BCLI’s Study Paper on Financing Litigation Featured in The Lawyer’s Daily
December 18, 2017
BY Valerie Le Blanc
The BCLI is pleased to have the Study Paper on Financing Litigation (PDF) featured in an article by The Lawyer’s Daily, drawing both attention to the publication and raising awareness and discussion on this important topic.
The overarching goal of the BCLI’s Financing Litigation Legal Research Project was to examine how litigants pay for litigation in British Columbia. The project initially identified four financing opportunities.
To better understand how these financing models were applied in practice, and to identify other models that might be explored during the research phase, the BCLI held consultation sessions with a range of stakeholders—lawyers and non-lawyers alike. A number of the consultation participants provide legal and advocacy services using these models, or assist clients who cannot afford legal services. Participants also included members of the judiciary and service providers from the financial sector. A complete list of consultation participants can be found at Appendix A of the paper.
The consultation sessions provided BCLI with information, feedback, and comments based on the participants’ experiences with litigants seeking to finance legal services using the methods identified. Participants offered suggestions on some of the practical advantages, disadvantages and optimal uses for each method. The BCLI then used the input and ideas from the consultations to help guide the extensive academic and statistical research for the study paper.
As stated in the paper, the purpose of the BCLI’s project on this area is to serve as a starting point or foundation for discussion of the financing models. It is intended to help raise awareness and encourage discussion on these topics to ensure that, as they evolve, they meet the needs of litigants in British Columbia. Each topic is worthy of a research project on its own. The substantive content, research, case law, and other materials are not intended to be interpreted as an exhaustive representation of the information and resources available for study in this area. Research, law, policy and initiatives continue to develop as the sector and policy makers continue to seek to address this important access-to-justice issue.
To highlight some of the ongoing developments in each area, the BCLI is featuring a six-part blog series, The Financing Litigation Series: Exploring Options to Pay for Legal Services. The blog series showcases each of the six financing models explored in the Study Paper on Financing Litigation (PDF). Each blog includes a list of resources cited on the financing model featured in the blog post. Five of the six posts are currently available on the blog series page here. The sixth post will be published on January 10, 2018.
