Disputes and court processes can be time consuming, stressful and expensive. Many individuals are choosing to represent themselves, but are finding that, although there is a lot of information online about the law, none of it actually deals with the specifics and details of your individual case. As such, these same individuals are finding it hard to navigate the legal system without the expertise of a lawyer.

Legal Coaching is a process where lawyers coach individuals who have chosen to represent themselves but require some additional assistance along the way. The Legal Coach is available to provide assistance in a variety of ways while you maintain full control and responsibility for your case.

Legal Coaching is a flexible process. You may choose to engage a Legal Coach at the beginning of your separation or divorce and continue to work with the coach until the very end. Or you may choose to engage a Legal Coach only when you need some help or on a piecemeal basis – in preparation for a court application or a family law trial, for example. Either way, you control the process and maintain responsibility for your case. The Legal Coach remains in the background and is available to help you when you need assistance.

A Legal Coach can provide you with advice on the law, both in general and in relation to your individual case. We can assist with drafting and reviewing of court applications, affidavits, trial statements and submissions. We can also provide assistance with marriage agreements and separation agreements. Legal Coaches can assist with legal strategy, research and can help you prepare for court applications and trials.

A Legal Coach can save you time and money. Tell us if this sounds familiar – you are often online researching and trying to understand the law and preparing for court applications and trials after work and on weekends, all while trying to manage the daily pressures of life. A Legal Coach is an experienced lawyer who can summarize the law that applies to you and help you to organize your case in an efficient manner. We can also provide resources and tips on how to be effective in negotiations and mediations.

A Legal Coach can help guide you through complex legal issues and most importantly act as a confidant to help you make decisions in your own matter. When you fully retain a lawyer, that lawyer will do all of the work on your behalf and consult with you when they need your input. This means you have little to no control over how much time the lawyer puts into your case. That said, there are definite advantages to having a lawyer take full responsibility for your case. No matter how much you read on the internet, you simply cannot replace the lawyer’s legal education and years of experience. Most individuals that choose to represent themselves however, do so because they cannot afford the legal fees associated with fully retaining a family law lawyer for the entirety of their family law dispute, and often end up leaving their lawyer for financial reasons, leaving them to navigate the court system on their own. With a Legal Coach, you control the type of work that the Legal Coach does and therefore control how much you spend on legal fees.

You control how much time you want the Legal Coach to spend on your case and what work you wish the Legal Coach to assist with. For example, you may have drafted a Notice of Application and want the Legal Coach to review it. Once the Legal Coach has reviewed the Notice of Application and provided comments, you may decide that the Legal Coach’s engagement has come to an end. Any further work such as, filing the court documents, attending at court, and drafting a court order can be conducted by you on your own. We do our best to be as transparent as possible when it comes to legal fees. We never charge for initial inquiries and, where possible, we do our best to communicate strategies on how you can save money on your legal fees. We believe in that.

We also offer many services using a flat rate model. This means that you know the price of the service up front. Check out our services page for more information.

We can assist with any of the following:

• Drafting and review of Separation Agreements and Marriage Agreements, Notices of Application, Affidavits, Court Orders, Consent Orders, Summary Trial Applications, and Financial Statements
• Providing legal advice
• Training on court etiquette
• Assisting with the organization and preparation of Court Application and Trial materials
• Training on what to say to a Judge or Master and how to say it
• Offering Legal Research
• Determining Legal Strategy

A Legal Coach will not correspond with the opposing party or with opposing counsel nor will they attend at court on your behalf. That remains in your control. Anyone that has been to court is fully aware of the number of hours and days wasted by lawyers sitting in court waiting to be heard by a Judge. A lawyer that sits in court waiting to appear in front of a Judge is unable to do other work in the office and thus will charge the client for the time wasted, often resulting in thousands of dollars in legal fees. If you take control of your own family law matter, you will attend court on your own behalf and will not have to pay a lawyer to sit and wait in court for you. A Legal Coach can help you organize for court so that you feel fully prepared and confident in handling your own matter.

Separation Agreements are ultimately contracts and, while it may seem easy enough to fill in the blanks, it is rarely that simple. A contract is a final binding document that you and your spouse will rely on for years to come. Just as you wouldn’t write up your own contract to buy or sell your house (at least we don’t recommend that you do), we also don’t recommend that you write your own separation agreement either. Too often, clients come to us after they’ve downloaded a $99 separation agreement template online. It is often more work for lawyers to review and make changes to that document than it is to draft one from scratch. We want to be honest about that. We know that legal fees are expensive – that is why we are offering a flat rate for separation agreements. That way, you know, up front, how much it is going to cost. We believe that we can provide you with a solid separation agreement that will accurately reflect the terms that you and your spouse have agreed to and can rely on now and in the future.

Getting a formal divorce is not complicated. Yes, there are numerous forms to fill out and steps to be followed, but in our opinion, if you understand the process and familiarize yourself with the terminology, you really can do it yourself. Those that say it is complicated are often referring to the messy part of divorce – the part where you have to negotiate with your spouse or attend court and speak in front of a judge (although, with some legal coaching, we believe you can do that too…). There are definitely areas in law that are complicated and that is why you need to be educated and supported as you try to navigate the system on your own. The best part about our services is the ongoing support, whether it be through bi-weekly check-ins to keep you on track or one-off legal coaching sessions at your request, when you may feel that you need guidance and assistance.