A recent event gave leaders in the legal community a chance to see what it's like for people who have to solve their own legal problems in court. Robert Lapper, lawyer and chief executive officer at The Law Society of Upper Canada, was one of those leaders.
"It was an eye-opening experience to see first-hand the challenges faced by non-legal professionals as they navigate the justice system," says Lapper.
The event, which was organized by the National Self-Represented Litigants Project, gave legal leaders an opportunity to shadow self-represented litigants as they managed their legal problem at a Toronto courthouse. The number of people representing themselves in court has increased dramatically in recent years, according to the project's report.
"I was very aware of the increasing number of self-represented litigants and the many challenges they face. Participating in this event made it all that much more tangible," says Lapper. "It drove home for me the importance of the Law Society's new focus on access to justice, which includes working with the courts and other key players from the legal community to help people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer or paralegal."
The event included a tour of court-based services, such as Law Help Ontario provided by Pro Bono Law Ontario and Family Law Information Centres, provided by the Ministry of the Attorney General.
"While there are still many gaps in terms of making the system work for self-represented litigants, I was impressed by the number of services that do exist," says Lapper. "Part of the challenge is making sure people know about these services. The Law Society has recently published a guide — available on our website at lsuc.on.ca — that can help. It's called Handling Everyday Legal Problems. It provides brief descriptions and contact information for reliable legal information sources and free and low-cost legal service providers in Ontario."
The Law Society of Upper Canada is the regulator of lawyers and paralegals in Ontario. Robert Lapper joined the organization as its CEO in February 2012.
