The government as drafted ideas for what regulated paralegals should be allowed to do and are now asking for public input. The suggested framework is described below. TWO types of licenses, general and an enhanced family license.
1. General Scope Licence Regulated Paralegals with this licence could:
Represent people in Provincial Court for matters including small claims, traffic tickets, summary criminal offences, and some family law matters.
Represent people before administrative tribunals (like tenancy or workers’ compensation hearings).
Help with things like wills, powers of attorney, real estate transactions, corporate filings and transactions, and estate administration.
Represent people in Supreme Court for some family law matters, subject to the specialization licence set out below.
2. Family Law Specialization Licence
This would be for Regulated Paralegals who want to focus on family law. They would need the general licence first. After receiving the additional specialization licence on top of the general licence, they would be able to help with additional things like:
Adoptions
Continuing custody orders in child protection matters
Property division
Other more complex family law issues Some specific areas like surrogacy, fertility, and international child custody cases would be excluded from both licences.
For complete information please inform yourself here:
If you wish to provide feedback here is the link to the online survey:
At Affordable Legal BC we can represent you in Provincial Court in a similar fashion to a lawyer in a manner likely similar to what regulated paralegals will do when they arrive. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
