Law Times

PAGE 10 Lawyers navigate tricky world of unbundling Explaining scope of retainer key to avoiding problems later on FOCUS T BY KENNETH JACKSON For Law Times oronto lawyer Mitch Kowalski wants to change how lawyers do business by dragging them kicking and screaming into the new realities. According to Kowalski, the living in a bubble. "You know what I'm pas- legal profession hasn't kept pace with the changes around the world and lawyers need to stop 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; • • 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 sionate about? Changing the profession," said Kowalski, 49. He' s author of the book Avoiding Extinction: Reimagining Legal Services for the 21st Century. "There is a reason why legal fees are outrageously expensive and one of the reasons is the way we practise is not how a real business operates." Kowalski has been speaking out about the issue a lot and points to hourly billings and backward technology as examples of areas crying out for change. It' a big fan of unbundling legal services. "I love it," he says. "It' s no surprise, then, that he's of access to legal services in the this province. I think it' of the future." and paralegals who are offering unbundled services. The goal is to guide lawyers offering limit- ed-scope retainers. Unbundling allows clients lawyers to get work done more cheaply by doing some of it themselves. "The benefits are for the clients," says Kowalski, who practises real estate and corporate com- mercial law. "It' ent. The client comes to you and says, 'I need certain work done. Now whether that's document s the way to deal with the lack s the way Canada updated its rules in the fall to give guidance to the growing number of The Law Society of Upper Concerns about lawsuits are 'overblown,' says Mitch Kowalski. lawyers can tap into markets that they may not have been able to. "People are saying lawyers are too expensive," says Kowalski. "If you provide unbundled you're on your own.'" Unbundling is also a way s a cost savings for the cli- ' review or making some prelimi- nary appearances or preparing pleadings, you can parcel out what the lawyer does and what the client feels they can do. cern from people in legal circles about the quality issues. "The big negative really is the There was and still is con- " CLL - 1/4 pg - 3X.indd 1 ONTARIO LAWYER'S PHONE BOOK 2012 YOUR MOST COMPLETE DIRECTORY OF ONTARIO LAWYERS, LAW FIRMS, JUDGES AND COURTS With more than 1,400 pages of essential legal references, Ontario Lawyer's Phone Book is your best connection to legal services in Ontario. Subscribers can depend on the credibility, accuracy and currency of this directory year after year. More detail and a wider scope of legal contact information for Ontario than any other source: • More than 26,000 lawyers • More than 9,300 law firms and corporate offices • Perfectbound • Published December each year On subscription $72 P/C 26089 ISSN L88804-559 Multiple copy discounts available Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. Includes lists of: • • • • Federal and provincial judges Federal courts, including a section for federal government departments, boards and commissions • Ontario courts and services, including a section for provincial government ministries, boards and commissions The Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario Small claims courts • Miscellaneous services for lawyers Visit carswell.com or call 1.800.387.5164 for a 30-day no-risk evaluation CANADIAN LAW LIST www.lawtimesnews.com OLPB - 1-4 page 3X.indd 1 1/20/12 10:43 AM Fax and telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, office locations and postal codes 1/20/12 10:48 AM fact that people are worried that there' lawyers in the court system," says Kowalski. "For example, if you have a bunch of untrained law- yers, that' s going to be too many non- court system and that's going to affect justice." frivolous worry that if they handle only part of a matter and something goes wrong on the client' There's also concern over lawsuits. of things, they'll end up facing a lawsuit nevertheless. "I think they are overblown," s side says Kowalski. "I think a lot of people are s going to flood the Lawyers services, that should theoretical- ly give you more work than you are getting now. At least you are getting some part of the work rather than none of the work. That partial work may actual- ly lead into other paying work from that client because maybe they feel they should pay a bit more to get your expertise in counselling on different aspects than they thought before. Legal commentator and law- yer James Morton says he's sup- " portive of unbundling as long as lawyers are cautious in the way they do it. "When you start hav- ing lawyers or a paralegal doing part of a file or doing part of a case, they may not be aware of the big picture, everything and they can miss things. Similarly . . . there' ger that the parts not done by legally trained individuals will be problematic." Morton hasn't seen a case "They may not be aware of s a dan- " says Morton. just afraid of change and peo- ple are not used to dealing with legal services other than the way they've always done them." Communication is a key where a client has sued a law- yer, an issue he doesn't believe will be a significant problem. "If lawyers are conscious of the limits of the retainer and make it very clear in writing that you are retaining me to do X and only X, then I don't see how the clients will have much comeback if they complain you didn't do Y. issue when offering limited- scope retainers. Lawyers have to make sure they're on the same page with the client on exactly what counsel will be doing. "You have to set out exactly who is doing what, where, and how, should tell a client, going to negotiate that lease and I'm just going to give you a bunch of clauses, the chips are going to fall based on what you do and my role is limited to these pieces only. Otherwise, " says Kowalski. "A lawyer 'If you're problems either. "The world has not fallen apart," he says. "Everything is working as Kowalski hasn't heard of any " it should. I haven't heard any outcry at all or heard of any problems. Certainly, I think I would have heard through blogs or through dealings with other lawyers in the community of a huge rash of problems and I haven't seen that." He wonders, however, about May 14, 2012 • Law TiMes how unbundling could affect judges as they face a potential influx of self-represented litigants. "That might make their job a little bit tougher, but that is just the way it is," he says. LT

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