45-2: Our Legal System - LawNow Magazine

Volume 45-2 Nov/Dec 2020

October 26^th to 30^th, 2020 is National Access to Justice Week. And we are celebrating with this issue! Read on for articles about different aspects of our legal system and perspectives on public legal education.

Feature Articles: Our Legal System
Special Report: Public Legal Education
Departments
Columns

Feature Articles: Our Legal System

Retaining a Lawyer
Kevin Unrau
Before you become a client of a lawyer, you must first retain them. But retaining a lawyer is not always straightforward!

The Role of Crown Prosecutors in our Criminal Justice System
Thomas Kannanayakal
Governments employ lawyers to prosecute crime. In Alberta, these lawyers are Crown prosecutors.

Access to Justice in Family Law: A guide to offering limited scope retainers
Tonya Lambert
Before a lawyer begins offering limited scope retainers, they must give due consideration to the matter.

Getting a Fair Say: Adjudicative bodies and the duty of fairness
Evan Oikawa
Administrative bodies play a critical role in many areas of the law – from human rights to municipal planning to labour and employment.

Good Behaviour and Tenure of Supreme Court Justices in Canada and the United States
Myrna El Fakhry Tuttle
In Canada and the U.S., Supreme Court justices cease to hold office in two different ways.

You Have Choices! Resolving family law problems outside of court
John-Paul Boyd
We have options for resolving family law problems other than going to court. A lot of really good options, in fact.

Special Report: Public Legal Education

Public Legal Education: Unexamined theory constrains practice
Lois Gander, QC
An interdisciplinary field, PLE draws both theory and practice from a host of other disciplines, not just law and education.

BearPaw Media and Education: Indigenous public legal education in Alberta
Dr. Daena Crosby
BearPaw’s resources are for Indigenous people, by Indigenous people in Alberta and include culturally-relevant videos, publications and workshops.

A2J and Public Legal Education in 2020 in Alberta
Jeff Surtees
It is widely stated we have an access to justice crisis in Canada, but responses to it depend on what we think justice and access mean.

The Critical Role of Public Legal Education in Societies Governed by the Rule of Law
John-Paul Boyd
Public legal education programs fill a critical gap between formal access to justice we all enjoy in theory and the practical ability of individual Canadians to meaningfully access justice in their daily lives.