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.