Canadian Lawyer

RegIonal wRap-up atlantiC PILOT PROJECT NEEdS vOLUNTEER LAWYERS T he Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia is looking for lawyers to lend a helping hand — at no charge. The provincial charity has created Access Legal Help NS, a pro bono hub unique in Canada. Creation of the hub is a three-year pilot project funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario's Access to Justice Fund and modeled after the Access Pro Bono Society of British Columbia. Nova Scotia's new initiative plans to provide access to basic legal assistance and advice on key issues for those living in poverty, the working poor, and others facing barriers to access to justice because of disability, geographic location, language, or education. The goal is not to create a new organization that will require ongoing funding or to replicate services that already exist in Nova Scotia. "We want to complement what is already out there," says LISNS executive director Maria Franks, noting, "If people qualify for legal aid, we want them to go there first." To help potential clients understand what services may be available to them, an online decision tree will point people in the right direction for the legal resources they need and can afford. "It's a road map of services," says Franks of the online tool. "If no other help is available, they can use Access Legal Help NS." After a year of planning and co-ordinating, the first pro bono legal clinics are up and running. For now, the focus is on family law and the clinics are being held at LISNS' office in central Halifax, but eventually the topics will expand and the clinics will be offered across the province and in space provided by community groups. Every eligible client receives a 30-minute appointment with a lawyer who has volunteered their time. LISNS wants more names on their rosto get involved in the project go to: legalinfo.org/access-legal-help-ns ter. "Response has been slow," says Franks. "In the next phase, we'll go out to talk to firms. We wanted to do a soft launch first to iron out some of the kinks that occur when you launch a new program." There is no magic number of volunteer lawyers being sought, she adds. "We will take as many as we can. We're creating teams of lawyers, so one lawyer is not always required for a clinic." Getting involved is easy. Lawyers can sign up online and even refer an existing client who cannot afford to continue with paid legal services. An orientation manual has also been developed to acquaint lawyers with the initiative and their role. More lawyers may become motivated in the wake of the Canadian Bar Association's damning report "Reaching Equal Justice: An Invitation to Envision and to Act," which calls access to justice in this country "abysmal." The report is attempting to sound a rallying cry that will engage lawyers and others to change what it says is a world "thick in law but thin in legal resources." — DoNALee MoULtoN donalee@quantumcommunications.ca McINNES COOPERS' FOCUS ON FEEDBACK l istening to clients is the first step in an effective feedback process for law firms. Acting on what you've heard is the second essential step. McInnes Cooper has recently implemented a formal feedback system that involves one-on-one meetings with key clients across the region. "they tend to be really great conversations — everything from what seminars could we offer to what services do you need," says Sandra goodwin, the firm's managing director of client development and service in halifax. "It enables us to retool the way we deliver service. If one person feels this way, so do others." the face-to-face interviews, conducted by goodwin and managing partner Bernie Miller, are supported by meetings with the client service team leader before and after. the oneon-ones are also reserved for the firm's top-tier clients. Mid-market clients are reached via focus groups and online surveys. the focus tends to be less free flowing and more issue specific. Still, says goodwin, the feedback from clients at all levels is relatively consistent. "they appreciate frequent communication. they like to have fee certainty." the latter, not surprisingly, is a big issue and a hot topic. McInnes Cooper now has two certified legal project managers on the team who are actively involved in proposal writing and delivery as well as building alternative fee models for clients. Clients have also revealed a preference for continuity. "they like to have one person they can deal with," says goodwin. "they like the concept of a team, but they want to be able to pick up the phone and talk with one person who knows their business well." the regional law firm is also making it easier for clients to access its information online. It has retooled its web site to incorporate a responsive design for mobile users. "No matter what device you're using, [the web site is] optimized for that device," explains goodwin. this web site upgrade comes in response to client feedback. originally the firm had been using another technology on its site to enable mobile device viewing, "but people didn't like it," says goodwin because the new views "didn't look like McInnes Cooper." As well, "with responsive design, you don't have to build 20 different apps." — DM www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m OctOber 2013 7

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