Top judge weighs in on legal fees

Suggests defraying costs as more choose to self-represent

Canada’s chief justice is inviting lawyers to consider following a U.S. trend of “unbundling” legal fees, allowing their clients to pay less by doing some of the work themselves.

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin raised the prospect at a time when a growing number of Canadians are representing themselves in court, adding her voice to a debate simmering in the legal community about whether lawyers should change the way they charge to avoid putting themselves out of business.

“This technique is being used in the United States to assist unrepresented litigants to get help for some aspects of their case, while they manage other aspects themselves,” Justice McLachlin said in a recent speech at a Vancouver legal conference.

“It raises problems, such as the lawyer’s liability for services that may be rendered without knowing all the facts. Yet, it merits consideration.”

Justice McLachlin’s nudging was part of a speech in which she decried the lack of affordable legal help in Canada. She said that some courts report that more than 44 per cent of cases involve self-represented litigants.

In a 2008 report, a Law Society of B.C. task force described unbundling as “a midway option between full service representation and no representation.”

Canadian Lawyer magazine, in a survey published last summer, reported that the average “going rate” in Canada for a two-day civil trial is $25,220. It costs an average of $1,250 for a bail hearing, $4,820 for a separation agreement and $6,600 for a child-custody and support agreement.

To cope with an increase in go-it-aloners, courts are scrambling to offer how-to guides, tips and checklists. Some are setting up storefront kiosks that offer legal help.

“Addressing the needs of self-represented litigants stretches the resources of the court,” said a 2007-08 report from the Supreme Court of Canada, tabled Thursday in the House of Commons.