The territory is experiencing a shortage of lawyers in its private bar as is laid out in a recently released report from the Law Society of Yukon (LSY).
The report, titled Access to Justice in the Yukon: Access to Lawyers, came after LSY officials visited more than a dozen rural communities between 2016 and 2018 in a bid to gather feedback from residents on their difficulties in accessing lawyers’ services.
Places visited include Beaver Creek, Dawson City, Haines Junction, Pelly Crossing, Ross River and Watson Lake.
Specifically, the report indicates legal needs are not being met for a good number of civil matters — particularly when it comes to family law.
“Individuals across the territory voiced concern about finding lawyers to help them with their legal needs,” states the report. “The reasons ranged from affordability, conflicts of interests and simply not knowing how or when to find a lawyer.”
Lawyers who provided feedback for the report confirmed the greatest demand is in the area of family law, followed by civil litigation, real estate and wills and estate matters.
Another layer of complication comes in the fact that the vast majority of lawyers living and working in Yukon are located in the capital of Whitehorse, which creates a variety of access to justice issues for those in other parts of the territory.
Put simply, there are not enough lawyers to meet the demands of a growing population.
As of March 2024, Yukon’s population was 46,259, a 3.5 per cent increase from that time the year before, according to information from the Yukon Bureau of Statistics. As of December 2022, it was 44,535, a 2.2 per cent increase from the year before that. A similar increase was seen in 2021.
Whitehorse remains the most populated place in the territory.
According to numbers from the LSY, Yukon’s private bar consists of 69 “actively practicing members.”
Family lawyer Paul Di Libero, who studied law in Toronto but moved to the territory some time ago, chairs the LSY’s access to justice committee. He said the regulator is “looking at a recruitment project” to help with the problem.
Part of it, he said, will be billing the territory as “a great place to live.”
“It’s beautiful up here, and if you like the outdoor lifestyle, it’s awesome,” said Di Libero. “So, I think an active recruitment project is part of that.”
The well-known travel website Tripadvisor.ca lists as many as 27 outdoor attractions for those wanting to experience nature and wildlife, including Miles Canyon, Emerald Lake, Kluane National Park, Rock Glacier Trail and the Chadburn Lake recreation area.
Echoing the report, Di Libero spoke of the demand for lawyers dealing in civil matters.
“On the civil side, we’re seeing very high numbers of self-represented litigants in the Yukon. Fifty-eight per cent, right now, of all family files have [self-representation] involved, and the courts are struggling with that, the litigants are struggling with that. And it’s not for lack of having lawyers here, there are lawyers who practice here. … [But] it’s a small bar; there aren’t enough of us to manage the demand.”
Another aspect of the problem is the fact that most private bar lawyers work in Whitehorse. This, said Di Libero, can cause difficulties for those living outside the capital with legal needs.
Case in point: there are no family lawyers working outside Whitehorse, he said.
“If you are in these communities, you have to come into Whitehorse. A lot of us do calls, or video calls, to make appointments. But if you come into Whitehorse, say, and you’re looking for a family lawyer … there are, right now, as far as firms go and sole practitioners, I want to say between six and seven lawyers.”
This, he said, can lead to problems of conflict of interest, given that some family lawyers also provide other legal services — real estate or will and estate matters, for example — for couples now looking to divorce.
“There are only a handful of firms in town, and then you have a smattering of sole practitioners just down the road, and they do a lot of things, typically. The firms are involved in corporate affairs, they are doing real estate. So, [one of the divorcing parties], they [go] to a firm, [that firm] could have done the wills for the couple, or they could have done real estate work [for them] and have conflict that way.”
According to the report, only two of Yukon’s 176 resident lawyers (public lawyers included) are based outside Whitehorse. Of those in the private bar who participated in a recent survey, almost 67 per cent said they faced challenges serving clients outside the capital. Common challenges include signing and executing documents, having needed in-person meetings, general communication and the processing of financial transactions.
It goes on to state that lawyers dealing in civil and family law matters will at times travel to communities to see clients. However, the bulk of such matters are primarily dealt with in Whitehorse.
But Di Libero also described an internal problem — that being lawyers leaving the private bar to take jobs with the territorial and federal governments.
“It is an open secret here that a lot of these lawyers are finishing articles in private practice and then moving over to government,” he said. “The number of lawyers working for the Yukon government and the federal government here has ballooned.”
Di Libero said the lure of government jobs is understandable: solid, steady pay; relatively stable hours; a pension plan; and paid vacation.
“You’re not going to make as much money in the long term … compared to private practice, but it’s very attractive for people who want a balanced lifestyle. And the people who live here value their time camping, fishing, hunting, raising a family. So, I think that’s a really big part of what’s happening. … Because the government work is so attractive, there is a pull here.”
The report also highlights access to justice issues in Yukon that are commonly seen with legal aid, regardless of jurisdiction: a shutting out of those who earn too much money to qualify for help, but not enough to hire a lawyer from the private bar.
“The number of people seeking legal aid funding is growing. However, the financial eligibility criteria for legal aid has only seen marginal increases in recent years,” states the report. “Although the eligibility criteria increased in 2023, the number and percentage of people denied legal aid because they do not meet the financial eligibility criteria is growing, as is the gap between those who qualify for legal aid and those who can afford to hire a private lawyer.”
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