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Ontario's Changing Legal Landscape |
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On May 1st, 2008, the Law Society of Upper Canada began its regulation of its newest licensees, Paralegals. Ontario became the first place in North America where licensed Paralegals can directly represent members of the public in various legal venues. Paralegals have long represented Ontarioans seeking affordable legal assistance, for Traffic Tickets, Small Claims Litigation, Landlord/Tenant matters, Simple Wills, Incorporations and Uncontested Divorces, among other things. The arrangement changed and became law with the passage of Bill 14, the Access to Justice Act. Now, paralegals can no longer do the Solicitor type work, Simple Wills, Incorporations and Uncontested Divorces, nor can paralegals appear in Family Court. Paralegals continue to appear in Provincial Offences Court, Small Claims Court and at various tribunals such as the Landlord/Tenant Board, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario and WSIB. Paralegals have traditionally been consumer based, without a strong presence in the business community. Now, both Lawyers and Paralegals are licensees of the Law Society of Upper Canada. For routine legal matters, Paralegals legitimately offer businesses a lower cost alternative to traditional law firms. Businesses can leverage their legal spending budgets, particularly in areas where the amounts in dispute are under $10,000.00 (within the next two years, the Small Claims Court Limit is widely expected to rise to $25,000.00, matching BC, Alberta and Nova Scotia), by use of Licensed Paralegals. Litigation enforcement allows Plaintiffs to attach assets, real property, wages and bank accounts, which can be far more effective than collection agency calls. However, the cost of doing so has been high, until now. Paralegals, unlike Lawyers, typically work on “Block fees” rather than hourly billing, and traditionally do not charge for phone calls, faxes and copying. In addition, Paralegals may accept Small Claims work on a full or partial contingency basis, meaning businesses do not need to invest large amounts of money in litigation. For businesses able to understand the process, collections can be much more cost effective. Tribunal paralegal representatives frequently have specialized knowledge that most lawyers cannot match. Many are former Board Workers or Tribunal employees. Going forward, the public will likely miss access to inexpensive legal representation in Family Court and for Uncontested Divorces and Simple Wills in particular. The big winners may well be businesses, for whom reliable, inexpensive legal assistance is now within reach. Bruce Parsons
Traffic & Court Services Bruce Parsons is the owner of Traffic and Court Services, a paralegal firm with offices in Brantford and Hamilton, a former president of the Paralegal Society of Ontario, a member of the Advisory Board for Humber Colleges Court and Tribunal Agent Program and a speaker at numerous events, including the Law Society of Upper Canada’s 2007 presentation, The Small Claims Court - Hot Spots One Year Later. |
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Thoughts on Collections & Recovery |
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Appendix A -Thoughts on Collections & Recovery |
Sample clauses re Financial Information for an application and/or a ContractCredit Investigation and Sharing Of InformationCONSENT TO PERSONAL INFORMATION SHARING. By signing below, Applicant consents and authorizes XYX Company and its agents, at any time to communicate with and disclose to third parties (including Credit Reporting Agencies, Credit Exchanges, Brokers and Credit Grantors) any of the Applicant credit, financial and personal information that XYX Company deems necessary to complete, service or enforce this Agreement and any Ancillary Agreements, including additions, modifications, updates or other related transactions, including but not limited to the Assignment or Sale of this Agreement. This clause survives the term or termination of this Agreement. CONSENT TO CREDIT INVESTIGATION. Applicant hereby authorizes XYX Company to conduct financial and credit investigations of Applicant for the purposes of approval, maintenance and enforcement of this Agreement, or any judgment obtained by XYX Company as a result of any default hereunder, and to obtain any information required from any source to which it may apply, and each source is hereby authorized to provide such information to XYX Company. This includes, but is not limited to, the XYX Company obtaining information from any credit reporting agency, creditor of Applicant, or banking and other financial institution where Applicant may have credit or depository facilities. XYX Company may obtain such information at any time before or during the Term of the Agreement or after termination of the Agreement in the event any monies remain owing to XYX Company. |
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Appendix B - Thoughts on Collections & Recovery |
OFFERS TO SETTLE
Small Claims Court Rules
O. Reg 258/98
Costs Consequences of Failure to Accept 14.07 (1) When a plaintiff makes an offer to settle that is not accepted by the defendant, the court may award the plaintiff an amount not exceeding twice the costs of the action, if the following conditions are met: - The plaintiff obtains a judgment as favourable as or more favourable than the terms of the offer.
- The offer was made at least seven days before the trial.
- The offer was not withdrawn and did not expire before the trial. O. Reg. 258/98, r. 14.07 (1).
(2) When a defendant makes an offer to settle that is not accepted by the plaintiff, the court may award the defendant an amount not exceeding twice the costs awardable to a successful party, from the date the offer was served, if the following conditions are met: - The plaintiff obtains a judgment as favourable as or less favourable than the terms of the offer.
- The offer was made at least seven days before the trial.
- The offer was not withdrawn and did not expire before the trial. O. Reg. 258/98, r. 14.07 (2).
(3) If an amount is awarded under subrule (1) or (2) to a self-represented party, the court may also award the party an amount not exceeding $500 as compensation for inconvenience and expense. O. Reg. 78/06, s. 31. |
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Appendix C - Thoughts on Collections & Recovery |
Service of ClaimRULE 8 SERVICE Service of Particular Documents Plaintiff’s or Defendant’s Claim 8.01 (1) A plaintiff’s claim or defendant’s claim (Form 7A or 10A) shall be served personally as provided in rule 8.02 or by an alternative to personal service as provided in rule 8.03. O. Reg. 258/98, r. 8.01 (1). Service of Claim by Mail to Last Known Address (8. 03 (7), (8) & (9) (7) Service of a plaintiff’s claim or defendant’s claim may be made by sending a copy of it by mail or by courier, in an envelope showing the sender’s return address, to the last known address of the person to be served. O. Reg. 258/98, r. 8.03 (7); O. Reg. 78/06, s. 11 (4). (8) Service under subrule (7) is deemed to have been effected on the 20th day after the date the document is mailed or verified by courier that it was delivered if an affidavit of service (Form 8A), (a) indicates that the deponent believes the address to which the claim is sent to be the last known address of the person to be served, and states the reasons for the belief; (b) indicates that the claim has not been returned to the deponent; and (c) indicates that the deponent has no reason to believe that the person to be served did not receive the claim. O. Reg. 258/98, r. 8.03 (8); O. Reg. 78/06, s. 11 (5). (9) The affidavit of service shall not be completed before the day referred to in subrule (8). O. Reg. 258/98, r. 8.03 (9). Service by Mail 8.07 (1) If a document is to be served by mail under these rules, it shall be sent, by regular lettermail or registered mail, to the last address of the person or of the person’s lawyer or agent that is, (a) on file with the court, if the document is to be served by the clerk; (b) known to the sender, if the document is to be served by any other person. O. Reg. 258/98, r. 8.07 (1); O. Reg. 78/06, s. 14. |
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