by Mark Benton, QC

The Legal Services Society (LSS) recently conducted a province-wide survey (www.lss.bc.ca/assets/aboutUs/reports/legalAid/IPSOS_Reid_Poll_Dec08.pdf) to get a better understanding of the current legal needs of low- and middle-income people. The results are very interesting with more than 80 per cent of those surveyed saying they have experienced a legal problem in the past three years that was serious and difficult to resolve.

Consumer, money, and housing issues topped the list of legal problems with employment and family relations following close behind.

Of those who experienced a legal problem, the vast majority took some action to resolve the issue. Most, however, took action on their own without the benefit of legal or non-legal assistance. Acting on one’s own is certainly appropriate for some legal disputes. After all, who hasn’t resolved a disagreement over an appliance warranty without the help of a lawyer? But is self-help best in a family law matter or a dispute over welfare benefits? The root cause of both may well be the person’s inability to resolve disputes or to deal with complex, stressful situations.

Equally troubling is the incidence of additional, non-legal problems triggered by unresolved legal complaints. More than half the people who reported a legal problem also reported emotional or physical health issues flowing from their legal problem, while more than one-third said their legal problems triggered drug or alcohol problems.

The survey’s results are remarkably similar to a nation-wide survey on the same issues carried out by the Department of Justice in 2006 and are consistent with results from surveys in several other countries.

Information and research from the B.C. survey will shape the way the Legal Services Society provides legal aid to low-income British Columbians. There are, however, lessons all lawyers can take from it and start building into their practices right away.

Consider this example which many lawyers will have encountered in their practices: A family gets into debt (the number two problem in our survey). The debt leads to family discord (number five on the list) and the spouses separate. The stress of the separation leaves the wife an emotional wreck (60 per cent said legal problems triggered emotional health problems) and she is unable to work. Without work, the wife seeks social assistance, her troubles continue, and the costs to the justice, health care and social service systems mount up.

Obviously, this downward spiral, and its burden on the social safety net, could have been eliminated with some early advice when the first cheque bounced. This speaks to the need for lawyers to adopt a more holistic approach to their work that supports their clients’ efforts to address non-legal issues that have an impact on the legal problems. In the case of legal aid clients, this often means dealing with addiction, domestic violence or poverty. Lawyers must not forget that theirs is a helping profession.

Another point we can take from this survey is the importance of legal aid. For many low-income people, it is their only source of hope. Everyone knows more money is needed to maintain and sustain legal aid services in B.C. LSS and its stakeholders, such as the B.C. Branch of the CBA, are working to secure increased funding. But there is also a need for more lawyers, particularly outside the major urban centres, willing to handle legal aid cases. Anyone interested in legal aid work should contact LSS.

Mark Benton, QC, Executive Director, Legal Services Society of British Columbia

This article was published in the April 2009 issue of BarTalk. © 2009 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.