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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 23, 2001

OTTAWA - "Jennifer" was married to "Mike" for more than 20 years. Although economically well off, Jennifer suffered physical abuse, became ill and was eventually confined to a wheelchair. Finally, with one child still at home, Jennifer found the courage to leave her marriage.

But that was just the beginning of what turned out to be a true "horror story" for Jennifer. When she sought legal aid for her divorce and custody fight, the government turned her down because she was still joint owner of her property, though there was no way she could access that asset.

Jennifer's saga continued for the next five years as Mike used the court system to get back at her, dragging her into court over and over again on unnecessary claims that consumed time and money.

With all of their joint resources depleted, Jennifer has to live on social assistance. At that point, she qualified for legal aid to cover her custody fight. Sadly, it was too late; her youngest child had grown up and moved away.

This true story is the latest installment in the Canadian Bar Association's Legal Aid Watch (LAW), a network of lawyers who are monitoring how an underfunded legal aid system is failing Canadians. The CBA is continuing to bring legal aid "horror stories" to the attention of governments, media and the Canadian public to draw attention to the plight of those who are being ill served by the legal aid system.

Previous LAW horror stories can be accessed on the CBA's website.

The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.

The full text of "Jennifer's" story is attached.

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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, 500 - 865 Carling Ave. , Ottawa, ON, K1S 5S8 Tel: (613) 237-2925, ext. 146; E-mail: hannahb@cba.org