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for more than six years to replace its rules that are almost two decades old. In Nova Scotia, the country's fore- runner in introducing and implement- ing sweeping new rules, the process appeared relatively seamless. The charge was led by Supreme Court of Nova Scotia judges in consultation with the bar society, supported by the Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia, and funded in large part by the provin- cial Department of Justice. "There were literally hundreds of lawyers and court staff involved in drafting," says Supreme Court Justice John Murphy, who was actively involved in the initiative. The people power was necessary. This was the first major overhaul of the Civil Procedure Rules since a new "modernized" act was introduced in 1972, notes Justice Gerald Moir, a mem- ber of the committee that prepared the new Rules. By 2002, that "modernized" act was clearly out of date. "It became very clear that there was a need for some change in the Rules," says Darrel Pink, executive director of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society. "They were out of date in many ways. Many had never been used; many had been amended several times." There was another impetus for chang- ing the Civil Procedure Rules, and one that is driving change across the coun- try: access to justice. "Litigation over the last 30 years has become tremendously expensive. We wanted to improve access to court," notes Murphy. Nova Scotia's new Rules do that by enabling a more robust application pro- cess and a simplified process for claims under $100,000. According to the new Rules, there is provision for an ex parte application, an application in cham- bers, and an application in court. The application in chambers is heard in a short time, and it can be scheduled at a time when chambers is regularly held or at an appointed time. The application in court is for longer hearings, and it is available as a flexible and speedy alter- native to an action. The new Rules for claims under $100,000 are also intended to improve the efficiency of the court system. Not everyone applauds the new Rules. Concerns have been raised, for example, regarding use of experts. One Halifax firm in a memo to lawyers extraordinary step of making training mandatory on the new Rules." BARRISTERS' SOCIETY across the province warned that the changes, then proposed, would cause "severe curtailment of the right of non- party discovery." The drafters disagree. "We require greater quality of expert evidence," says Moir. "The real thrust of the Rule is 'don't give us more experts who aren't really experts.'" In the end, says Pink, it's process that matters. "Not all lawyers were happy, but they had an opportunity to be heard." Now they have an obligation to learn the new Rules. "We have taken the extraordinary step of making training mandatory on the new Rules," notes Pink. "Every practising lawyer must www. — DARREL PINK, NOVA SCOTIA "We have taken the take a test whether they are located in Nova Scotia or not." There's good reason for the due dili- gence. "One can no longer grab the same time-worn statement of claim or defence, fill in the names and ship the file off to the paralegal to prepare the list of documents," says Cathy Dalziel, a lawyer with Patterson Law in Halifax. "Now," she adds, "the lawyer really has to think about the type of case it is, how much is at stake . . . and how am I going to achieve economical success for the client." Such forward thinking is likely to apply to lawyers in other provinces once their revamped rules are put in place. Ontario, for example, has announced that its new civil justice reforms, which will become effective Jan. 1, 2010, will make it less expensive to access justice and easier to use the courts to quickly resolve disputes. This includes raising the monetary limit for simplified procedures to $100,000 from $50,000; requiring advance timelines for sharing information between parties to a dispute and limiting pretrial examinations for discovery to one day; and making it easier to resolve cases earlier. "The idea is to change everyone's thinking to focus on the issue," says Derry Millar, treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada. Part of the issue is efficiency — com- mercial efficiency. "We want a system of justice that works for all the people and the businesses of the province of Ontario. We want a system of justice that moves at the speed of commerce," Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley said at a press conference announcing the new Rules of Civil Procedure. Speed has not been driving civil procedure reform in Alberta (or else- where for that matter). The Alberta Law mag.com APRIL 2009 45 TODD JULIE