FOLA reacts to LSO approval of the FLSP license

Today the Federation of Ontario Law Associations (FOLA) made the following statement:

“FOLA is pleased with the approval of the Family Legal Service Provider (FLSP) by Convocation.

The proposal approved by Convocation addresses most of the concerns previously raised with respect to the FLSP licence and is a positive step forward in providing access to justice to people involved in family law matters across Ontario.

The FLSP, once implemented, will allow paralegals who complete specified training to assist clients with certain family law services. Those services include process navigation, completing applications for joint and uncontested divorce and motions to change for child support (based on the payor’s ‘line 150/T4 slip’ income and excluding special and extraordinary expenses), and responding to support proceedings and court appearance on motions to change (subject to the limitations previously described).

Family law is an area of law that remains under-served in many parts of the province, and we are optimistic that the FLSP will improve access to justice in this area. The three-year review of the FLSP will allow a reasonable period of time to assess the impact of the FLSP and make any necessary improvements.

FOLA thanks those benchers who shared thoughtful and constructive comments during today’s meeting of Convocation.”

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Contact:

Douglas W. Judson
Chair
Email: info@douglasjudson.ca