Lexpert magazine features articles and columns on developments in legal practice management, deals and lawsuits of interest in Canada, the law and business issues of interest to legal professionals and businesses that purchase legal services.
Issue link: https://digital.carswellmedia.com/i/1163340
LEXPERT MAGAZINE | Q3 2019 29 LITIGATION FEATURES certain lawyers' best ideas for streamlining. We started with Claire Wilkinson, who practises with Martin and Hillyer Associ- ates in Burlington, Ont. She acts on Per- sonal Injury and Insurance Litigation mat- ters and assists survivors of sexual abuse. She is a past President of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA), and the Halton County Law Association. She also sits on the board of Mind Forward Brain Injury Services, and is an Ontario Governor for the American Association for Justice. Wilkinson wrote the following as part of her campaign website in her run for Law Society of Ontario Bencher: "Access to justice continues to be a critical issue facing our Ontario court system. e backlog of cases is extensive, and judicial resources are being stretched thin. Ongoing efforts are being made by the administrators of the Ontario court system to embrace sys- tems and procedures that will reduce trial time, and streamline the litigation process. "e pilot project one judge model is an excellent example of thinking outside the box to try to address a very significant access to justice problem. In 2018 I was pleased to participate in the consultation group chaired by Ontario Court of Appeal Chief Justice Strathy that considered implement- ing this new and exciting concept in On- tario. e working group that was struck to more carefully consider this issue resulted in the pilot project of the one judge model that launched February 1, 2019. Participa- tion in this pilot project is voluntary, and requires the consent of the regional senior judge overseeing the jurisdiction where the action was brought. e goal of the pilot project is to eliminate interlocutory mo- tions, and move cases more swily through the litigation process. "As President of OTLA, I was also in- volved in government consultations that addressed the need to increase the simpli- fied procedure limits in Ontario, again, with a goal of streamlining litigation and reducing the length of trials and the costs associated with trials. e lack of judicial resources and the volume of litigation being managed by our judges is stretching our sys- tem to the point where litigation wait times have [become] dysfunctional in certain sight of tactical manoeuvres. "Time is no longer a friend of Justice. e intimate connection was jilted into an adverse relationship. e judges in this di- vorce are the very public that the civil jus- tice system was meant to serve. Excessive time delays caused by over-sophisticated processes and a complex system focused on documentary and oral discovery have brought the trial itself into disrepute. e public is not willing to bear the burden of lengthy time periods, unrealistic costs and unpredictable outcomes. Because of the failure to meet realistic time and cost limita- tions, lawyers are viewed as untrustworthy and self-serving. e barrister was a much trusted and admired part of the civil justice system 40 years ago. Judges were viewed with admiration and awe. "As any litigator and litigant in the mod- ern era will tell you, so much has changed for the negative that the civil justice system and the rule of law have fallen into disuse and disrepute." Court systems across Canada are in much need of streamlining. e cost factor alone is obvious, let alone the access to justice imperative. And yet, lawyers would have it that there is much more to be done. To add momentum to the cause, Lexpert captured