Fall 2022 School for Family Litigants!

NOTE: Registration is now closed. Once again we are bowled over by the response – even with added spots we filled up in even less time than our first run of the course. We’re sorry if you weren’t able to get a spot, but stay tuned, we hope very much to be able to continue offering the course in the future, hopefully in a variety of formats.

We are so pleased to announce the second run of our School for Family Litigants! This free 12-week online program (generously funded by a grant from the Department of Justice) gives Canadian self-represented litigants with family law matters (divorce, custody, etc.) the tools to help them navigate the justice system on their own. It ran for the first time in the winter of 2022, and was a huge success – feedback from both SRL students and our volunteer lecturers and panelists was enthusiastic and very positive. We’re so glad we can offer a second iteration, and hope very much to find the funding to continue this program as a permanent NSRLP endeavour.

Running weekly on Thursdays, September 15 to December 1, 2022 (12pm to 1:30pm EST), the program covers, among other topics:

• Basics of the family law system, including precedent
• Legal research using CanLII
• Procedures around legal paperwork
• Identifying steps in the process, including different hearing types
• Pursuing settlement options
• Getting ready for trial
• Self-care and managing emotions

Please note that this program will not provide legal advice or coaching, or answer questions on the specifics of your case, and NSRLP cannot guarantee success in your legal matter. The course instead offers opportunities to learn information and strategies that will help you to understand and navigate the family law system.

Sessions will be led by NSRLP staff and a variety of family law experts, and will be based on our practical “primers” for SRLs, as well as other applicable resources. At the end of the course, each student will receive a certificate of completion signed by Dr. Jennifer Leitch, Executive Director of the NSRLP. The program is open to family SRLs from across Canada, as the content is not province/territory-specific.

Registration will open at 12pm EST on Tuesday, July 26. At that time we will post the link to register on our website and social media, and will send it out in our newsletter. If you’re interested we encourage you to save the date, as registration is first-come, first-served, demand is high, and spots are limited. (Please note that for the first run of the course, registration filled up in under 2 hours.) Pre-registration is required, and students should be available for all 12 weeks (sessions are not à la carte). NOTE: Registration is now CLOSED.

Follow NSRLP on Facebook and Twitter for more information on the School for Family Litigants.

We hope to see you there for another wonderful session this fall!

Student feedback on the first run of the course:

“I am filled with gratitude for being able to participate and have the resources provided to us by this program.”

“Thank you for doing this and making us feel like we are not alone.”

“Thank you for helping all of us feel seen and validated. It can be a very lonely road but with this course I felt like I could maybe find a glimmer of hope in what is a very challenging time.”

“The most helpful part to me was the validation that navigating the family law system is challenging. All of the ‘insider tips’ about opposing counsel, the system, judges etc. were beyond helpful. As a SRL, I have felt very alone. This course validated that going to trial by myself and trying to figure out the system IS challenging and can be very draining/frustrating. If this course had been available 7 years ago when my first matter was heard… I believe I would have made different choices.”

“I am very grateful for this course. It’s helped me to feel so much more empowered and aware of whats going on in my matter. You all can feel very, very proud of what you have accomplished in producing this course! Well done!”