Law Society of Ontario (LSO) benchers met at convocation on Oct. 31 to pass a bylaw and rule amendments required for implementing the Family Legal Services Provider (FLSP) initiative, which will authorize specially trained, licensed paralegals to provide certain legal services in family law matters.
Paralegal standing committee chair Michelle Lomazzo said it was fitting the motion was being considered during Access to Justice Week, as the FLSP initiative represents an innovative response to the pressing need for access in family law.
Law Society of Ontario bencher Michelle Lomazzo
Upon completing all required courses and the field placement, students will be required to take a final in-person assessment at a location convenient to them before becoming eligible for registration as an FLSP. Licensed paralegals who register as FLSPs will be able to prepare applications for name changes, file domestic contracts, complete applications for joint or uncontested divorces and provide process navigation in family court.
They will also engage with Ontario’s Family Responsibility Office (FRO) to respond to enforcement proceedings with respect to support payments and will be able to prepare and argue motions to change child support in certain circumstances.
“We have received a tremendous response from prospective candidates demonstrating both the demand for and the value of this program,” said Lomazzo.
Benchers also passed the 2025 budget, which set annual fees for lawyer and paralegal licensees will be set at $2,039, which is an increase of $83. Paralegal fees will increase by $33, making the annual fee $1,023. Lawyer and paralegal licensing candidate fees will remain the same.
According to law society staff, the budget reflects the organization’s priorities of reducing risk and harm to the public by providing opportunities for increased licensee competence — through the delivery of the FLSP credential and the foundations of sole practice course set to begin next year — while responding to misconduct more efficiently by investing in additional resources to help implement changes to address the areas of greatest harm to the public as quickly as possible.
Audit and finance committee chair Sidney Troister said there was a “very deliberate and thoughtful process” in getting the law society’s draft budget to a place where it could be approved by convocation.
“This budget carefully balances the preservation of the law society’s solid financial position while prudently using available fund balances, according to our fund balance management policies that will mitigate annual fee increases,” he said.
As part of his remarks, treasurer Peter Wardle also noted this year’s Access to Justice Week, which ran from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1 in Ontario as well as Manitoba and Saskatchewan. He said the theme was creating action plans and people-centred solutions to bridge the access to justice gap, making legal services more accessible to Ontarians when they need them.
And one of the major areas of focus was the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the justice system — an area that offers great opportunities for access to justice but is not without its risks. In a presentation on Oct. 30 called “Generative AI: in the service of justice,” University of Ottawa law professor Amy Salyzyn and digital and content lead with the Vancouver-based People’s Law School Drew Jackson appeared alongside LSO bencher Quinn Ross to speak about AI issues in the legal system.
Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that are capable of producing content like text, images and videos. Salyzyn noted the LSO’s recently released white paper on licensee use of generative AI, which she said takes a balanced approach to the issue.
“It does note that the increased use of generative AI products presents opportunities to provide more efficient services, and it does encourage licensees to experiment with tools,” she said. “At the same time, it recognizes there are risks involved potentially with using generative AI for legal work, and it’s going to be important that licensees understand those risks and know how to use generative AI in a manner consistent with their professional obligations.”
Salyzyn said there are lots of initiatives going on with trying to provide legal assistance directly to the public.
“Generative AI can help people fill in parts of court forms where they need to provide narrative explanations, and that tends to be one of the hardest parts of court forms for people,” she said. “There are all sorts of things that kind of be used in an assistive way that, again, just helps boost capacity.”
And one such tool is the People’s Law School’s chatbot Beagle+, which he said was part of the solution to a central issue in the legal system — the fact that many Canadians experiencing a legal problem don’t have access to adequate assistance to deal with that problem. Powered by ChatGPT-4, Beagle+ guides individuals to legal information drawn from the content on the People’s Law School and Dial-A-Law websites.
Jackson said Beagle+ is part of the solution to a central problem in the legal system — the “justice gap” whereby Canadians experiencing a legal problem don’t have adequate assistance in dealing with that problem. But he also said there are aspects of generative AI that people need to keep in mind.
“These tools can sound very convincing, even when they’re off a bit or a fair bit,” he said. “[Beagle+] discusses the various options and possible steps you might take, but it doesn’t apply the law to anyone’s specific situation. For that kind of tailored guidance, it is best to consult with a lawyer.”
The law society has also launched a call for comment on a report from its governance review task force on electoral reform and changing the size and composition of convocation. The consultation runs until Jan. 31, 2025.
The next LSO convocation is scheduled for Nov. 28.
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