How do I help this person find low cost legal representation? (BC)

April 24, 2019 12:50 AM

Someone I know has asked me to help them find a lawyer. Essentially they spent a large amount of money on a necessity that turned out to be unsafe and now they can't use it. To me, it seems like the seller took advantage of this person's naivete, low literacy skills and disability. We are in British Columbia but nowhere near Vancouver or Victoria. How should I go about helping them find low cost legal representation? They're also indigenous and have status, in case that makes a difference.

I've already checked to see if they qualify for legal aid, but they don't, since that's restricted to criminal, immigration, children and family law matters. This is also why they don't qualify for the pro bono program I found at our local Indigenous Friendship Centre. I've also been wading through legal advocacy sites like Dial-a-law, the BC pro bono access directory, and Clicklaw; I'll keep exploring those, but since I know very little about the law, I figured I should ask for help instead of wasting a lot of time just throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.

I'm really fond of this person and I think they've been taken advantage of. They and their spouse both have brain injuries, very little formal education, very little money (even less now, sigh), and no strong support network. Even though they're status, they live far away from their band which is in another province. I'm totally willing to make phone calls on their behalf (they're pretty shy and insecure about talking to professionals), but I'm not sure where to start.

Any help would be appreciated, even if it's just to say "this is the type of lawyer you should be looking for."

posted by hurdy gurdy girl to Law & Government (6 answers total)

This sounds like a matter for consumer protection. I'm not a Canadian lawyer, but it appears that BC does something like what many U.S. states do, which is offer a forum for filing complaints. If their services are like U.S. states, they can give advice and even reach out to the company in question, but they won't be representing your friend. Sometimes, though, just having the government tap them on the shoulder is sufficient to prompt a company to do right by someone.

They may also be able to refer you to a private-sector lawyer or program, if any such exist.

Good luck to your friend. It was brave of them to share this with you.
posted by praemunire at 1:01 AM on April 24, 2019 [3 favorites]

We used he CBA BC Lawyer Referral service and got a very inexpensive consult with them. A law student/friend told us it's meant for people who need advice as to whether they actually need a lawyer or not. We were told that you're generally contacted by lawyer within 24h of calling:

Call: 604.687.3221 or 1.800.663.1919 | Mon - Fri, 8:30am to 5:00pm

As for the low cost part, their website also says they can direct you to further resources:

What if I cannot afford a lawyer but need help?

There are other services available to assist you. Tell the operator that you would like to be directed to services that provide assistance to those who cannot afford a lawyer.

Your friends are lucky to have you as a friend, and I wish you the best! I'm on the UBC campus and will ask some people about it tomorrow, and may post again if I hear anything else that might be helpful.
posted by ipsative at 1:14 AM on April 24, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Hey wow, thanks to you both! This is already super helpful. I'll be meeting with my friend tomorrow and now I have two promising-looking avenues to explore with them. Ipsative, I'll MeMail you with a further detail that might make a difference when you're asking around. (Also: UBC represent!)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:22 AM on April 24, 2019

Hi! Ideally what you're going to want to end up with here is probably full on legal representation. It sounds like there may well be a civil claim here. Navigating civil claims as a self represented litigant varies in complexity. It may be that it's possible to effectively deal with this in small claims court. In small claims, a willing layperson friend can help a great deal. If it's not something that can be dealt with in small claims its more difficult and far and away the best option is an actual lawyer. In either case, the biggest problem with a claim like this is usually effectively collecting on the judgment once you get it. Doing that is far easier from a lawyer's office than as a layperson, but unfortunately often involves paying disbursements up front in the hopes of collecting something. Access Pro Bono (see below) offers some disbursement coverage.

Essentially all assistance for civil claims is civil society organizations rather than anything government related.

However, it is not uncommon for a lawyer to be interested in this kind of thing on a pro bono basis. The organization Access Pro Bono refers out potential pro bono cases to lawyers. I do not know how many lawyers are involved outside of major city centres. I'm going to memail you to see if I can help direct you further.
posted by lookoutbelow at 7:05 AM on April 24, 2019 [2 favorites]

One more thing - depending on what is going on, the Civil Resolution Tribunal may be appropriate. It is a 100% online tribunal for civil disputes up to $5000 where parties are not typically allowed to be represented by lawyers but a friend can often help.

They have a tool on their website called the Solution Explorer that will, if I recall correctly, do something like auto generate a demand letter to the company. It may provide information about what forum your friend needs to be in to resolve their dispute. It worked surprisingly well last time I was involved with it. You can use that whether or not the claim is under $5000. Even if you do get paid legal advice, it may help narrow the issues and keep costs down.
posted by lookoutbelow at 7:21 AM on April 24, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks lookoutbelow--I've MeMailed you!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:29 AM on April 24, 2019