Family Law Legal Coaching at YLaw

Any family law client who needs help with their case will now be able to receive legal coaching from YLaw.

This service will provide access to family justice for many individuals representing themselves in court and who need legal assistance to help guide them in their case but don’t need a full-time lawyer working with them. The goal is to ensure that everyone, no matter their financial circumstances, has access to justice and has the knowledge and tools to represent themselves in family law litigation, mediation, and or negotiation.

What is Legal Coaching?

Legal coaching is the revolutionary idea that you, the client, can manage your own case with assistance from our expert legal coaches. A legal coach is your personal guide who will help you navigate our legal system’s complexities.

Your legal coach’s main objective is to assist you in representing yourself in your family matter most effectively and efficiently as possible, given the facts of your case.

Legal coaching is different from the traditional client-lawyer relationship because you are the one taking control of your own case. Instead of your lawyer being at the forefront, you are in the driver’s seat of your case, and your coach is helping provide guidance.

What your Legal Coach can help you with?

Legal coaches offer a variety of services depending on the facts of the case and what the client needs help with. This includes but is not limited to:

1. Helping to draft court documents
2. Helping with legal research
3. Strategizing about your case
4. Assisting in written correspondence to the opposing party, opposing counsel, or third parties
5. Guidance through the family court, both provincial and supreme
6. Guidance in mediation/arbitration
7. Review and guidance on correspondence and court documents

Why Legal Coaches over Family Lawyers?

The legal coach and client work together as a team, setting out realistic goals which the client is responsible for executing and is accountable for. The Coach is a guide, but the client is in charge. A client-lawyer relationship involves lawyers working with their clients on realistic goals; however, the lawyers, upon instructions from their clients, are responsible for their execution and accountable for the strategies that have been executed.

Why Legal Coaches Over Unbundled Legal Services?

An essential distinction between unbundled legal services and legal coaches is that your legal coach works with you every step of the way in any of the above-noted matters, and you will sit with him/her to work on your family law matter. Hiring someone for unbundled legal services is having that individual do the work for you.

Where Can I Get a Legal Coach?

Legal coaching is offered at both our Vancouver and Surrey office locations. Legal coaches are not limited by their location, as we assist individuals across British Columbia. Thanks to our reliance on technology that supports remote assistance (telephone, email, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams), we don’t need to be in the same location as you.

When Would a Legal Coach Be Helpful?

Legal coaching can be utilized at any stage in your family matter.

You may find legal coaching is helpful in many of the following situations:

1. Before any separation is initiated to help you determine how you want to proceed.
2. After separation, but before any settlement discussions have started.
3. When you have been served with court documents and need help responding.
4. To help you initiate a court claim to seek relief from the court.
5. To provide strategic advice in the middle of litigation.
6. When you are attending mediation and need help determining if a proposal is fair.
7. If you need help researching a legal basis for your court claims.
8. To provide calculations to help determine child support or spousal support payable.
9. If you need a second set of eyes to review any correspondence with a party or a lawyer before responding.
10. If you benefit from having a support system that will keep you on track and hold you accountable.

Why Will Legal Coaching Benefit You?

Dealing with issues related to family law, whether that be separation, child custody, division of assets, or support, are complicated and emotional issues for individuals. The legal justice system is complex and confusing. Your legal coach will help you understand the complexities of our legal systems, the rules that may apply to your case, and the legal principles. Your coach will provide you with legal navigation in the very murky waters of family law litigation.

However, they are not going to take over your matter. Instead, they are guides who will help you and work closely with you in the background. This means they will not attend court hearings, mediations, or discoveries with you; however, they will help prepare you for all such events.

The benefit for individuals who get a legal coach is that you will be in charge of your matter from start to finish. You will control the number of meetings with your legal coach and how much work needs to be done. This provides you with an agency to represent yourself in an informed manner, and since you are in control of the number of meetings and work being done on your matter, you will know what you are paying your coach upfront.

Why will a Legal Coach not be suitable for you?

Like everything else, legal coaching is not a one-size-fits-all. If you are not willing to put the work into your matter and wish to delegate it to someone, legal coaching may not be right for you, as it requires you to do a lot of the heavy lifting, and you are accountable for your matter.

You may call your coach to consult and discuss whether legal coaching is a good fit for you.

Who Provides Legal Coaching at YLaw and How Much Will It Cost?

You will pay for each session with your coach based on their hourly rate. For example, if you have five sessions a month with your coach, you will pay your coach their hourly fee for each session, plus taxes and disbursements.

Jasmeet Mangat ($325/hour) – read her profile

Katie Panton ($250/hour) – read her profile 

There are no hidden fees or surprise bills. You are not required to provide a retainer upfront. You will pay for the services as you need them. You will be deciding how often you need your legal coach, and you will be better able to budget for this.

Our legal professionals at YLaw, are also family lawyers with many years of experience in all types of family law issues. They have been to court on numerous occasions, participated in mediations, have helped navigate some of the most complex family law matters and have an in-depth understanding of family law. They are well experienced in providing you with guidance as you take charge of your family law matter.

For more information or to set up a consultation with our award-winning legal coaches in Surrey or Vancouver, call us at 604-974-9529 or get in touch.