Typical of the trend we are seeing towards the development of new service and delivery business models aimed at SRLs is You Counsel, the brainchild of Amer Mustaq, a Toronto employment and human rights lawyer at Formative LLP. Amer has recently launched an online course to help self-represented litigants make their way through the small claims court system. Amer says, “Over the last few years, I noticed that I was unable to help a lot of potential clients simply because of their inability to afford legal fees.”
You Counsel has been designed for self-represented litigants, especially those with no legal education background, with the goal of providing “comprehensive self-help guidance…in the most easy-to-follow terms”. It includes a curriculum of online lectures that guide claimants through the process and procedures of small claims courts. Topics include issuing a claim, defending a claim, and trial preparation. Lectures 3 and 7 in the series can be viewed free of charge as a sampling for those considering whether to enrol.
There is also an associated forum where self-represented litigants can share their experiences or pose questions and lawyers and paralegals are encouraged to participate and answer these questions. As a form of “legal open-sourcing” described by Richard Susskind (The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services 2008), such a forum could provide assistance to SRLs by establishing a community that shares knowledge, experience and information.
Please view You Counsel at www.youcounsel.ca. Forum can be viewed at http://www.youcounselforums.ca/t/welcome-to-you-counsel-forums/8.