There is no question that the legal system can be complex and difficult to navigate. It is likely that many individuals who have used the system to resolve a family law matter are all too aware of this. Because an adversarial system may cause some to abandon their case, the group Access to Justice BC aspires to make it less so.
The group formed following the release of a federal report in 2013 that, in addition to being too complex, found the civil and family justice system in B.C., to be too expensive and slow as well. While previous attempts to reform the system have had little success, many are hoping the addition of the province’s top judge will make a difference.
A civil and family justice system that is not accessible to residents of B.C. results in people being unable to properly resolve their issues. When a matter takes a long period of time to work through it can lead to great expense. That expense could result in an individual attempting to represent him or herself throughout the process. The complexity of the system can make it impossible for an individual navigate on their own causing them to drop the matter completely. When it is a family law related matter, this can be a devastating outcome.
How the addition of the justice to the cause will impact the efforts of Access to Justice BC remains to be seen. Whether reforms occur or not, most people attempting to navigate the family justice system, find the assistance of a lawyer beneficial.