Alone
Continued From Page 23
having a lawyer slowed the process. A significant portion of
those without lawyers, however, reported that they had
access to sufficient information
about family law to represent
themselves, in particular from
the Internet.
About half of those without
lawyers believe that judges listen more to those with lawyers,
and expressed concerns such as
feeling like “second-class citizens” because they were unrepresented. But roughly three-quarters of those without
lawyers reported at least moderately good treatment from
court staff and judges.
Significantly, a majority of
unrepresented men did not
expect a worse outcome for economic issues because they were
unrepresented, but a majority
of represented men would
expect a worse outcome if they
were without counsel. Somewhat surprisingly, almost 10
per cent of self-represented
men believe that they would
experience worse outcomes if
they had a lawyer.
By contrast, among women,
perceptions of the value of hav-
ing a lawyer for economic issues
are very similar for those with
and without representation,
with most women expecting
better outcomes for those with
lawyers.
Our survey confirms the views of many family
lawyers and judges that the key reason for not
having representation is the lack of financial
resources and ineligibility for legal aid.
“
Rachel Birnbaum, King’s University College,
and Nicholas Bala, Queen’s University
and ineligibility for legal aid.
However, many are choosing to
not have a lawyer because they
believe that their money is better spent in other ways. Many of
the unrepresented are being
helped by increased access to
information and feel reasonably comfortable dealing with
the family justice process.
Given the high cost of legal
representation and the avail-
ability of “free” government ser-
vices, it may well be a sound
decision for some individuals to
decide not to retain counsel
(although these litigants are
imposing costs on the justice
system and government, and
often on the other party).
However, for a very significant
portion of family litigants who
are unrepresented for financial
reasons, there are serious con-
cerns about outcomes for them
and their children.
Rachel Birnbaum is an asso-
ciate professor, cross appointed
in childhood studies and social
work at King’s University Col-
lege, Western University.
Nicholas Bala is a professor of
law at Queen’s University. Their
research is supported by a grant
from the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council,
and will be the subject of presen-
tations over the coming months
at Ontario’s Family Law
Summit and the National
Family Law Program.
We want to hear from you!
Email us at: comments@lawyersweekly.ca
Family Law Lawyers
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