Law Week in BC, April 2011

The broader context

 

The BC branch of the Canadian Bar Association (CBABC) has been super busy organizing Law Week (which is more like Law Month as there are events happening all through April…). Law Weeks kicks off on Wednesday April 6 with a Law Day Open House at the Kamloops Courthouse, where one of the highlights will be a tour of the Kamloops Courthouse Library where you can learn more about using Clicklaw! Here’s a schedule of other activities happening around the province:

And for everyone in BC, there will be Dial-A-Lawyer on April 16, from 10am – 2pm where you can phone to speak to a lawyer, for free, for 15 minutes. This service is available in English and Chinese. Here’s their poster that you can download (PDF, 362KB).

The CBA is one of Clicklaw’s key contributors. They produce over 130 Dial-a-Law scripts, short pieces of basic legal information on a variety of legal issues. They are some of the most popular resources on the Clicklaw website. The scripts are available by phone,  and online where you can read transcripts in Simplified Chinese, English and Punjabi.

The CBABC’s Clicklaw Contributor, Annie, does an amazing job of making sure the scripts are kept up to date on Clicklaw. She also works with her team to develop new scripts to help answer people’s questions about the law. Dozens of scripts were updated on Clicklaw just earlier this year.

The CBABC also runs the Lawyer Referral Service, a program that connects you with a lawyer in your community, and sets up an inital consultation for a small fee of $25.

The Clicklaw team and staff from Courthouse Libraries BC will be attending Law Day in most communities. We hope to see you there!

Waiving Filing Fees in Small Claims Court

New on Clicklaw

Waiving Filing Fees in BC Small Claims Court“My credit card company says I owe them for charges that my ex-spouse ran up after I cancelled the card. They’re now suing me in Small Claims Court. It’s going to cost money just to file my documents in court, money I don’t have …”

But wait… there is help. Waiving Filing Fees in BC Small Claims Court explains how to apply to the registry to have these fees waived if you can’t afford to pay them. The booklet includes information about the process, the forms that you need to fill out, and a chart of all of the fees for Small Claims Court. Produced by Community Legal Assistance Society, it’s a great resource for people who can’t afford the court fees.