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How do i know or find out if other party is on legal aid certificate

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  • How do i know or find out if other party is on legal aid certificate

    How do i know or find out if other party is on legal aid certificate in a family law matter? I am concerned that legal aid is giving this person wings.

  • #2
    If they are, what would you do about it?

    Just send an offer to settle that you know you can beat at trial, and then stop communicating until the trial.

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi Janus,

      Thank you for the response. I wouldn't do anything about it. This post is for a friend. I am guessing that the party finds it hard to believe that the op would qualify for aid based on the thresholds and would like to know how to find out if taxpayers are footing the bill. I don't think that is an unreasonable question to have. Do you?

      Odinn

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      • #4
        Hi Odinn - haven't seen you on here for quite some time!

        I thought you had an interesting question. Skimming over this, I would hazard a guess that the payment information might not be available as it may be considered to be client-attorney privileged information? 6.1

        https://www.legalaid.on.ca/en/privac...vacypolicy.pdf

        What do you think?

        Comment


        • #5
          Hi Arabian, nice to see you are still helping others. Hope all is well with you. Thank you for your response. I found this:

          12.4 Records about service providers and consultants
          [....] Information about the amount billed by a lawyer in a specific case would be protected by solicitor-client privilege and disclosure not governed by FIPPA. Information about the total amount billed by a particular lawyer would be subject to FIPPA but not disclosable because disclosure would constitute an unjustified invasion of personal privacy (s.21(3)(f)) unless it were determined that there was a compelling public interest in the disclosure, in which case the exemptions would not apply (s.23). Where a requester wishes to pursue access, provide a FIPPA request form, require payment of $5 and forward the completed request form to the FIPPA Coordinator.

          Thoughts?

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          • #6
            I think your definition of “compelling” will not match a judge’s conception of that term.

            That said, $5 is nothing, go for it!

            Comment


            • #7
              I agree Janus, it is a long shot but this is a long shot worth taking. I would wager others on this forum have bet more on longer shots.

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              • #8
                I would ask your friend if they are willing to add all the stress and frustration on that longshot just to find out there is nothing they can do about it.

                If the opposition qualifies, that's pretty much all there is. The lawyer can charge what they want. It's LOA' responsibility to ensure it's not exaggerated and we all know their track record.

                In my case, even after saying they would only need 4 days at trial, my ex's LOA lawyer was needlessly trying to extend it to 12 days. He took 2.5 days to examine just the ex and 2 days to examine the OCL and a teacher. It took the judge getting mad and telling him to stop wasting time.

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                • #9
                  This is none of their business. Instead of focusing on this, the focus should be on compromising and reaching a settlement. Also on focusing on winning/defending the case.


                  But for 5 bux... go for it but don't beat yourself over it..better have paystubs/tax returns to prove the claims.. They asked me for this info as a final step before releasing my cert...

                  May I actually ask what their income is?
                  Last edited by tunnelight; 08-24-2019, 01:28 PM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Tunnelight has some good advice. So what if the ex has Legal aid and “wings”? They can also get access to “wings” by winning the lottery or a rich benefactor footing the legal bill. They can also keep things going ad nauseam if they self rep and want to keep fighting. Nobody’s business but the ex. It’s not something that you can do anything about. Much wiser and more productive to focus on the things you do have control over...like making an offer to settle.

                    Comment

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