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  • #16
    Yeah, many Paralegals don’t have the necessary professionalism needed for family law. Really, the professionals most needed in family law are social workers. Their is already so much in the law that is codified (table support, equalization, presumption of parenting time by both parents etc) that problems requiring court applications really only crop up because of miscommunication/ poor communication/ grudges (which may have been avoided by proactively using a social worker to navigate co-parenting) or else because one side is *extremely* unreasonable - often times due to untreated high-functioning mental illness.

    The conflict needs to be dialed down (whereas court ramps it up), and paralegals do not get mandatory training in colloborative law or high conflict personalities (who won’t respect a paralegal any more than they respect a Judge’s Orders)

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    • #17
      I still believe that the bigger problem is the lack of judicial orders. You didn’t come to the conference with your financials? $1000 fine. You withheld access? $1000 fine. You can’t reach an agreement after two conferences? Summary judgement.

      I say this in the face of what my husband has seen. The two parties AGREED on how things would go and how things would be calculated. The LAW is also clear on this. There is no need for the multiple conferences and additional motions. There should have been a “referee” at the courthouse that looked at this and said this is how it should be.

      Same for so many other cases on here. Not paying the cs ordered and in line with the agreement/law? $1000 fine. Continuing to fail to file taxes and produce documents? $1000 fine.

      I firmly believe if there was a serious punishment for this shit there would not be so many delays. Parents shouldn’t have to wait four months for a conference to see their kids. Or ten years for child support to be figured out. The system is seriously broken from the top down. If judges are supposed to have so much “power” then why the eff aren’t they wielding it?

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      • #18
        I love the idea of eliminating private practice from Family law. There are VERY good lawyers out there, but there are a lot that see what the financials are at the beginnging of a case and figure what the max billable they can get and refuse settlement till they get close to their max, even when the other side is being completely reasonable in their offers to settle.

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        • #19
          Tilt, you are so spot on. And, there is zero accountability for those lawyers exploiting their clients for financial gain. And, if you are divorcing a mentally ill spouse, I mean diagnosed mentally ill, there should be help for the sane spouse to keep things moving. Currently, a mentally ill spouse is allowed to "drive the train". Mine was able to stall for many years because he just kept hiring and firing lawyers, making unreasonable and outrageous demands. This coupled with money hungry lawyers has left me holding the bag and dealing with lots of anxiety.

          Comment


          • #20
            Originally posted by tilt View Post
            I love the idea of eliminating private practice from Family law. There are VERY good lawyers out there, but there are a lot that see what the financials are at the beginnging of a case and figure what the max billable they can get and refuse settlement till they get close to their max, even when the other side is being completely reasonable in their offers to settle.
            Actually it was my lawyer who pointed out to me that lawyers often talk (off the record of course) about 'how much is in the file' between themselves to predetermine how long/how much they can reasonably expect to make off of the case. (I was fortunate to have found this lawyer).

            I think one problem is when people retain lawyers they don't ask enough questions.

            Also it is not hard to tell (by scope of questions on this forum) how incredibly lazy people are. People who want to expedite things and keep their legal expenses in check are those who do a certain amount of basic research. If someone is lazy then the lawyers will certainly make more money.

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            • #21
              Yep, I have heard the max billable directly from friends who are lawyers as well. Research is one expense, but it is a skill set and if you don’t have a basic understanding of taxonomy in law then it is easy to accidentally go down the wrong rabbit hole (not to mention the number of people I have helped who bring me law/case law supporting their position from other jurisdictions - and who did not see why that is a problem - is unbelievable)

              But I think the emotional part of the law is where the big money is spent. A lawyer looking to bill can easily ramp up conflict with the other side and spin their client into pursuing motions instead of settlement. It is just like in the wedding industry - a cake is $30 until it is labeled a wedding cake and suddenly the price is tripled because of dealing with people ruled by emotions rather than logic. Weddings and divorces are money-makers ... for the people who aren’t emotionally involved.

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              • #22
                I have noticed that once people discover and learned how to use CanLII, and do some independent research, they have a better grasp on simple fact that no they are not unique. There is usually the "sticker shock" of when they get their first few bills from their lawyer. Later there is the wake-up that their lawyer is not their buddy and really doesn't give a shit about them (unless they are paying very large retainer).

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                • #23
                  Anther big shock for people is that people can lie on affidavits in family court and get away with it. I actually think that the lawyers encourage it which, of course, only make things more adversarial. It would be nice to see lawyers somehow be made more accountable for their clients. If a lawyer submits an affidavit from client (and cannot corroborate it) then the lawyer is fined. That would end alot of nonsense I think.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Originally posted by rockscan View Post
                    I still believe that the bigger problem is the lack of judicial orders. You didn’t come to the conference with your financials? $1000 fine. You withheld access? $1000 fine. You can’t reach an agreement after two conferences? Summary judgement.

                    I say this in the face of what my husband has seen. The two parties AGREED on how things would go and how things would be calculated. The LAW is also clear on this. There is no need for the multiple conferences and additional motions. There should have been a “referee” at the courthouse that looked at this and said this is how it should be.

                    Same for so many other cases on here. Not paying the cs ordered and in line with the agreement/law? $1000 fine. Continuing to fail to file taxes and produce documents? $1000 fine.

                    I firmly believe if there was a serious punishment for this shit there would not be so many delays. Parents shouldn’t have to wait four months for a conference to see their kids. Or ten years for child support to be figured out. The system is seriously broken from the top down. If judges are supposed to have so much “power” then why the eff aren’t they wielding it?


                    Exactly!!!


                    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      And those fines should also be levied against the lawyers as well. Again to make the lawyers comply with the court rules instead of blindly following their client’s wallet and asking for adjournments to avoid providing the factual information that harms their client’s (non-) case.
                      Last edited by tilt; 07-14-2019, 10:18 PM.

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                      • #26
                        There are a lot of good lawyers out there and I don’t want to paint them all with the same brush. There is a big responsibility placed on the parties too. When you deal with an unreasonable party that is looking for more they get caught up in it. Then add in a lawyer who says well you may be entitled and you have a perfect storm. My husbands lawyer said right up front he had no problem spending our money and losing, it was up to us to decide what we would do. My husband would love to fight having to pay for a kid he doesn’t see and his lawyer said he would love to take that case but it would cost in the ballpark of $15,000 to 20,000 which is more than he would owe in school expenses so he said forget it.

                        This is where I hate the law. There is way too much grey area and way too many entitled people. We would have been done this all by now if the entitled ex wife had realized she is not going to get what she wants.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by tilt View Post
                          And those fines should also be levied against the lawyers as well. Again to make the lawyers comply with the court rules instead of blindly following their client’s wallet and asking for adjournments to avoid providing the factual information that harms their client’s (non-) case.


                          Yes!! This is exactly what my ex’s lawyer has done.


                          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                          • #28
                            Originally posted by Kinso View Post

                            I'm not a fan of paralegals being permitted to represent clients. The quality of the professionals are just not there. I'd feel more confident being represented by some members of this board then a paralegal.
                            this.
                            let's leave the paralegals in traffic court. where they belong.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Originally posted by iona6656 View Post
                              this.
                              let's leave the paralegals in traffic court. where they belong.
                              I know paralegals are lousy, but they still beat unrepresented litigants.

                              The choice is almost never going to be paralegal vs. lawyer, it is going to be paralegal vs. selfrep.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                There is nothing more expensive than a cheap lawyer.

                                Paralegals are cheap if you look at their hourly rate, they don’t have the training to deal with emotional clients/descalation/high conflict divorce and can knowingly or unknowingly drive up the cost of litigation and delay things to divert what they see in the file into their pockets.

                                There is no financial incentive for judges, court staff, lawyers, or paralegals to settle a case in a timely manner. We need to either create an incentive or de-incentive the current system.

                                Comment

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