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 M A R C H 2 0 1 7 47 here . . . facilitate access to justice and it is my view that the courts should encourage that." McDiarmid goes on to write that "con- cerns that might arise hypothetically from limited retainers are generally dealt with by the body of ethical rules governing the conduct of lawyers." In this case, it's the Law Society of British Columbia's Code of Professional Conduct. Merrill says the law society feels unbundling removes barriers for peo- ple, and it recently funded a family unbundled legal services project with Mediate BC. "We have to do a better job as a profession to let the public know things are offered," Merrill says, noting there are also resources for lawyers — such as sample agreements on the law society's website and a link to the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC, which offers a free one-hour tutorial on limit- ed-scope retainers on YouTube. Law Society of Upper Canada Trea- surer Paul Schabas says the law society is "very much in favour" of unbundling, noting "we see this as an important tangible step where the law society has taken the lead in making sure that our rules are not standing in the way of access to justice and in fact are going further trying to facilitate it." In 2011, the rules of conduct were amended, and the law society went to the Civil Rules Committee and Family Rules Committee to "work with them to amend their rules to facilitate and effectively make it easier for lawyers and paralegals to provide services on limited aspects of files." Schabas says the profession, includ- ing judges on the rules committees, have been receptive — the law society has The National Self-Represented Litigant Project aims to increase the responsive- ness of the Canadian justice system to self-reps, develop practical and accessible resources and continue to research and collect data in this area. Based on Julie Macfarlane's National Self-Represented Litigants Research Study conducted from 2011 to 2013, where Macfarlane spoke with more than 200 self-represented litigants, the NSRLP is an attempt to address the final recommendations in her report. The recommendations, referred to as the 10 Action Steps for the SRL Phenom- enon, are listed on the project's website, representingyourselfcanada.com, and are as follows: Action 1: How we think about change Action 2: Listening to SRLs Action 3: Making private legal services responsive to SRLs Action 4: Evolving new models of public legal services Action 5: Enhancing information portals for SRLs Action 6: Enhancing mediation and dispute resolution services for SRLs Action 7: Judges and SRLs Action 8: Integrating new knowledge into legal education and training Action 9: Measuring the social impact of self-representation Action 10: Re-building public trust National Self- Represented Litigant Project Tel: 905-841-5717 www.bolandhowe.com THE PROOF IS IN THE PRECEDENTS. Jury Verdict (Nov 2016) Elder v. HCSW Property Management et al. Jury Verdict (May 2016) Derry v. The Cadillac Fairview Corporation SLIPPERY WALKWAY CASE? Consider referring your client to us. Tim Boland Darcy Romaine For further occupier liability verdicts, ask for our Trial Report Card. olandHowe_CL_Mar_17.indd 1 2017-02-14 8:41 AM

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