Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6 9 own estimates, getting judgments can cost Quebec couples between $1,800 and $3,300 "as a starting point. "That's a lot of money for the many people out there who are ineligible for legal aid but who can't afford or are afraid of paying thousands of dollars in lawyers' fees to get a judgment," says Letarte. "A lot of people think, 'I've already got an agreement, I don't need a lawyer,' but they do. Our goal is help those people obtain a judgment." There is an evident need for his new service, he adds, judging by the 700 hits the web site received within 36 hours of the publication of a story about it in the Journal de Montréal and other Quebec media outlets. "That's an incredible response," says Letarte. Though she lauds the originality of mondroitfamilial.com, Montreal fam- ily law lawyer Marie Annik Walsh was both skeptical about its client potential and concerned about its impact on the field of family law. "I think it's a great idea and a very interesting project," says Walsh, a partner at Dunton Rainville and the president of the Barreau du Québec- affiliated Association des avocats et avocates en droit familial du Québec. "But I think it is best suited for very simple files with no risk, where both parties are earning salaries and have a fixed agreement. All you need to do there is draft a six-paragraph document that settles everything. But my 20 years of experience in family law tells me you can never rubber- stamp everything in mediation agree- ments." According to Walsh, even simple files with no apparent complications require family lawyers to verify a myr- iad of things, from ensuring the agree- ment was obtained with the consent of both parties to verifying revenues based on income tax statements rather than pay slips, since many people today are self-employed or work on contract. "You need to do due diligence," says Walsh. "But because [Letarte] is charging so little for his services, he obviously intends to limit the amount of time he spends on files. So he's going to have to be careful about liability." She also wonders how Letarte hopes to turn a profit with each file. "He will need to have a sizeable volume, but then due diligence would suffer," she says. Though she lauds the new service's ability to serve people in far-flung rural areas where legal counsel is not read- ily available, Walsh says its bargain- basement nature is less suited to the complexities and realities of cases in larger centres such as Montreal, not to mention maddening for lawyers offer- ing more comprehensive services. "To see a family lawyer sell our services so cheaply kind of undermines everything we work and stand for, which is to represent and defend our clients and members to the best of our abilities." — MARK CARDWELL \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP Canada's leading legal Master's degree program for lawyers and experienced professionals. OSGOODE'S PROFESSIONAL MASTER OF LAWS (LLM) PROGRAM ATTEND CLASS FROM YOUR HOME OR OFFICE You're working full-time, but still want to pursue your professional development goals. Our cutting-edge videoconferencing technology brings you right into the classroom with a click, so you can use your valuable time in the most productive way possible. Apply by October 26th and start in January. Learn more at osgoodepd.ca/cdnlawyer LLM SPECIALIZATIONS WITH VIDEOCONFERENCING STARTING IN JANUARY 2017: · Administrative Law · Business Law · Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution · Constitutional Law · Criminal Law & Procedure · Energy & Infrastructure Law · Family Law · General LLM WINTER 2017 APPLICATION DEADLINE: OCTOBER 26 Actual in-class videoconferencing experience Untitled-4 1 2016-09-15 10:17 AM

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