Julie conducted a full day workshop for the Nova Scoria Barrister’s Society on November 12th on how lawyers might work with SRLs, either offering direct services as “legal coaches”, or working opposite a SRL on the other side of a matter. A coaching model would allow lawyers to offer unbundled services to equip SRLs to move forward on their own, perhaps with regular review and assistance from the “lawyer-coach”. NSBS is interested in promoting this model as part of its new A2J mandate, and also as a business opportunity for the growing number of newly called lawyers having difficulty finding work.
One of the participants in the workshop was Heather de Berdt Romilly, Executive Director of the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia (LISNS). Heather commented: “Given the immense challenges LISNS is facing in supporting self-represented clients, it is inspiring to hear how coaching skills can be introduced into the mix. It has broadened our view that not only lawyers, but also volunteer members of the public with training, could be well situated to provide important coaching support. I am also intrigued by the opportunities a legal coaching model could present to young lawyers wishing to carve out a niche in an emerging field (providing services for the self-represented).”
If your organization is interested in an informative and interactive workshop on coaching SRLs –custom-designed for either lawyers providing coaching in a legal advice model, or non-lawyers offering coaching support to SRLs in other ways, or for both groups – please contact Julie or Sue at representingyourself@gmail.com