Tue 28 Mar 2017
How Unbundled Legal Services Can Support Your Mediation Clients
Posted by Guest.Author
Family mediators told us that many of their clients are not represented by a lawyer and are reluctant to seek legal advice due to cost.
Few clients actually seek and obtain independent legal advice (ILA) on agreements even though mediators recommend they do so. While some free legal services are available (Access Pro Bono, Legal Aid duty counsel and Family LawLine etc.), they are not available in all communities and many clients are not financially eligible for these services.
How will unbundling and the Roster assist family mediation practices and clients?
Effective legal advice can help the process move smoothly and provide clients with the help they need to overcome roadblocks. If one party is represented and the other does not have access to counsel it can create challenging power imbalances and put the mediator in a difficult position.
There are many ways in which unbundling lawyers can support the mediation process. The Unbundling Roster now provides you with a “one stop” resource to assist your mediation client(s) to find a lawyer to assist them. Here are some of the ways that unbundling lawyers can assist:
- Providing legal advice before mediation
- Providing legal advice, as needed, during the mediation process
- Representation during mediation (attending the mediation sessions)
- Legal coaching about preparing for and participating in mediation
- Preparing documents for mediation
- Drafting agreements coming out of mediation
- Providing independent legal advice on agreements
The Unbundling Roster is not just a list of names. Each roster lawyer has provided detailed information about themselves, their practice, the types of unbundled legal services they provide and their approach to providing these services. Just click on the link to the full profile for each lawyer.
Hint: We know that lawyers vary in their support for the mediation process. Check out the roster lawyers’ profile answers to the questions that focus on whether they have taken mediation training and the number of mediations in which they have participated.
As part of the project evaluation we will be seeking feedback from clients, family lawyers and family mediators. Your input will be critical in assessing whether unbundled legal services improve access to justice for BC families, particularly those who are using mediation.
Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. We appreciate your support!
Since January 2016, Mediate BC has been spearheading a Law Foundation of BC funded project to encourage more family lawyers to provide “unbundled legal services”. The BC Family Unbundling Roster was launched recently, already has 36 participating lawyers (as of March 15, 2017) and continues to grow.
Kari D. Boyle is the BC Family Unbundling Roster Project Manager. She is also the Coordinator of the BC Family Justice Innovation Lab, a Knowledge Engineer with the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, Board member of the Courthouse Library Society of BC and member of Access to Justice BC. Kari served as Mediate BC's Executive Director and then Director of Strategic Initiatives for ten years. She enjoys using her legal, mediation and leadership experience to collaborate with others to improve BC citizens' access to justice. Kari invites you to contact her for more information at 604-838-2149 or kari.boyle@shaw.ca.
Photo by Alvaro Reyes on Unsplash