- ernment several years ago. " As for using public funds to increase employee sala- "catch-up A large chunk of the money the report mentions went report cited went to two specialty clinics dedicated to doing test cases that have the potential to have a signifi- cant impact on low-income Ontarians, particularly in regards to housing. "If you look at those types of initiatives, then we know the numbers would be exponential," he says. "The paper doesn't seem to include these initiatives or others. We've merged several clinics and have created a Knowledge Now program to address some of these concerns about access to justice and increasing efficiencies, but the paper doesn't appear to address that." PAGE 5 clinics are lacking in transparency. "The clinic law deliv- ery system is now a very large publicly funded program that receives significant amounts of public money, yet it is not clear that the funding and accountability mechanisms match the size and complexity of the system or the demands of modern public administration," the paper noted. At the same time, the paper found spending by the In another criticism, the paper suggested community clinics varies significantly from region to region. But Abramowicz says while the association is mind- ful of the funding clinics receive, the primary goal isn't to save money. "We are appreciative of the money we receive and we always intend to operate within the parameters of the funds we do receive, but our primary goal isn't simply to make cuts," he adds. "It' the people who need help. To give an example, I don't think it' clinic resources in a community with a 1-800 number. It's s dialogue between LAO, the legal clinics, justice participants, and the broader community. "It' " he says. LT But Justesen says he hopes the paper will at least spur a " for a much larger discussion about transformative change for developing a robust clinic law delivery system that will meet the challenges of the 21st century, s a discussion paper, not a prescription, a starting point New rules put 'undue economic hardship on clients' Continued from page 1 the program doesn't cover all services and litigants must meet the eligibility thresholds. Jeff Hershberg, a criminal defence lawyer in Toronto, says that leaves a segment of the popula- tion without access to legal aid services. "The court process is oſten a scary one for those charged with offences that cannot afford a lawyer and are denied legal aid for whatever reason," says Hershberg. "They are rarely directed to these rules and are not provided a copy in court. Hopefully, with the new rules will come new procedures for making sure self-represented individuals are made aware of them, including providing a copy of the necessary forms." But providing self-represent- judges booked for months at times and finding a date for a specific judge 60 days prior to a trial date is not always pos- sible, "Courts are very busy with defence lawyers or if a par- ticular Crown is needed for a case. The reasoning behind it is sound, but whether it will work in busier courthouses will have to be seen." But according to Weisberg, the 60-day time limit on pretrial " he notes. "Same goes for matters is already in place at the College Park and Scarborough courthouses in Toronto. He sug- gests that not having the rule in place across all jurisdictions may account for some of the delays in the court system. "There is already a 60-day time limit on 11(b) applications in the Scarborough and Col- lege Park courthouses," he says. "From a lawyer' having consistency across all ju- risdictions under the new rules s perspective, is positive." dividuals with decision-making authority attend judicial pretri- als, Hershberg says that change is likely a positive one. "The requirement that an in- As for the requirement that in- dividual with decision-making authority attend a judicial pre- trial is absolutely necessary and will help move matters along, he says. But Brown says while some aspects of the rules are positive, " ed litigants with the new forms might not do much to reduce delays, says Toronto criminal defence lawyer Adam Weisberg. "Usually, people who repre- A DAILY BLOGOF CANADIAN LEGAL NEWS WWW.CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/LEGALFEEDS sent themselves in court tend to be less educated or have mental- health issues," says Weisberg. "So will the changes help them in court? Probably not. They'll have to find the rules first and even then they won't have the le- gal knowledge to back them up. Some of the more notable " changes to the rules include a 60- day time limit before the sched- uled trial date for the hearing of pretrial matters and a require- ment that parties with decision- making authority attend judicial pretrials. Additionally, the lawyer who will conduct the preliminary hearing or a designate counsel with decision-making authority must attend focus hearings. Hershberg says aspects of those changes may be more worrisome. LegalFeeds-1/2-LT-Apr23-12 2.indd 1 www.lawtimesnews.com nomic hardship on clients who will now have to hire a lawyer for both pretrial and trial matters," says Brown. "Also, it' others are likely to create unin- tended consequences. "It seems to put undue eco- that the court recognized it was difficult to find the time for trials and is now requesting additional time. It seems that if we could schedule an earlier date, it would make more sense to have the ac- tual trial on that date. s quite ironic " LT s just not our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal is to help s helpful to those people to replace desperately needed just not the same as having a community clinic there with people who are passionate and willing to help our province' most vulnerable. Sure, it could save money, but the client isn't likely to receive the same quality of service. POWERED BY CANADIAN LAWYER & LAW TIMES 12-04-24 12:17 PM

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