Canadian Forum on Civil Justice

The “Lethbridge Judicial District Report” for the Alberta Legal Services Mapping Project is now available. Lethbridge is the third Judicial District to be completed for the project. The Report addresses the current state of legal and related service delivery in the Lethbridge Judicial District, highlights key barriers and gaps in legal service delivery and provides recommendations to enhance service delivery in the District.

Summary of Key Points

What does it cost to access justice in Canada? How much is “too much”? And how do we know? — Literature Review
Kim Taylor & Ksenia Svechnikova

This review identified publications related to costs of justice to investigate how costs have been measured and reported especially in empirical research studies. Of 1,500 journal publications, studies, reports, websites and media articles initially identified only 86 (59 in English and 27 in French) proved useful to the review. Of these, many offered valuable theoretical insights, but few offered concrete examples of how and where costs accrued, or suggestions for developing a viable methodology for assessing the cost of justice. Key international empirical studies are considered in detail and critically assessed.

In 2009, the Canadian Bar Law for the Future Fund provided funding for research to support the continued expansion of the Inventory of Reforms.  We have added over 70 new records to the Inventory through this research, and the Final Report of the project is now available.

The focus of this project was on initiatives intended to reduce the cost of justice, which is a priority of the national Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters. Initiatives have been added to the Inventory in the areas including legal information clinics and advice lines, non-binding dispute resolution options, litigation management, small claims, disclosure, discovery and others.

We are pleased to announce that Peter Michalyshyn, QC has joined the Board of the Forum.

• A California six-year pilot project expanding access to counsel in civil cases was signed into law on 11 October 2009.
• In November 2009, the Manitoba Law Society announced the Family Law Action Centre, a pilot initiative providing reduced-cost legal services to middle-income litigants.
• On 17 December 2009, Ontario announced an initiative to improve justice for children and families.
• The report of the England and Wales Civil Litigation Costs Review was released on 14 January 2010. Lord Justice Jackson was appointed “to lead a fundamental review of the rules and principles governing the costs of civil litigation and to make recommendations in order to promote access to justice at proportionate cost.”
• An implementation date of 1 November 2010 was announced for the new Alberta Rules of Court.

The Alberta Legal Services Mapping team has completed field work in the Medicine Hat Judicial District, following the completion of the Lethbridge, Fort McMurray and Calgary Judicial Districts.  The next district the team will be visiting is St. Paul, in February 2010.

Recent presentations by Forum staff include:

Diana Lowe, QC and Judge Thérèse Alexander presented about the Action Committee on Access to Justice at the annual Conference of the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges, Calgary, 24 September 24, 2009.

Diana spoke to the newly formed Access to Legal Services Steering Committee on the Alberta Legal Services Mapping Project findings regarding paralegals and unbundling, 22 September 2009.

Diana was invited to speak to a group of Calgary justice community organizations visiting judges from Vietnam about the collaborative approaches in the development of the LInCs in Alberta and the ongoing work of the Mapping Project, 23 September 2009.

Stephanie Abel presented on the Mapping Project at the annual general meeting for the Alberta Association of Professional Paralegals, Calgary, Alberta, 17 October 2009.

David Kruch represented the Mapping Project at Calgary Public Library’s 1^st Annual Law Day. Calgary, November 4, 2009.

Diana presented on the Mapping Project to Pro Bono Law Alberta’s 4^th Annual Pro Bono Stakeholders’ Round Table, Calgary, 6 November 2009.

Diana presented on the Mapping Project and the Forum’s proposed Cost of Justice research project to the Collaboration Forum Meeting, Edmonton, 18 November 2009.

Diana presented on the Mapping project to the Meeting of the Ministers, Calgary, 8 December 2009.

The “Fort McMurray Judicial District Report” for the Alberta Legal Services Mapping Project is now available. Fort McMurray is the second Judicial District to be completed for the project. The Report addresses the current state of legal and related service delivery in the Fort McMurray Judicial District, highlights key barriers and gaps in legal service delivery and provides recommendations to enhance service delivery in the District.

Summary of Key Points

The Calgary Judicial District Report for the Alberta Legal Services Mapping Project is now available. Calgary is the pilot Judicial District for the project and this report provides an introduction to the project and our methodology. The Report then addresses the current state of legal and related service delivery in the Calgary Judicial District, highlights key barriers and gaps in legal service delivery and provides recommendations to enhance service delivery in the District.

Executive Summary

Brief Overview

Creating Collaborative Alliances for Change: A Dynamic Resource for the Justice Community
Compiled by Mary Stratton

The need for stakeholders to work collaboratively to effectively change justice and other systems is established internationally. Creating Collaborative Alliances for Change: A Dynamic Resource for the Justice Community has evolved in response to justice community partners seeking an answer to the question, “How do we get a better understanding of building and maintaining successful collaborations?” The Resource is a step-by-step working guide that distills theoretical knowledge and practice experience into a usable electronic format searchable in multiple ways, allowing use in whole or in part according to need.

It is organized around 16 Key Components in creating and maintaining successful collaborations. Each Key Component is initially presented as a short question and answer, which are linked to in-depth discussion of the issues involved. It is intended that the Resource will be periodically revised based on further input from the justice community.

The latest issue of LawNow (September/October 2009) features an article by Mary Stratton, the Forum’s Research Director. “Creating Access to Justice in Nunavut” overviews and updates key issues discussed in the Civil Justice System and the Public Justice for Nunavummiut report. An updated overview of the report is also available.

Other recent publications and presentations by Forum staff include:

Publications
Mary Stratton , “Reaching out with research: Engaging community in mapping legal service accessibility, effectiveness and unmet needs” in Alexy Buck, Pascoe Pleasence & Nigel J. Balmer, eds., Reaching further: Innovation, access and quality in legal services (London: LSRC, 2009) 47 –72.

Presentations
Diana Lowe, QC, Executive Director of the Forum, met with representatives of the UK Civil Justice Council, Vancouver, British Columbia, 7 April 2009 regarding our work on the cost of justice.

Diana presented on the Alberta Legal Services Mapping Project at the Foundation of Administrative Justice Conference, Edmonton, Alberta, 30 April 2009.

Diana presented “From Anecdote to Evidence: The Importance of Socio-Legal Research” at the annual meeting of the Law and Society Association, Denver, Colorado, 29 May 2009.

Glynnis Lieb, Research Coordinator for the Albert Legal Services Mapping Project, presented on the project at the Annual PLENA Networking Convention and Exposition, Canmore, Alberta, 4 June 2009.

Diana presented “Access to justice: Responding to Public Needs within a Culture of Proportionality” to the Journée Maximilien Caron, Montréal, Québec, 18 June 2009.

Diana presented on the work of the Forum and on the Action Committee on Access to Justice to the Canadian Bar Association Council, Dublin, Ireland, 15 August 2009.

Diana and Judge Thérèse Alexander presented on the national Action Committee on Access to Justice to the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges, Calgary, Alberta, 24 September 2009.