What would a world without the NSRLP be like?

This blog will be the last (with the exception of reposts of our regular Slaw column) in the Access Revolution series for the time being, as we focus on fundraising to save NSRLP and try to secure its future.

This is not a step we take lightly, or with pleasure – it’s a hard choice we decided we must make this year. Here’s why.

For the last 8 years, we have stitched together a multitude of small project grants to keep going, and even expanding. We have been very successful at this – most of these grants were written at my kitchen table, fueled by the expertise and creativity of first Sue Rice, then Dayna Cornwall and Moya McAlister, and always backed by the energy of our team of law student research assistants.

But it’s exhausting. And we want to do more for Access to Justice for self-represented people, which is difficult when we spend all our time writing grants and creating pitches to funders. NSRLP needs core funding, and that is hard to find. But we are determined to find a way forward.

We also need a new Director, as I have left the University of Windsor (as you know, left, not retired) and am working pro bono for NSRLP now. I shall always be here in the background, but NSRLP needs funding not only to continue the work of our professional staff and student research assistants, but also to fund at least a part-time Director.

NSRLP needs about $270,000 a year. It’s really not very much for what we do. And some of it we can generate from contracts and project grants each year – but not all.

What would the Canadian A2J landscape look like without NSRLP?

When NSRLP was created in 2013, on the heels of the National SRL Study – which for the very first time asked system users why they were coming to court without lawyers – it burst onto the justice scene in Canada as the first and only organization advocating for Access to Justice for self-represented litigants.

We knew then that more and continuous research was needed to understand the self-rep phenomenon, the biggest change in the legal system in 150 years. Since then, NSRLP has produced a welter of research reports – 12 more, in fact – on topics ranging from new developments in case law affecting SRLs, to our regular SRL Intake Reports, to our focused research on topics like the use of summary judgements against SRLs, and the difficulties of obtaining a transcript across Canada.

We have created and updated 13 SRL “Primers” (about to be 15) that are used across Canada and the US to guide self-reps through their challenging journey.

More recently, NSRLP has become the go-to for courts, tribunals, and other organizations looking for user feedback on new processes and procedures, many designed specifically with the needs of SRLs in mind. Our National SRL Database (you can sign up here) contains the details of over 1,000 SRLs who are willing to provide detailed feedback on new legal tech apps, new legal service delivery models, new court and tribunal processes, forms, procedures, and more. This is a unique resource in Canada which is allowing innovation to be grounded in user evaluation and modified/enhanced as a result.

Building a future for NSRLP

All this, and more, is at risk if we cannot secure the future – or at least the next few years – of the NSRLP.

We have already made a big difference. In 2013 SRLs were widely seen by other justice system players as deranged people who were messing up the smooth functioning of justice in the courts with their wild claims.

Today negative attitudes persist in some quarters, but we have come a long way. There is widespread acceptance that if people cannot afford lawyers, they will represent themselves. Not because they want to but because they have no other choice. Especially if life-changing decisions are at stake about their families, their income, their futures, and their rights.

But there is so much more work to be done. More SRL Primers and other resources, more raising awareness, educating judges, lawyers, and law students about the realities of the SRL phenomenon and how to build better, fairer systems. More users at the table to discuss policy and procedural changes that work for them, and not just the legal professionals.

The growing work being done to increase legal literacy by public legal education societies is very important, and NSRLP frequently collaborates with these agencies. Pro bono initiatives to assist SRLs are growing, but as I have often said, these will not fix the problem long-term without system change.

Canada needs NSRLP to go on doing what it has done since 2013: moving the needle on attitudes and awareness, standing up for SRLs, pressing for their inclusion in developing new processes, and drawing supportive legal professionals into our campaign for Access to Justice.

How can you help?

NSRLP is in the process of becoming a registered charity, but in the meantime, you can get a tax receipt for your donation from the University of Windsor if you use this link:

https://representingyourselfcanada.com/donate/

And if you know a rich person who might be feeling philanthropic, tell them about NSRLP (seriously).

We believe that NSRLP should be funded by government, because we are doing essential work in a unique way. Please tell your MP or MPP, provincial Attorney-General, or provincial Legal Aid Board about the work of NSRLP.

If you sit on the board of any foundations or charities that we have not yet applied to (!), please talk to them about supporting NSRLP’s work.

And finally, please share this blog with your followers on social media and get the word out.

NSRLP will not survive long-term without sustained, core funding. We hate to shutter this blog, which is an important point of connectivity among justice system stakeholders invested in Access to Justice, including SRLs. But it takes a lot of staff energy, and we’ve made the hard decision that we must prioritize our long-term survival.

You, our readers, have been so extraordinarily supportive over the years that we feel confident you’ll understand. And we hope very much that the Access Revolution Blog can come back full force in the future! If you hope to see that happen as we do, please spread the word far and wide: the NSRLP does what no other organization, and no government, does – and it’s in danger.