As part of our ongoing efforts to manage program costs responsibly and ensure a high quality of client service, LABC asks that change-of-counsel requests be made only as a last resort. Frequent or late-stage changes of counsel can cause a delay in proceedings, increase costs, and negatively affect clients’ experience in the justice system.
When you accept a representation contract, you’re the authorized counsel for that specific case and are making a commitment to the client and the case that should not be ended prematurely without good reason. You may use an alternative service provider (ASP) for support, but the ASP may not assume conduct of the case — see General Terms and Conditions, section 42 (PDF).
Before accepting or continuing with a case, please consider whether you have sufficient capacity and experience to manage it properly and to provide timely and effective assistance to the client.
If issues arise — such as workload or client-lawyer relationship challenges — we encourage you to consider the following support resources before requesting a change of counsel:
- Additional client support: Legal aid navigators
- General or case-specific mentorship: Mentoring opportunities at LABC
- Law Society of BC resources: Practice advice
If, after exploring these alternatives, getting off the record is the only option, submit a Change of Counsel authorization request through the Lawyer Portal. To help avoid processing delays, please provide clear and detailed reasons for the change (ethical concerns, unavoidable scheduling conflict, etc.) as well as the current status of the case.
LABC recognizes that in some cases a change of counsel is unavoidable — such as a conflict of interest, a client’s lack of cooperation with counsel, or providing instructions the lawyer cannot follow. Prudent management of our limited resources requires LABC to scrutinize the rationale for a change of counsel, particularly as a case proceeds and substantial costs are incurred.
We appreciate your cooperation in ensuring that changes of counsel occur only when necessary.
