Engaging the legal profession: the BC Paralegal Association

I recently had the pleasure of speaking to the BC Paralegal Association Annual Fall Dinner on the access to justice challenges we face in our province. I was impressed to learn about the significant growth in membership of the BCPA, and to see so many paralegals coming together to celebrate their success and demonstrate their shared commitment to improving the legal profession.

I spoke to them about the alarmingly high rates of self-representation in our courts, and the frustration many self-represented litigants feel when trying to navigate the justice system. I also discussed the creation of Access to Justice BC, and our initiatives such as the BC Family Unbundling Roster, the Presumptive CDR project, and the Family Pathfinder project. You can also find more information about those initiatives here on our website.

I encouraged the members of the BC Paralegal Association, and I encourage you as well, to get involved: engage in the access to justice dialogue; start your own initiative; or share any access to justice innovation stories and ideas with us at [email protected].

We need everyone, both inside and outside our courts, to be working together so that ordinary British Columbians can access what they want and need from our justice system.