This past Friday, January 21 2022, the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) released a long-awaited “Report on Family Legal Services Provider Licence,” essentially recommending a path forward to allowing paralegals to practice some family law in Ontario.
The questions around if and how to regulate paralegals in family law have been on a long journey over the last number of years. Below we provide some context.
2016: The Bonkalo Report comes out
At the end of 2016 Justice Annemarie Bonkalo released her report, “Family Legal Services Review,” having been appointed (by the Attorney General and the Treasurer of the Law Society) to conduct, “a review of the provision of family legal services by persons other than lawyers.”
Bonkalo had recommended the creation of a specialized paralegal license with a limited scope of practice, as follows:
- Paralegals should be limited to providing legal services for: custody; access; simple child support cases; restraining orders; enforcement; and simple and joint divorces without property.
- They would be excluded from providing services for: child protection; property; spousal support; complex child support; and relocation.
- The services provided would include: conducting client interviews; completing forms and advising how to use them; obtaining and filing documents; and providing representation in mediation and court proceedings other than trials.
Four important exclusions were: representation in family trials; drafting settlement agreements; and dealing with spousal support and property issues.
Licensed paralegals would not be able to offer services in child protection or adoption.
NSRLP advocated in favour of the Bonkalo recommendations, and wrote a submission to the Ministry of the Attorney General and the LSO, addressing the criticisms directed at the recommendation to license paralegals to work on some family law cases, and strongly recommending that this step be taken.
The Bonkalo recommendations were rejected by the LSO Convocation in 2017.
2020: Proposal for consultation
In 2020 the LSO again took up the question of paralegals with a consultation on a proposal to expand the scope of paralegal practice to some family law matters. The proposal that was consulted on would have licensed a paralegal to offer the same services as Bonkalo recommended, plus:
- drafting legal documents, including simple settlement agreements;
- representation at trial;
- some simple property matters;
- some simple spousal support;
- some simple settlement agreements, (with the understanding that the paralegal must advise the client to seek independent legal advice)
The same limitations as Bonkalo recommended would be maintained for services in child protection or adoption.
In March of 2021 NSRLP released a podcast, “The Long Wait for Family Paralegals in Ontario,” discussing the situation to-date.
2022: Recommendations following consultation
The recommendations that are coming forward now following the consultation are similar to the consultation proposals, but slightly narrower in a couple of respects. For example:
- The consultation proposal allowed for restraining orders, but the recommendations do not.
- The consultation proposal allowed for some work on matrimonial home and property matters with limitations (see above), while the recommendations allow only for work on undisputed claims regarding property and matrimonial homes
In NSRLP’s opinion, the highlights of the recommendations are:
- It is a relief to see a continued push to licence paralegals as “Family Legal Service Providers” or FLSPs.
- FLSPs must complete an additional 6-8 months of specialised training (a college program) before applying for a licence, including a mandatory component on family violence. This is arguably (we will know more when the courses are developed) more family law training than family lawyers are required to complete at present.
- FLSPs will be able to offer advice in relation to custody, access (but not cross-jurisdictional issues), spousal support, and child support where there is no dispute over income determination.
- FLSPs could do simple separation agreements (with independent legal advice) – a very important allowance, since most cases settle.
- FLSPs will be able to deal directly with the Family Responsibility Office in Ontario to enforce support orders.
- Family Legal Service Providers with a license could represent parties at trial (although not on appeal).
The same exclusions as before – complex financial disputes (meaning many matrimonial home and property disputes, and some support disputes, will not be permitted for FLSPs), child protection, and adoption – are still present.
Next steps?
The recommendations are expected to go before Convocation on February 24, 2022. There are then timelines given for implementation which anticipate the earliest that the specialized training courses will be available will be Fall 2023.
We at NSRLP are very happy to see that paralegals will finally be licensed to practice some limited family law in Ontario – although we are not yet clear that the scope of the recommendations will be enough to make a real difference to those needing help who cannot afford a lawyer. We also urge that the implementation timetable be sped up as quickly as possible while maintaining standards. Ontario consumers have already waited a long time to be able to work with family paralegals.
They really need to stop “talking amongst themselves” and instead sit down with the true “stakeholders”, the public.
They haven’t got a clue what we need. Sorry, they just haven’t. Time to stop pouring tea and serving snacks at Law Society roundtables and just get down to brass-tacks.
Getting Paralegal / Law Clerk services out from under overpriced lawyer fees, IS A NO BRAINER.
The Law Society Act holds conflicts of interest.. They simply do not want to admit it as it does not serve them to do so. Yet they will gaslight us until hell freezes over.
It’s the family law lawyers that don’t want paralegals practicing in family law. these new amendments makes paralegals do all the heavy lifting, while the lawyers carry the ball to to the end zone to win the game and charges kings ransom for do 2% of the work.
and can we stop limiting this discussion to just the area of Family Law, please? It’s just so damn annoying.
Lawyers, I get their commitment to the profession and cost, and I’m sure, that by reducing their work load and still enjoying the lions share of the earnings on a case based on their ability to argue cases ( win or lose), is wrongly
justified. Paralegals pay a handsome price for the designation and to the required learning before being certified. But that should not subjugate them to Lawyers but rather see them as litigation partners. A win/lose should be equally shared compensation. If lawyers don’t agree then they should just do the back ground work required to build a case on their own. A Paralegal is quite capable to argue a case they have investigated and tees up for the lawyer. What may be a factor is experience in which our legal profession is quite happy to suppress for their own successes and profit.
It is time that Paralegals be recognized for the work they do behind the scenes by being given the permission to step to the forefront. While they are implementing new courses to allow Paralegals to perform FL services, time should be credited to Paralegals who have been working in Family Law for 8 months or more. Hence, not requiring them to take the course.