My Matter Taking Too Long
A lawyer or limited licensee should:
- provide courteous, thorough and prompt service to the client;
- deal with matters in a reasonable time frame and meet deadlines; and
- inform clients of any delay they can reasonably foresee.
See section 3.2-1 and commentaries [4] and [6] of the Law Society of Saskatchewan Code of Professional Conduct for Lawyers or the Law Society of Saskatchewan Code of Professional Conduct for Limited Licensees for more information.
However, clients should understand that:
- your lawyer or limited licensee can only control certain parts of a legal proceeding;
- the stages required to handle a matter can take time;
- adjournments may be requested by opposing counsel;
- your lawyer or limited licensee has an obligation to agree to reasonable requests concerning:
- trial dates
- adjournments
- the waiver of procedural formalities
- similar matters that do not prejudice the rights of the client
- forcing the other side to complete a step or take action may involve a costly court application; and
- some court applications may take time to go through the court process making the matter moot or could be seen by the court as frivolous or vexatious.
See section 7.2-1, commentary [4] of the Law Society of Saskatchewan Code of Professional Conduct for Lawyers or the Law Society of Saskatchewan Code of Professional Conduct for Limited Licensees for more information.
When hired, a lawyer or limited licensee may explain to the client that they have limited time to dedicate to their file. You have the option of finding other counsel if this is the case.
Are you concerned that your matter is taking too long due to circumstances within the control of the lawyer or limited licensee or that they misrepresented the time required to complete your matter?