Children's Lawyer Program
This program is currently available in Nanaimo and Victoria but may extend to other locations and levels of court in the future. This initiative, dealing with high conflict custody and access cases, provides a “voice to children” ages 10 through 18, in court hearings.
In Nanaimo and Victoria, where a judge is of the view that a matter before the Court would benefit from the appointment of legal counsel for a child or children, he or she can make an order requesting that the Children’s Lawyer Program become involved. As required by the order, within ten days, each party must complete an Intake Form and send it to our Children’s Lawyer Program Manager at jcotie[at]accessprobono.ca. Within three weeks of the date of the order, the Children’s Lawyer Program Manager will review the intake forms and notify the Court and the parties and/or their counsel whether a lawyer will be appointed for the child(ren).
A lawyer appointed for a child will meet with the child as much as necessary to properly obtain the child’s evidence, which will be presented in an affidavit sworn by the child. Prior to filing the child’s affidavit, a mandatory settlement conference will be held and attended by both parents, their counsel and the pro bono lawyer appointed in the case. The purpose of this settlement conference is to disclose to the parents what the child’s evidence will be, with the intent that this will encourage settlement without the need to file the child’s affidavit as a permanent part of the court record. If the matter is not settled, then the child’s affidavit will be filed with the Court.
The lawyers who have volunteered their time for this initiative have all had extensive experience in family law matters and training in interviewing children.
Children’s Lawyer Program
Nanaimo Justice Access Centre
3rd Floor 65 Front Street
Nanaimo, BC V9R 5H9
1-877-280-6070
1-877-280-6073 (fax)
