Tue 29 Nov 2016
Unbundling Toolkit v1.0 Now Available!
Posted by Heverton.Oliveira
We have reached two important milestones in the unbundled legal services adventure!
In partnership with Access to Justice BC we have two important announcements:
- Publication of a Toolkit for Lawyers and Paralegals (version 1.0); and
- An invitation to receive more information about the BC Family Unbundling Roster
The Toolkit version 1.0
During the surveys and interviews with family lawyers and paralegals, we heard time and time again that lawyers are interested in providing unbundled legal services to families but need a more structured approach to integrating unbundled services into their practice. They wanted simple, concrete tools, best practice guidelines, how to guides and, in particular, templates.
We are extremely pleased to advise that, as part of a partnership with Courthouse Libraries BC (CLBC), version 1.0 of the Toolkit for Lawyers and Paralegals has now been posted! We are extremely grateful to CLBC for their expert and timely assistance.
Here is the index of materials in the Toolkit:
- An introduction about how to use the Toolkit
- Law Society of BC Code of Conduct Rules
- Best Practices for Unbundling
- Unbundling FAQs for Lawyers
- List of Resources
- How to use the retainer letter templates
- Retainer letter: One-time consultation
- Retainer letter: Ongoing consultation
- Schedule A – full list
- Schedule A – example of drafting documents
- Schedule A – example of coaching for mediation
- Flowchart for Lawyers
- Flowchart for Clients
- Client Intake for Unbundling
This is version 1.0 because we are still working on enhancing the existing materials and adding new ones. To do this we need your help! Please take a look, try them out and provide us with your feedback.
The BC Family Unbundling Roster
BC family lawyers, family mediators and, in particular, the public, told us that they did not know how to find lawyers willing to provide unbundled legal services. Many suggested a free public-facing list or roster that was hosted in a central place.
We are excited to announce that we are working with the CLBC to create such a roster which will reside on the Clicklaw site – easily accessible to the public and the legal community. The roster itself is under construction but, in the meantime, we invite you to click here to indicate your interest in this important tool. We will let you know as soon as the application form is ready.
As an added bonus, you have the option of agreeing to have your name and contact information shared with, and included in, a Canadian national database of lawyers providing unbundled legal services of all types. This national database is published by the National Self-Represented Litigants Project led by Dr. Julie Macfarlane. Inclusion in this database will give you and your firm national exposure to families seeking unbundled legal services for BC-related matters.
Unbundling and the national database were recently showcased in a NSRLP video featuring BC’s Chief Justice Bauman. In addition, we recommend that you read Chief Justice Bauman’s newest blog post on unbundling.
Please let us know if you have questions or need more information about this exciting initiative.
Kari D. Boyle
Project Manager, BC Family Unbundled Legal Services Project
Mediate BC
UPDATE: The BC Family Unbundling Roster is now live!
Image Credit: Florian Richter | Flickr cc
