What is a family standard contract, and why has my lawyer been given one?
A contract includes the instructions that Legal Aid BC (LABC) gives to a lawyer when they start a legal aid case. A family standard contract allows your lawyer to help you under specific circumstances, for example, if:
- your safety or your children’s safety is at risk,
- you’ve been denied access to your children on an ongoing basis, or
- there’s a risk that your child will be permanently removed from the province.
Note: if you aren’t eligible for help from a lawyer under a family standard contract, you may still be eligible for limited representation or legal advice services through LABC.
What can my lawyer do for me?
With a standard contract, your lawyer may spend up to 35 hours to:
- review your case,
- discuss your case with you and give you legal advice,
- draft court documents,
- negotiate with the other person,
- prepare for a case or settlement conference,
- prepare for interviewing witnesses and expert witnesses, or
- prepare for hearings in Supreme or Provincial Court (but in addition, will have enough time to go to court for you).
Your lawyer may also spend up to:
- 10 extra hours to prepare for hearings in Supreme Court,
- 10 hours to prepare for mediation or collaborative processes, and
- 15 hours to attend mediation or collaborative processes.
Note: the number of contract hours may be adjusted from time to time based on LABC budget.
What can I do to help my lawyer?
Your lawyer has only a limited number of hours in which to help you. Here are some things you can do to help:
- Only contact your lawyer if necessary and keep your conversations as short as possible.
- Gather any relevant documents and put them in order by date to give to your lawyer.
- Before you meet or call your lawyer, make a written list of your concerns or questions.
- Make sure your lawyer deals with the matter on your family standard contract and only helps with other matters if time is available within the contract.
For more guidelines and to find out what to expect from your legal aid contract, see Working with Your Legal Aid Lawyer.
What if my lawyer is out of hours and I still need help?
If you have ongoing family law issues, your lawyer can ask for additional hours from LABC, called extended family services. LABC might not grant additional hours in all cases.
If LABC doesn’t approve your lawyer’s request for extended family services, you may be eligible for legal advice services from Family Duty Counsel or the Family LawLINE.