Legal Services in Saskatchewan

November 9, 2015

By Barbra Bailey, Policy Counsel
Law Society of Saskatchewan

The Law Society is working with the Ministry of Justice to explore possibilities for allowing non-lawyers to provide some legal services in Saskatchewan.  The possibilities include:

• expanding the scope of paralegals working under the supervision of lawyers;
• relaxing the restrictions on other types of professionals who provide services akin to legal services; and
• creating a new class of legal service providers who would be permitted to provide some legal services independently after undergoing training and assessment.

The project’s overall goal is to provide greater access to legal services for Saskatchewan citizens.

The Law Society and the Ministry are beginning informal discussions with individual paralegals and their associations to better understand the current market. In particular, we are gathering information about the current environment, including how many non-lawyers are working in any legal capacity or are delivering some kind of informal legal service in Saskatchewan.

The second stage will be to undertake wider consultations with all affected stakeholders, including the courts, the profession in general, Crown corporations, Saskatchewan Trial Lawyers Association, Collaborative Law, Canadian Bar Association, Pro Bono Law, Public Legal Education Association, CLASSIC, Legal Aid, tribunals, community based organizations, notaries, paralegals, the public, insurance brokers, financial planners, and estate planners.

If you know of any other individuals or organizations that might be interested in providing input, or if you are interested in otherwise contributing to this project, please contact Barbra Bailey at barbra@lawsociety.sk.ca.