The Lawyer's Daily quotes Laurie Pawlitza on the LSO’s approval of the Family Legal Services Provider licence

The Lawyer's Daily quotes Laurie Pawlitza in its article about the Law Society of Ontario approving the Family Legal Services Provider licence, enabling paralegals with specific qualifications permission to provide a limited scope of services in matters related to family law.

After an intense and lengthy debate, the LSO has approved the Family Legal Services Provider (FLSP) licence, which will allow “specially trained paralegals to provide a limited scope of service in family law matters.”

The motion on the licence was presented to Convocation on Dec. 1 by paralegal bencher Cathy Corsetti. She said, “specifically, the FLSP would provide legal services related to process navigation, joint and uncontested divorces, motions to change for child support based on straightforward income and excluding special and extraordinary expenses, change of name applications and family responsibility office enforcement proceedings, again excluding enforcement related to motions to change involving special and extraordinary expenses.”

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Emeritus treasurer Laurie Pawlitza said she’s practised exclusively in family law for over 30 years and noted the issue of paralegals working in family law actually started in 1998 when it was examined by former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Peter Cory.

“Everyone in this room should be ashamed that we are still debating this issue. [In] 2011, as the treasurer, I said we would look at the Cory report, and we would attempt to move forward to changing paralegal scope of practice. It is 11 years later, and we are still debating this issue,” she stressed.

Pawlitza asked whether Convocation was “actually going to govern in the public interest, which we have not done and not moved forward with since Peter Cory began in 1998.”

“This proposal is something that can make a difference,” she added, encouraging support of the motion.

She urged benchers not to “fiddle while Rome burns.”

To read the full article, please visit The Lawyers Daily website.