Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Represented v. self-rep. Your experiences?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Represented v. self-rep. Your experiences?

    Hello everyone,

    I am thinking of firing my lawyer and representing myself, not at trial; just for some "motions" before the court registrar or possibly a judge. Has anyone on here done this? Did you regret representing yourself?

    Please do not speculate about my abilities in particular. I'm just interested in feedback from people who have been there and done that.
    5
    Yes
    0%
    4
    No
    0%
    1

  • #2
    Originally posted by CoolGuy41
    Hello everyone,

    I am thinking of firing my lawyer and representing myself, not at trial; just for some "motions" before the court registrar or possibly a judge. Has anyone on here done this? Did you regret representing yourself?

    Please do not speculate about my abilities in particular. I'm just interested in feedback from people who have been there and done that.



    Ive self rep myself from the beginning.....I`m going to get back to you on this as its such a loaded question...have to think up a good response

    Comment


    • #3
      I think much depends upon your issues. I had an excellent lawyer for many years. I moved out-of-province and have now been self-representing, however. I do have the benefit of having kept all of my very large plastic bins of legal correspondence and filings that my lawyer prepared. That has made a huge difference and without all my paperwork I would have been lost. The volumes of motions helped me with wording of things. I have to emphasize that less is more and, now that I am on my own, I take note of how careful my lawyer was to not submit lengthy documents. Everything submitted on my behalf was backed up with fact as well as pertinent case law. My lawyer even sometimes used the case law that opposing counsel submitted to support our case!

      I absolutely resent spending hours upon hours doing the paperwork and do miss the convenience of law firm submitting everything to the courts, on time... no worry about which form to use.

      Also, my former lawyer is just an email away and has always provided me with advice when needed and lots of encouragement. I have been successful every time I've gone to court so far!!! (hope I don't jinx it).

      I have to say, however, that I could never have had done this fresh out of the marriage (too emotional). When your ex makes derogatory/false accusations in affidavits it is human nature to want to lash back or at least defend ones self. My lawyer reined me in, in a big way. I learned you do not have to respond to everything the crazy ex flings at you. If you get into mud slinging it reflects badly upon you. Less is more... less is more. I often read on here of how people submit huge volumes. Judges get bored. You have to remember that your situation is not unique. Judges have heard it all before.

      That's my 2 cents.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by arabian View Post
        I think much depends upon your issues. I had an excellent lawyer for many years. I moved out-of-province and have now been self-representing, however. I do have the benefit of having kept all of my very large plastic bins of legal correspondence and filings that my lawyer prepared. That has made a huge difference and without all my paperwork I would have been lost. The volumes of motions helped me with wording of things. I have to emphasize that less is more and, now that I am on my own, I take note of how careful my lawyer was to not submit lengthy documents. Everything submitted on my behalf was backed up with fact as well as pertinent case law. My lawyer even sometimes used the case law that opposing counsel submitted to support our case!

        I absolutely resent spending hours upon hours doing the paperwork and do miss the convenience of law firm submitting everything to the courts, on time... no worry about which form to use.

        Also, my former lawyer is just an email away and has always provided me with advice when needed and lots of encouragement. I have been successful every time I've gone to court so far!!! (hope I don't jinx it).

        I have to say, however, that I could never have had done this fresh out of the marriage (too emotional). When your ex makes derogatory/false accusations in affidavits it is human nature to want to lash back or at least defend ones self. My lawyer reined me in, in a big way. I learned you do not have to respond to everything the crazy ex flings at you. If you get into mud slinging it reflects badly upon you. Less is more... less is more. I often read on here of how people submit huge volumes. Judges get bored. You have to remember that your situation is not unique. Judges have heard it all before.

        That's my 2 cents.

        Was your ex professionally represented when you self-rep'ed?

        Comment


        • #5
          No. I wish he were though. Instead I find myself up against duty counsel.

          There is no benefit, in my opinion, to one's opponent being self-represented. Judges want to appear to be "fair" and IMO tend to let him get away with things (errors in filing). He took me to court a few times without even serving me! My former lawyer just happened to be in courthouse and saw my name on electronic docket! and alerted me. One time my former lawyer was able to drop in to the courtroom and request an adjournment and the other time I was able to make a telephone appearance and request an adjournment. He would never had gotten away with that had he been presented by competent counsel.

          Comment


          • #6
            I had a case conference and a settlement conference where I was self-represented. I still hired a family law lawyer to consult with but they did not represent me. Since there were no children involved and they were only conferences, I figured that self-representation was low risk. I learnt a lot and saved myself a lot of money.

            Comment


            • #7
              Then it is settled: 100% of respondents polled think self-representation is a good idea.


              Kidding aside I guess this is too loaded of a question, meaning that too much depends on the details of the court action. I think it is doable if you are keen on family law like arabian and opposing counsel is less than top shelf.

              Comment


              • #8
                lots to consider for sure.... millennial might not do too well as this is not something one can "text".. actual conversation/speaking is required to self-represent.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I am sure there are many people in this same scenario : how about when you are forced to self rep because you can barely manage to support your household ?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Keep in mind that it is a lot of work. You have a lot to study and have to get it right. Reading the laws and court rules, reading cases on CanLii, going through the gory details of the SSAG.

                    You also have to know how to file and present the information for the courts and judges. You have to prepare things the way a lawyer would so it looks familiar to a judge and is easy for them to digest it.

                    (One of) the most frustrating things I found about the whole divorce process is that there are very few resources to help someone self-representing. For example; what does a case conference brief look like? What should it contain? etc.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      The more people that can flood the system with self reps the better

                      I have wasted $60,000 on legal fees. My son has just finished Grade 11 and I need money to send him to University not spent on lawyers.

                      Here is the deal, however, my ex brought the Application for divorce after he was removed from our house after an assault charge. That was in May 2015. Since then he has done nothing. I went to court as a self rep to get child support in Jan. 2016.

                      We had a case conference and then a settlement conference. We tried to mediate and did have a separation agreement drawn up - that he then refused to sign.

                      I am now at an impasse. I paid a lawyer to bring a motion for disclosure - he wrote 3 letters, charged $3,000 and said he didn't see a point in bringing the motion as my ex claims that he no longer has his financial documents (i.e they were left behind in the home when he was removed - which they weren't).

                      The lawyer wants to do another Settlement Conference which, he hopes, will go in front of a different Judge (I was told that cases stayed with the same judge for conferences so the one we had for the Case conference and the previous Settlement conference would be assigned to us again - please let me know if this is the case, if anyone knows).

                      So - here is the dilemma. Do I keep paying the lawyer whose advice hasn't proved too helpful so far (I am 3.5 years into this with no resolution) or do I try to self-rep again?

                      Not sure self-rep is best idea in high conflict divorce. Any advice, comment or perspective is highly appreciated.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I completely dominated the legal show after I got rid of my lawyer. I won eventually at almost every point including 4 appeals. I dedicate my free time to it for sometime to it for a while and now I learnt so much from the experience. It can be done, it can be better than having a lawyer, it can be cheaper etc... best thing I ever did

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Definitely, get rid of your lawyer if you're not happy with them. They are working for you. If they aren't doing a good job, fire them.

                          So your options are, self-rep, self-rep while consulting with a lawyer to guide you through the process, or hire a new lawyer who you trust and who you agree with on the approach to take.

                          To some extent, the self-rep or not decision comes down to your own ability to learn the law and be cool and calm under pressure, and if you have more time or money.

                          As far as the case goes, it also comes down to what is at stake at the moment, how stable are your finances, and a number of other factors. We've had people on this forum who were looking to spend thousands of dollars in court to try and save a few hundred dollars a month. People advised them to think about whether it was worth fighting for.

                          But at the very least, fire your present lawyer. Find one you trust to advise or represent you.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Links17 View Post
                            I completely dominated the legal show after I got rid of my lawyer. I won eventually at almost every point including 4 appeals. I dedicate my free time to it for sometime to it for a while and now I learnt so much from the experience. It can be done, it can be better than having a lawyer, it can be cheaper etc... best thing I ever did

                            Congratulations, Links. But your matter took place in Quebec. That is a different ball of wax (une balle differante de wax). Quebec family law at a glance seems to be more reasonable. My typical BC experience is that in a courtroom clash while represented, I would obtain at least a partial victory and still walk out of it pissed off , dissatisfied, and hosed out of a whole bunch of cash. It seems the only one my lawyer can completely dominate is me as long as he has my retainer.



                            On a positive note, it's good to hear some self-rep success stories from the guys. I still have some faith left in the courts, and I think that's what one needs to successfully self-rep. That plus example materials of which I have a large pile at this point in my proceedings.

                            Comment

                            Our Divorce Forums
                            Forums dedicated to helping people all across Canada get through the separation and divorce process, with discussions about legal issues, parenting issues, financial issues and more.
                            Working...
                            X