The Law Society of BC was the first law society in Canada to create policies that promote the unbundling of legal services with the goal of improving access to affordable legal services.
Unbundling legal services, where a lawyer provides legal services for part of a client’s legal matter, allows clients to access more affordable legal services. It has the potential to remove barriers to access to justice for people who cannot afford a lawyer’s retainer, but need some legal help. Unbundling allows clients and lawyers to decide which tasks are performed by the client and which are performed by the lawyer.
Unbundled legal services are especially helpful to self-represented litigants, who often are not self-represented by choice, but are unable to afford to retain legal counsel. It remains very difficult for self-represented litigants to find a lawyer who offers unbundled services.
Resources for the public
- See the BC Family Unbundling Roster for a list of family lawyers and paralegals willing to provide unbundled legal services
- Visit Self-representation and unbundled services
Resources for lawyers
The Law Society encourages lawyers to learn about unbundled legal services and consider offering these services. See the following resources:
- The Law Society worked with Mediate BC on its Family Unbundled Legal Services Project to develop a family law tool kit that includes sample retainer agreements, among other tools. The tool kit is now available on the Courthouse Libraries website.
- If you are a family lawyer willing to provide unbundled legal services, apply to join the BC Family Unbundling Roster.
- "Overcoming resistance to limited representation" - Read the story of self-represented litigant Jennifer Muller and her difficult custody battle, featured in the Benchers' Bulletin (Summer 2016).
- CLE-TV: Limited Scope Retainers Webinar – This 2014 course explores the opportunities that unbundled legal services present to expand lawyers’ client base and improve the public's access to legal services. Presenters discuss practice and ethical issues, risk management and current research.
- Practice resource: Preventing claims – Limited retainers/unbundling
-
- Rule of Law and Lawyer Independence
- Lawyer Independence and Self Regulation
- Statements on Issues that Affect the Rule of Law
- Secondary School Essay Contest
- Rule of Law Lecture Series
-
- Rule of Law Matters Podcast
- Introduction to the Rule of Law transcript
- What is the rule of law vs. rule by law? transcript
- Lawyer Independence and the Rule of Law transcript
- The Rise of Authoritarianism and Assaults on the Rule of Law, Part 1 transcript
- The Rise of Authoritarianism and Assaults on the Rule of Law, Part 2 transcript
- COVID 19 and the Rule of Law, Part 1 transcript
- COVID 19 and the Rule of Law, Part 2
- Privacy and the rule of law
- Authoritarianism, closer to home
- Judges and the rule of law transcript
- COVID-19 and returning to "normal"
- The role of prosecutors in criminal justice and the rule of law transcript
- Rule of law news: a year in review
- Racism, equity, diversity and inclusion and the rule of law
- A conversation with Marie Henein on the role of lawyers in society
- Improving Mental Health for the Legal Profession
- Lawyer Development Initiatives