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Paralegals and Access to Justice: A Case Study of Residential Tenancy Disputes in Ottawa [1]

Amidst a generally perceived crisis in access to justice, increasing emphasis is being placed on the potential of paralegals to offer affordable, efficient and effective legal assistance to people with unmet legal needs. In other words, paralegals may provide a means for re-configuring the costs of justice and thereby improving access to justice. This case

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Legal Aid Alberta Hosts 2013 Access to Justice Awards Gala

Each year, Legal Aid Alberta hosts the Access to Justice Awards Gala to recognize individuals nominated by their peers for their significant contribution to the community, as well as reflect on the important role each of us plays within the realm of access to justice.  “Remember, the concept of access to quality justice is not simply

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Insights into the Cost of Evidence

How do you get credible and testable evidence without making the justice system even more unaffordable than it already is? This question was the sum of the discussion at the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice’s (CIAJ) first-ever student workshop held on October 10, 2013. The workshop titled, The Cost of Evidence, was facilitated

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Is “Business” a Dirty Word in Law?

I remember being told at law school (not that long ago) that lawyers were more than “mere” legal plumbers.  The implication was that law was a profession (i.e. good, reputable), not a vocation (i.e. bad, dirty).  And indeed, as Professor Wesley Pue has noted, there is a long history within the legal profession of praising

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The National Self-Represented Litigants Project

“I have no choice – I am unrepresented not self represented. Its not that I think I can do this better than a lawyer, I have no choice. I don’t have $350 an hour to pay a lawyer.” “I was scared out of my mind. But I had a hard choice – either learning to

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Reaching Equal Justice: An Invitation to Envision and Act

The post was originally published on the Oxford Human Rights Hub blog. The year is 2030 and all people living in Canada have equal access to justice regardless of means, capacity or social situation.  The justice system is designed around people’s needs taking into consideration differences in the legal needs of different individuals and groups

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