This week is Access to Justice (A2J) week across Canada. I have enjoyed the discussions led by lawyers at A2J Week programs this week. But, what I really want to know is the opinion of the people who use these legal services. Did unbundled or limited scope services actually help? What were the problems and what worked well? We need this input to ensure that the legal services we provide truly meet people’s needs.

So, if you, or a person you know, is dealing with a personal family law issue and is either working without a lawyer, or is using unbundled or limited scope services, please take a moment to share your personal opinion on any of these current surveys which are easily accessed online:

https://uwo.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d4NxblkC3XBrc3j “Client Survey About Unbundled Services” by Dr. Rachel Birnbaum at the University of Western Ontario in collaboration with the Family Law Limited Scope Services Project;

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2016Intake “Self-Represented Litigant Intake Form” by The National Self-Represented Litigant Project at University of Windsor, asks simple and specific questions about your personal experience going to court without a lawyer; and

https://forms.gle/sp2zLcEVWmz5cFyV7 ‘”Family Law Online Workshop Survey” by The Family Law Workshop (Lisa Eisen & Susan Blackwell) asks for your input in developing online workshops for the public.

To find out what past surveys have taught us about the experience of people going to court without a lawyer or who use limited scope legal services, see:

https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/107805 , Client and Lawyer Satisfaction with Unbundled Legal Services: Conclusions from the Alberta Limited Services Project (2018) by John-Paul Boyd, Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family; and

https://representingyourselfcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/srlreportfinal.pdf The National Self-Represented Litigants Project: Identifying and Meeting the Needs of Self-Represented Litigants, Final Report May 2013