
January 25, 2010
LSS services update — News from Public Legal Information and Applications The Public Legal Information and Applications Division manages legal aid applications and develops and provides public legal education and information (PLEI) to communities around BC. Local agents As noted in the previous ELAN, in April 2010, the Legal Services Society (LSS) will replace regional centres in five communities — Victoria, Surrey, Prince George, Kelowna, and Kamloops — with seven local agents located in Victoria, Surrey North, Cloverdale/Langley, New Westminster, Prince George, Kelowna, and Kamloops. While LSS is ending its participation in the Nanaimo Justice Access Centre as of March 2010, the Nanaimo local agent will continue to provide intake services — including family intake previously handled by the Nanaimo Justice Access Centre — and other PLEI services. For more information about the new local agents, see Local agent opportunities or the recently posted Local agent Expressions of Interest FAQs on the LSS website. We expect to complete the selection process in February 2010 and will update community agencies soon thereafter. Public legal education and information This year, our top priority is to help people with low incomes who have criminal, family, child protection, or immigration and related problems, and to continue supporting Aboriginal services. To advance these goals, we are organizing several one-day workshops for intermediaries in communities around the province in the coming months. The workshops will focus on family law, child protection, First Nations Court, and Aboriginal (Gladue) sentencing issues. The "one-day workshop" format reduces our costs, allowing us to visit more rural and remote communities and reach more community workers. In December, a successful one-day workshop was held in Nelson, which included our first video conference with a speaker from a remote location. Services and staffing We are restructuring staffing to reflect current needs. Our support for community outreach, core LSS publications, and education services will continue beyond March 2010, and we are developing new staff positions to address these needs. Although our fieldworker positions are eliminated as of March 2010, we hope to hire staff into new positions in the spring. We have filled three legal information outreach worker (LIOW) positions on a permanent basis. This will see the introduction of LIOW services at the Downtown Community Court in Vancouver; the continuation of LIOW information services as part of our toll-free provincial Call Centre; and the continuation of other information outreach activities in the Lower Mainland. The early end of LSS’ participation in the Nanaimo Justice Access Centre and closure of the regional centres means that a number of LIOW term positions around BC will end. This is something we will consider as we develop a plan for expanded community engagement. We will liaise with key intermediaries in the course of our planning, but if you have information about your communities' PLEI needs, we welcome your input: please e-mail us your suggestions. We expect to enhance our PLEI work and improve our services to remote and Aboriginal communities as a result. See our local agent Guidelines for Submitting an Expression of Interest (PDF), for an outline of the basic PLEI services to be provided by local agents. Community Advocate Support Line to continue after March 2010! The Legal Services Society (LSS) and the Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS) are pleased to announce that, with extended funding from the Law Foundation of BC, the Community Advocate Support Line (CASL) will continue to operate after March 2010. On April 1, 2010, the location and management of CASL will move from LSS to CLAS, and this important resource for legal advocates who provide assistance to disadvantaged people throughout the province will continue until at least March 31, 2011. Alison Ward, who has been the lawyer on the CASL project since May 2006, will continue to work on CASL in its new location at CLAS. LSS and CLAS will make every effort to ensure the transition is as seamless as possible. However, the move will require new telephone numbers for CASL. These new numbers will be posted on PovNet’s listservs, and a separate e-mail confirming CASL’s new contact numbers will be sent to all community groups on the ELAN subscription list before the end of March. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Rita Hatina, assistant executive director, CLAS, by phone: 604-685-3425 or 1-888-685-6222 (call no charge) or by e-mail. Advocates can continue to contact Alison Ward with legal questions on the CASL line at LSS until March 26, 2010. Abbotsford local agent appointed QC In December 2009, Allan Parker and Chris Maddock were both appointed QC. See the next issue of ELAN for a profile of Allan Parker, QC. Abbotsford legal aid local agent Chris Maddock, QC, may have fallen into the practice of law, but his recent appointment as a Queen's Counsel was by no means a lucky turn of fate. Chris has spent years as a proponent for a legal system that delivers justice to all, regardless of wealth, through his work as everything from a native community law office staff lawyer in Burns Lake, to a supervisor of the Law Foundation's Abbotsford farmworkers project. Chris has also spent years as the face of legal aid in Abbotsford and Chilliwack, representing a high volume of criminal clients in the area. "To be honest, the more I've focused on the legal aid side of things, the more I've been impressed with the quality of the other people who work with legal aid," he says. "Personally, it's been the most rewarding work for me … because it's nothing to do with the business end of law. Most of the work that we do is for the group of people who are most in need of it. Access to justice is important and it's important to make sure that people with legal needs get as much help as possible." Advocacy and representing clients in criminal court is a far cry from the University of Victoria student who had every intention of completing post-graduate studies in English — not law. "The opportunity to go to law school came up and at the last minute, I decided to go for it and ended up studying law in New Brunswick," he recalls. After returning to Vancouver Island to complete his articling, Chris specialized in company and real estate law, and dabbled in some legal aid family work. "In 1981 I was a sole practitioner in Duncan and I'd started doing a little bit of legal aid work when I received a phone call from Jim Quail (current executive director of the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre) who was then at legal aid, and he asked if I would be interested in opening an Aboriginal law office in Burns Lake. "Again, it wasn't something I planned on doing and when I got there, it was like landing on a different planet, because I was a naïve young Englishman with a law degree and not much experience, and I ended up in an Aboriginal community where many people who were over 50 were still speaking the Carrier language. "In the early days there I often had grandchildren of the clients in the office to translate from Carrier into English. It was a very interesting experience." In 1988, after a short stint at LSS in Prince George, Chris moved to Abbotsford and became the managing lawyer of the Legal Services Society office, where he was key in implementing a number of legal advocacy projects, including one of the first pilot projects in the province hiring staff lawyers to take on criminal and family cases. "At the high point of that project we had seven staff lawyers. It was a great team of dedicated lawyers including Brian Juriloff, who is one of the most experienced criminal lawyers in Abbotsford, and Ken Skillnick who is now a provincial court judge." When the office closed in 2002, Chris became a sole practitioner and applied for the local agent contract — partly to continue his work providing legal help to the whole community. This led to his participation in the Poverty Law Advocacy Program in Abbotsford and Chilliwack, funded by the Law Foundation. There he supervises three legal advocates who give advice and information in areas of poverty law, including disability claims, tenancy, and welfare appeals. Chris says his colleagues, particularly Ellen Boyes, deserve most of the credit for the success of this project. "The good thing about the local agent arrangement is that in my particular case I have located my office in with Abbotsford Community Services … which helps keep me more connected with projects in the community and the people who come to get help at Community Services," he explains. "The legal aid office is co-located with other services that people come in needing help with (which) … allows us to be flexible in the services that we offer people. The local agent contract has become a vehicle to continue the work that the legal aid office has always done, and it's been very satisfying." But it's not just his work with legal aid that Chris finds satisfying, rather his role in keeping justice accessible to everyone. "One thing that has kept me going is the idea that in order to have a justice system we're proud of we need to give legal help to those who need it, not just those who can afford it." An introduction to the LSS Aboriginal Legal Services program The Legal Services Society (LSS) Aboriginal Legal Services program was developed in response to the Building Bridges report that came out in 2007. The key recommendations in Building Bridges were to increase Aboriginal representation at all levels of LSS; increase the number of lawyers with training specific to Aboriginal issues; improve communication and outreach to Aboriginal governments, communities, and organizations; and ensure Aboriginal participation in LSS policy and program development. Pamela Shields joined LSS in 2008 as the Aboriginal Services Program Manager and she continues to use Building Bridges as her road map for bridging the gaps in legal services available to Aboriginal people. In working to implement the report’s recommendations, Pamela works with all LSS departments, and travels to various and diverse Aboriginal communities throughout BC to consult with them on their needs and strengths, and on opportunities to improve legal services. Pamela’s work with the Publication Services Department involves developing LSS publications that are accessible to Aboriginal people and targeted to their unique needs. Some examples of past Aboriginal Legal Services initiatives include developing the Aboriginal child protection wallet cards, and developing a poster that outlines the Aboriginal child protection process. Current initiatives include development of the Aboriginal community legal worker position for the Nanaimo Justice Access Centre and in Port Hardy; a Gladue report-writing pilot project; and facilitating a partnership between Williams Lake and the UBC First Nations Legal Clinic for CFCSA issues. A key initiative right now for Aboriginal Legal Services is creating an expanded duty counsel program that regularly provides representation, advice, and assistance to Aboriginal clients in the following Aboriginal communities and organizations: First Nations Court in New Westminster (covers criminal and related CFCSA/family matters); Sheway in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (covers CFCSA/family matters); Port Hardy (covers CFCSA/family matters); and Williams Lake (covers criminal and CFCSA/family matters). The expanded duty counsel services will include advice in advance of court dates and will allow for multiple visits and ongoing assistance in order to divert and solve legal issues before they escalate. The aim of the expanded duty counsel initiative is to respond to the unique needs of each region and organization and to create a legal aid network that complements and improves access to LSS resources and links clients to their traditional territory, family, and community. Stay tuned for more information on the great work of the Aboriginal Legal Services Department in future issues of ELAN. More about LSS publication distribution from Crown Publications Thank you for your support of our new publication distribution services, following our move to Crown Publications (CP) in September. At the moment, CP is carrying 63 LSS publication titles. Since September, LSS has distributed about 5,600 items each month. By now, many of you have experienced the ease of ordering online at the CP website (click the Legal Services Society image) In December, about 80% of all orders were placed online. This is the most efficient way to go. If you haven’t tried it yet, please do so! We’re always interested in feedback about distribution, too — send us an e-mail. Once you place your order, there is very little follow-up work you need to do. Besides ordering online, we encourage you to pick up free copies from your Local Agent or Regional Centre. And if you must order by fax or e-mail, please use the Publication Order Form available on our website (scroll to the bottom of the page to find the link to the PDF). If the publications you order are in stock, you can almost always receive them within five business days. Last but not least, here are some useful tips — to find out which LSS publications are in stock and which are the most recent editions, please check the Current Print Publications List (PDF) on our Publications web page (see lower left side of the page). This list is updated regularly. Remember that the law changes frequently and our publications often need to be updated. Some of them are revised and reprinted more than once a year. Try to avoid stockpiling large quantities because the law may change in the next six months and then you risk giving your clients out-of-date material. Instead, keep an eye on our website to determine if you still have the latest versions and recycle the old materials. Remember too that you can now save time and money by ordering a single publication on behalf of your client by using the “Ship to” address field on the CP website. CP will send it directly to the client, instead of to your office. Hot off the press from LSS We’ve been busy since November with lots of revisions and reprints! Here are the latest. All except Benefits and Services for Seniors are available in print and online. Aboriginal Child Protection Process: Information for Aboriginal Parents and Communities This poster provides a step-by-step overview of the Aboriginal child protection process and information on the rights of Aboriginal children and families. The poster also informs parents of their options should their child need protection: asking for a family group conference, using traditional decision making, and asking for a mediator. Can’t Pay Your Mortgage We’ve updated and reprinted this popular booklet. Can’t Pay Your Mortgage? is intended for any homeowner who is about to miss a mortgage payment, has already missed one or more mortgage payments, or has received a petition to go to court. It explains what homeowners can do when lenders try to take their properties because of missed payments (foreclosure). The booklet also lists agencies that can provide information or other kinds of help. Find out How to Use the Law at www.familylaw.lss.bc.ca We’ve updated and reprinted our Family Law in BC website bookmark to reflect the latest changes to the site. Use this handy bookmark to provide your family law clients with the website address as well as a list of the types of information and resources they will find on the Family Law website. If You Are Charged with a Crime If You Are Charged with a Crime has been revised and reprinted. This short, easy-to-read brochure outlines what happens when someone is charged with a criminal offence. It briefly describes the court process and the different options that might be available. It also outlines the accused person's legal rights, what a lawyer can do, how to find a lawyer, and how to get legal aid or other legal help. The French version of the earlier edition of this brochure (online and in print) is still legally accurate. If You Can’t Get a Lawyer for Your Criminal Trial: How to Make A Rowbotham Application The first edition of this booklet flew off the shelves, so we’ve revised and reprinted it. If You Can’t Get a Lawyer for Your Criminal Trial is intended for people facing serious and complex criminal charges who have been denied legal aid but cannot afford a lawyer. It explains why, how, and when to ask the judge to appoint a free lawyer, and includes a checklist of points to cover in court and copies of the necessary court forms. If You Can’t Pay Your Court Fine on Time We’ve updated and reprinted this brochure, which explains what to do if someone cannot pay a court fine on time. If You Can’t Pay Your Court Fine on Time describes the four possible options available, including paying part of the fine by the due date, asking for an extension, asking for jail time instead, or doing nothing. It also explains what happens if fines are not paid and describes how jail terms are set. The Brydges Line telephone number is included for people who have been arrested. Benefits and Services for Seniors We've now translated this popular booklet into Korean (available online only). How you can use the Clicklaw HelpMap As you know, Courthouse Libraries BC launched the HelpMap component of the Clicklaw website in December 2009. To give you a flavour of what the Clicklaw HelpMap offers, they've created a five-minute YouTube video, which shows you the top five things you can do on the HelpMap: You can search by community in British Columbia for someone who can help with legal problems. You can locate a result on the map (where they’re integrating with GoogleMaps). You can narrow your results down — by topic (e.g., show me only "Family law" services), or by type of help (e.g., only show me services that provide "legal advocacy, advice, or representation"). You can start your search by clicking on a topic and narrowing down your search from there. You can find services that are provided in languages other than English (by starting with a community in BC and narrowing down by language). The Clicklaw team would love to hear your feedback on the Clicklaw HelpMap. Please consider taking their three-minute Clicklaw feedback survey online, posting a comment on their blog, or sending them an e-mail.

January 25, 2010

LSS services update — News from Public Legal Information and Applications

The Public Legal Information and Applications Division manages legal aid applications and develops and provides public legal education and information (PLEI) to communities around BC.

Local agents

As noted in the previous ELAN, in April 2010, the Legal Services Society (LSS) will replace regional centres in five communities — Victoria, Surrey, Prince George, Kelowna, and Kamloops — with seven local agents located in Victoria, Surrey North, Cloverdale/Langley, New Westminster, Prince George, Kelowna, and Kamloops. While LSS is ending its participation in the Nanaimo Justice Access Centre as of March 2010, the Nanaimo local agent will continue to provide intake services — including family intake previously handled by the Nanaimo Justice Access Centre — and other PLEI services. For more information about the new local agents, see Local agent opportunities or the recently posted Local agent Expressions of Interest FAQs on the LSS website. We expect to complete the selection process in February 2010 and will update community agencies soon thereafter.

Public legal education and information

This year, our top priority is to help people with low incomes who have criminal, family, child protection, or immigration and related problems, and to continue supporting Aboriginal services. To advance these goals, we are organizing several one-day workshops for intermediaries in communities around the province in the coming months. The workshops will focus on family law, child protection, First Nations Court, and Aboriginal (Gladue) sentencing issues. The "one-day workshop" format reduces our costs, allowing us to visit more rural and remote communities and reach more community workers. In December, a successful one-day workshop was held in Nelson, which included our first video conference with a speaker from a remote location.

Services and staffing

We are restructuring staffing to reflect current needs. Our support for community outreach, core LSS publications, and education services will continue beyond March 2010, and we are developing new staff positions to address these needs. Although our fieldworker positions are eliminated as of March 2010, we hope to hire staff into new positions in the spring.

We have filled three legal information outreach worker (LIOW) positions on a permanent basis. This will see the introduction of LIOW services at the Downtown Community Court in Vancouver; the continuation of LIOW information services as part of our toll-free provincial Call Centre; and the continuation of other information outreach activities in the Lower Mainland.

The early end of LSS’ participation in the Nanaimo Justice Access Centre and closure of the regional centres means that a number of LIOW term positions around BC will end. This is something we will consider as we develop a plan for expanded community engagement.

We will liaise with key intermediaries in the course of our planning, but if you have information about your communities' PLEI needs, we welcome your input: please e-mail us your suggestions. We expect to enhance our PLEI work and improve our services to remote and Aboriginal communities as a result. See our local agent Guidelines for Submitting an Expression of Interest (PDF), for an outline of the basic PLEI services to be provided by local agents.

Community Advocate Support Line to continue after March 2010!

The Legal Services Society (LSS) and the Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS) are pleased to announce that, with extended funding from the Law Foundation of BC, the Community Advocate Support Line (CASL) will continue to operate after March 2010.

On April 1, 2010, the location and management of CASL will move from LSS to CLAS, and this important resource for legal advocates who provide assistance to disadvantaged people throughout the province will continue until at least March 31, 2011. Alison Ward, who has been the lawyer on the CASL project since May 2006, will continue to work on CASL in its new location at CLAS.

LSS and CLAS will make every effort to ensure the transition is as seamless as possible. However, the move will require new telephone numbers for CASL. These new numbers will be posted on PovNet’s listservs, and a separate e-mail confirming CASL’s new contact numbers will be sent to all community groups on the ELAN subscription list before the end of March.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Rita Hatina, assistant executive director, CLAS, by phone: 604-685-3425 or 1-888-685-6222 (call no charge) or by e-mail. Advocates can continue to contact Alison Ward with legal questions on the CASL line at LSS until March 26, 2010.

Abbotsford local agent appointed QC

In December 2009, Allan Parker and Chris Maddock were both appointed QC. See the next issue of ELAN for a profile of Allan Parker, QC.

Abbotsford legal aid local agent Chris Maddock, QC, may have fallen into the practice of law, but his recent appointment as a Queen's Counsel was by no means a lucky turn of fate.

Chris has spent years as a proponent for a legal system that delivers justice to all, regardless of wealth, through his work as everything from a native community law office staff lawyer in Burns Lake, to a supervisor of the Law Foundation's Abbotsford farmworkers project.

Chris has also spent years as the face of legal aid in Abbotsford and Chilliwack, representing a high volume of criminal clients in the area.

"To be honest, the more I've focused on the legal aid side of things, the more I've been impressed with the quality of the other people who work with legal aid," he says.

"Personally, it's been the most rewarding work for me … because it's nothing to do with the business end of law. Most of the work that we do is for the group of people who are most in need of it. Access to justice is important and it's important to make sure that people with legal needs get as much help as possible."

Advocacy and representing clients in criminal court is a far cry from the University of Victoria student who had every intention of completing post-graduate studies in English — not law.

"The opportunity to go to law school came up and at the last minute, I decided to go for it and ended up studying law in New Brunswick," he recalls. After returning to Vancouver Island to complete his articling, Chris specialized in company and real estate law, and dabbled in some legal aid family work.

"In 1981 I was a sole practitioner in Duncan and I'd started doing a little bit of legal aid work when I received a phone call from Jim Quail (current executive director of the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre) who was then at legal aid, and he asked if I would be interested in opening an Aboriginal law office in Burns Lake.

"Again, it wasn't something I planned on doing and when I got there, it was like landing on a different planet, because I was a naïve young Englishman with a law degree and not much experience, and I ended up in an Aboriginal community where many people who were over 50 were still speaking the Carrier language.

"In the early days there I often had grandchildren of the clients in the office to translate from Carrier into English. It was a very interesting experience."

In 1988, after a short stint at LSS in Prince George, Chris moved to Abbotsford and became the managing lawyer of the Legal Services Society office, where he was key in implementing a number of legal advocacy projects, including one of the first pilot projects in the province hiring staff lawyers to take on criminal and family cases.

"At the high point of that project we had seven staff lawyers. It was a great team of dedicated lawyers including Brian Juriloff, who is one of the most experienced criminal lawyers in Abbotsford, and Ken Skillnick who is now a provincial court judge."

When the office closed in 2002, Chris became a sole practitioner and applied for the local agent contract — partly to continue his work providing legal help to the whole community.

This led to his participation in the Poverty Law Advocacy Program in Abbotsford and Chilliwack, funded by the Law Foundation. There he supervises three legal advocates who give advice and information in areas of poverty law, including disability claims, tenancy, and welfare appeals. Chris says his colleagues, particularly Ellen Boyes, deserve most of the credit for the success of this project.

"The good thing about the local agent arrangement is that in my particular case I have located my office in with Abbotsford Community Services … which helps keep me more connected with projects in the community and the people who come to get help at Community Services," he explains.

"The legal aid office is co-located with other services that people come in needing help with (which) … allows us to be flexible in the services that we offer people. The local agent contract has become a vehicle to continue the work that the legal aid office has always done, and it's been very satisfying."

But it's not just his work with legal aid that Chris finds satisfying, rather his role in keeping justice accessible to everyone.

"One thing that has kept me going is the idea that in order to have a justice system we're proud of we need to give legal help to those who need it, not just those who can afford it."

An introduction to the LSS Aboriginal Legal Services program

The Legal Services Society (LSS) Aboriginal Legal Services program was developed in response to the Building Bridges report that came out in 2007. The key recommendations in Building Bridges were to increase Aboriginal representation at all levels of LSS; increase the number of lawyers with training specific to Aboriginal issues; improve communication and outreach to Aboriginal governments, communities, and organizations; and ensure Aboriginal participation in LSS policy and program development. Pamela Shields joined LSS in 2008 as the Aboriginal Services Program Manager and she continues to use Building Bridges as her road map for bridging the gaps in legal services available to Aboriginal people.

In working to implement the report’s recommendations, Pamela works with all LSS departments, and travels to various and diverse Aboriginal communities throughout BC to consult with them on their needs and strengths, and on opportunities to improve legal services. Pamela’s work with the Publication Services Department involves developing LSS publications that are accessible to Aboriginal people and targeted to their unique needs. Some examples of past Aboriginal Legal Services initiatives include developing the Aboriginal child protection wallet cards, and developing a poster that outlines the Aboriginal child protection process. Current initiatives include development of the Aboriginal community legal worker position for the Nanaimo Justice Access Centre and in Port Hardy; a Gladue report-writing pilot project; and facilitating a partnership between Williams Lake and the UBC First Nations Legal Clinic for CFCSA issues.

A key initiative right now for Aboriginal Legal Services is creating an expanded duty counsel program that regularly provides representation, advice, and assistance to Aboriginal clients in the following Aboriginal communities and organizations: First Nations Court in New Westminster (covers criminal and related CFCSA/family matters); Sheway in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (covers CFCSA/family matters); Port Hardy (covers CFCSA/family matters); and Williams Lake (covers criminal and CFCSA/family matters). The expanded duty counsel services will include advice in advance of court dates and will allow for multiple visits and ongoing assistance in order to divert and solve legal issues before they escalate. The aim of the expanded duty counsel initiative is to respond to the unique needs of each region and organization and to create a legal aid network that complements and improves access to LSS resources and links clients to their traditional territory, family, and community.

Stay tuned for more information on the great work of the Aboriginal Legal Services Department in future issues of ELAN.

More about LSS publication distribution from Crown Publications

Thank you for your support of our new publication distribution services, following our move to Crown Publications (CP) in September. At the moment, CP is carrying 63 LSS publication titles. Since September, LSS has distributed about 5,600 items each month.

By now, many of you have experienced the ease of ordering online at the CP website (click the Legal Services Society image) In December, about 80% of all orders were placed online. This is the most efficient way to go. If you haven’t tried it yet, please do so! We’re always interested in feedback about distribution, too — send us an e-mail.

Once you place your order, there is very little follow-up work you need to do. Besides ordering online, we encourage you to pick up free copies from your Local Agent or Regional Centre. And if you must order by fax or e-mail, please use the Publication Order Form available on our website (scroll to the bottom of the page to find the link to the PDF).

If the publications you order are in stock, you can almost always receive them within five business days.

Last but not least, here are some useful tips — to find out which LSS publications are in stock and which are the most recent editions, please check the Current Print Publications List (PDF) on our Publications web page (see lower left side of the page). This list is updated regularly.

Remember that the law changes frequently and our publications often need to be updated. Some of them are revised and reprinted more than once a year. Try to avoid stockpiling large quantities because the law may change in the next six months and then you risk giving your clients out-of-date material. Instead, keep an eye on our website to determine if you still have the latest versions and recycle the old materials.

Remember too that you can now save time and money by ordering a single publication on behalf of your client by using the “Ship to” address field on the CP website. CP will send it directly to the client, instead of to your office.

Hot off the press from LSS

We’ve been busy since November with lots of revisions and reprints! Here are the latest. All except Benefits and Services for Seniors are available in print and online.

Aboriginal Child Protection Process: Information for Aboriginal Parents and Communities

This poster provides a step-by-step overview of the Aboriginal child protection process and information on the rights of Aboriginal children and families. The poster also informs parents of their options should their child need protection: asking for a family group conference, using traditional decision making, and asking for a mediator.

Can’t Pay Your Mortgage

We’ve updated and reprinted this popular booklet. Can’t Pay Your Mortgage? is intended for any homeowner who is about to miss a mortgage payment, has already missed one or more mortgage payments, or has received a petition to go to court. It explains what homeowners can do when lenders try to take their properties because of missed payments (foreclosure). The booklet also lists agencies that can provide information or other kinds of help.

Find out How to Use the Law at www.familylaw.lss.bc.ca

We’ve updated and reprinted our Family Law in BC website bookmark to reflect the latest changes to the site. Use this handy bookmark to provide your family law clients with the website address as well as a list of the types of information and resources they will find on the Family Law website.

If You Are Charged with a Crime

If You Are Charged with a Crime has been revised and reprinted. This short, easy-to-read brochure outlines what happens when someone is charged with a criminal offence. It briefly describes the court process and the different options that might be available. It also outlines the accused person's legal rights, what a lawyer can do, how to find a lawyer, and how to get legal aid or other legal help. The French version of the earlier edition of this brochure (online and in print) is still legally accurate.

If You Can’t Get a Lawyer for Your Criminal Trial: How to Make A Rowbotham Application

The first edition of this booklet flew off the shelves, so we’ve revised and reprinted it. If You Can’t Get a Lawyer for Your Criminal Trial is intended for people facing serious and complex criminal charges who have been denied legal aid but cannot afford a lawyer. It explains why, how, and when to ask the judge to appoint a free lawyer, and includes a checklist of points to cover in court and copies of the necessary court forms.

If You Can’t Pay Your Court Fine on Time

We’ve updated and reprinted this brochure, which explains what to do if someone cannot pay a court fine on time. If You Can’t Pay Your Court Fine on Time describes the four possible options available, including paying part of the fine by the due date, asking for an extension, asking for jail time instead, or doing nothing. It also explains what happens if fines are not paid and describes how jail terms are set. The Brydges Line telephone number is included for people who have been arrested.

Benefits and Services for Seniors

We've now translated this popular booklet into Korean (available online only).

How you can use the Clicklaw HelpMap

As you know, Courthouse Libraries BC launched the HelpMap component of the Clicklaw website in December 2009. To give you a flavour of what the Clicklaw HelpMap offers, they've created a five-minute YouTube video, which shows you the top five things you can do on the HelpMap:

You can search by community in British Columbia for someone who can help with legal problems.
You can locate a result on the map (where they’re integrating with GoogleMaps).
You can narrow your results down — by topic (e.g., show me only "Family law" services), or by type of help (e.g., only show me services that provide "legal advocacy, advice, or representation").
You can start your search by clicking on a topic and narrowing down your search from there.
You can find services that are provided in languages other than English (by starting with a community in BC and narrowing down by language).

The Clicklaw team would love to hear your feedback on the Clicklaw HelpMap. Please consider taking their three-minute Clicklaw feedback survey online, posting a comment on their blog, or sending them an e-mail.