Empathic Vancouver, BC family lawyer?
April 30, 2012 2:08 PM   Subscribe

Please help me find an empathic Vancouver, BC area family lawyer.

Asking for a friend:

My lawyer went on mat leave. (This is Canada, so that may mean 8-12 months or longer.) I hadn't seen her for a long while, so I ended up meeting with a lawyer last week. However, having talked to her on the phone twice and met with her in person once, I've come away all three times feeling terrible. The lawyer I had before was deeply empathic and never made me feel like this.

I'm looking for a lawyer who is trauma-informed, feminist and kind. This may relate to separation & divorce, spousal abuse and even a need for child protection law knowledge. I need a lawyer who won't beat up on me for taking time to process information or for dissociating or going through the cycle of abuse dynamic. I have left my marriage - I'm not an idiot and I need a lawyer who won't make me feel like one. Child protection made me feel way more understood than she has in my struggle to understand the dynamics of an emotionally/psychologically abusive relationship and the effects on my children in witnessing that. I get that she knows her stuff, but I need someone a little more warm and fuzzy.

(As a side note, I told the lawyer last week that I'd retain her. I haven't signed anything, but i did use 30 min of her time today. I'm a bit unsure whether I can just pay her out for that time or if it's more complicated, as I haven't received the retainer letter yet. I haven't' told her that I've changed my mind yet, as it just dawned on me that we're perhaps not a good fit, if I end up in tears every time I talk to her.)
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats to Law & Government (3 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Regarding your side note, just walk away and don't offer to pay for the 30 mins. It sounds to me like you were just feeling her out that really using her services, therefore you shouldn't feel obliged to pay her. Good lawyers are frequently writing off a few minutes here and half an hour there from their bills; it won't kill a shitty lawyer to do it for you too.
posted by wutangclan at 3:10 PM on April 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


The BC Family Resource Blog may have some useful info.
posted by KokuRyu at 4:25 PM on April 30, 2012


Take a look at Clicklaw for BC legal advice. One of the recommended resources is the Lawyer Referral Service.
posted by kaefer at 4:52 PM on April 30, 2012


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