The Law Society has approved the following six new proposals by non-traditional legal service providers to deliver advice and services to the public in a safe environment for consumers, including three in which providers have made joint proposals with law firms to deliver their services:
- Andrea Abbinante – providing personal injury law services offered through Virgin Hickman, including advice, negotiating claims with ICBC, representation for matters before the Civil Resolution Tribunal, and legal research, drafting documents, legal coaching and representation for matters before tribunals and court.
- Courtney Burnett – providing employment law and disability insurance law services offered through Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, including advice, drafting legal documents and representation in negotiations and matters before the Provincial Court and certain administrative tribunals.
- Bryan Louis Crockett – providing employment law, residential tenancy law and civil law services, including advice, research and drafting documents, and representation in negotiations and matters before the Civil Resolution Tribunal, Provincial Court, Human Rights Tribunal, the Residential Tenancy Branch and Employment Standards Branch.
- Ali Dabaja – providing advice, drafting and reviewing documents, negotiation and representing clients with human rights law, employment law, residential tenancy law summary criminal law, and regulatory licensing tribunal matters.
- Tim Hewson – operation of an online platform called LegalWills.ca for users to create, store and share wills, living wills, powers of attorney and other estate planning documents that can be reviewed by their own lawyer or one from a referral list provided by LegalWills.ca.
- Michèle Ross – providing family law advice offered through Virgin Hickman, including legal research, document preparation, negotiations and representation for matters before court.
The scope of limited legal services that these providers may offer to the public is set out in “no-action” letters that outline conditions under which they must operate. The no-action letters for Abbinante, Burnett and Ross also clarify that the Law Society will not initiate action against the law firms for facilitating the delivery of the services. The Law Society will monitor the service providers through regular reporting, to ensure consumers are protected.
Further information about approved proposals and how to submit a proposal are available on Innovation Sandbox page on the Law Society’s website.