This is the final instalment of a three-part series on access to legal services. In Part 1, I argued that the crisis facing access to legal services is precipitated by a fundamental mismatch between supply…
This is Part 2 of a three-part series on the topic of access to legal services. In Part 1, I argued that the traditional approach to ensuring access to legal services (that is, increasing the…
In this three-part series, I make the case that the legal profession needs nurses. More to the point, we need to create new categories of legal professionals who are not lawyer, but who are qualified to provided limited legal advice and even representation within a well-defined scope. These non-lawyer professionals would be regulated by a system similar to that of colleges or associations of nurses in the health industry. In Part 1 of the series, I explore the shortcomings of the “traditional” approach to promoting access to legal services (that is, increasing the capacity of legal aid and pro bono). I argue that these approaches are cost-prohibitive from a government viewpoint and will therefore prove inadequate in addressing the underlying shortage of lawyers.
It’s something many lawyers complain about – being ambushed by friends and family with legal problems and expecting an instant answer. Blogging lawyers also face this dilemma from their general readership. Both are likely to…
First posted on Commercial Law International on April 3, 2009. It is an understatement to say that the English take their tea very seriously. And it is little wonder why a small teashop in Surrey,…
The Globe & Mail recently reported on a recurring event that flies in the face of the popular stereotype of lawyers being vile creatures beyond salvation. The Lawyers Feed the Hungry program has been providing…
A study a couple months ago indicated that medical students are socially segregated from each other. The reasons included: High workloads school located outside the main campus High numbers of contact hours, outside the university…
What I love best about the law is the ability to challenge and break down stereotypes. For example, Canadians generally overestimate the number of minorities that have committed a crime, which is usually lower than…
York University President Emeritus Harry Arthurs told graduands at Spring Convocation ceremonies last June, …if you have abilities, if you have resources and opportunities, you also have an obligation to use them on behalf of…
The Wall Street Journal blog interviewed Kirsten Wolf, what they describe as a law-school “naysayer.” They asked her how she liked law school, and although she liked the intellectual aspects of it, she disliked the…
Casual Practice Christina Binkley has commented on how the casual workplace has affected legal practice. But she claims once they go casual, it’s difficult to get them to dress up again. According to her, …in…
McCarthy Tétrault announced recently that they are the first firm to join Partners Without Borders with Avocats Sans Frontieres in Quebec. The organization was founded in 1992 in Belgium, and founded the Quebec chapter in…
