Canadian Lawyer

46 A U G U S T 2 0 1 8 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m hree decades on from her call to the bar, New Westminster, B.C. lawyer Carol Hickman knows the family justice sys- tem better than most. And after a career that has seen her represent litigants at every level all the way up to the Supreme Court of Canada, Hickman has seen enough to conclude that most families simply do not belong in a system that she says exacerbates the stress and hurt that inevitably follows separation. "In my experience, very little positive comes out of the court process for families. In fact, it's destructive for them," says Hick- man, also a life bencher at the Law Society of British Columbia. "Court should really be reserved for those maybe five per cent of cases that can't be resolved any other way." That's why she was so encouraged by Bill C-78, the federal government's 190- page answer to longstanding criticism of Canada's Divorce Act by detractors who say the 32-year-old law is outdated. The bill proposes to impose a duty on litigants to "try to resolve the matters that may be the subject of an order under this Act" through an out-of-court "family dis- pute resolution process," including medi- ation, negotiation or collaborative law. Meanwhile, lawyers and other legal advis- ers must encourage their clients to settle matters using the same methods, unless the circumstances of the case render it "clearly" inappropriate. Hickman says she hopes the chang- es will hasten the exit of more separated spouses — or prevent their entry altogether — from an adversarial court system that is better suited to handling the civil disputes for which it was originally designed. "The earlier you can get people to look at alternatives to court, before things become too entrenched, the better," she says. The revamp couldn't come at a better time for Edmonton lawyer Tim Mallett, co-founder of Undo, whose website click- undo.ca aims to guide amicable former partners in Alberta and Ontario through an uncontested divorce. "This bill really is a signal from the federal government that they acknowledge there is a problem in this area. They're say- ing that the court system still needs to exist, but we must find more ways to keep people out of it," he says. "That's a mindset that aligns really well with what we're doing." Users of the Undo service input their responses to a variety of questions about income, assets, debts and housing arrange- ments, allowing them to find a suitable level for an equalization payment and ongoing child or spousal support. After a review by its legal team, Undo turns the agreement into an official divorce application ready for filing in court. "It provides autonomy and empower- ment to the couple that's going through the divorce by putting the decisions in their hands," says Mallett, who practises at Brock Law and is also collaborating with Alberta's family justice reform initiative. L E G A L R E P O RT \ FA M I LY L AW MATTHEW BILLINGTON Family law catch-up The federal government's new reforms reinforce how family disputes are already being resolved By Michael McKiernan T

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