Areas of Focus:

Question: What kinds of legal wrongdoing or dispute issues can a paralegal help me litigate in Ontario, and what should I do first to protect my position?

Answer: Byfield Legal Services can help Ontario consumers understand whether their situation fits common litigable issue categories like contract disputes, consumer protection matters, debts and liens, employment disputes, construction issues, occupier liability claims, insurance coverage problems, realty disputes, tortious conduct, and intellectual property infringement concerns.   A paralegal can also help you organize the key facts, identify likely legal causes of action, and point you to the most relevant precedent research so your position is argued clearly and efficiently in the Small Claims Court or other applicable forums.   If you tell Byfield Legal Services what happened, key dates, and what outcome you want, they can discuss next steps and help reduce unnecessary costs while strengthening your chances of a well-reasoned result.   For help starting the right process in Ontario, call (289) 927-7365 for a consultation.

Understanding the Types of Issues/Wrongdoings that May Be Litigated

The body of law is much too large for any individual person to ever know in full.  Indeed, even highly experienced judges with decades of experience will be without full knowledge of the law and are therefore, usually, assigned to handle a narrow focus of cases that are within areas of law that are familiar to the judge.  Even so, judges will routinely expect representatives for the parties to perform precedent research and then provide submissions and present argument based upon the findings of that research.

“... I include myself among those who had never heard of the tort of barratry ...”
~ C.A. Osborne A.C.J.O.
McIntyre Estate v. Ontario, 2001 CanLII 7972 (ON CA)

It is common for adjudicators to be assigned matters within defined subject areas based on experience and familiarity with the issues that most often arise in those proceedings.  In a similar way, legal practitioners tend to focus their work within particular practice areas that align with the types of disputes they most frequently handle across courts, tribunals, and other decision making bodies.  While every case turns on its own facts, legal systems have developed over centuries, and truly novel legal issues are relatively uncommon, meaning established legal principles and precedent will usually exist to guide the analysis and outcome.  Engaging representation that is closely aligned with the specific issues in dispute can improve strategic focus, enhance the quality of legal research and argument, promote procedural efficiency, reduce unnecessary costs, and strengthen the overall likelihood of a well-reasoned and favourable result.