From my time at a family law boutique firm, I learned that legal processes can cost individuals a lot of time and money.  Access to justice is a problem across all areas of law, but the issue is particularly apparent in family law. The era of the pandemic, while a horrible time for many, was helpful in terms of access to justice in the field of family law. More and more services are offered online, such as motion hearings, ‘To Be Spoken To’ court, mediations, and arbitrations. This saves the already financially struggling client from having to take a day off from work to appear in court. These technological changes also address the root issues faced by clients who need to commute long distances to arrive for their court appearance (and with these gas prices, we all need a bit of help!) More importantly, virtual appearances save the client the burden of having to pay exponential legal fees for their lawyer’s transportation costs, and idle time spent waiting to be heard by the Judge.

Also, the push for more online services has led to a decrease in cost for many services including process servers, printing, in-person filing expenses, and overall lawyer time. Both lawyers and clients no longer feel the need to have in-person meetings. Instead, most have now transitioned to phone calls and Zoom meetings. This shift has naturally made clients more aware of the time they are spending with the lawyer and thus, has pushed both parties to get straight to the point.

Another way the pandemic era has aided family law, with its rise of integrating technology in the legal field, is by equipping individuals with the tools to access the self-representation route. During my time at the boutique firm, I had the opportunity to talk to lawyers about their experience pre- and post-pandemic, but more importantly, I was able to talk to a few clients, potential clients, and people who were calling to inquire about consultations and fees. From those interactions I was able to hear about how pre-pandemic, when a client felt that the legal fees were racking up beyond the point of affordability, they felt trapped and hopeless, thinking that this meant their battle for custody, support, parenting time, or other legal issues, was over. Now, post-pandemic, with the rise of technology and online services, people who feel they can no longer afford a lawyer, while they do still feel a level of hopelessness (especially if their previous spouse/partner continues to have legal representation), are overall less intimidated by the self-representation route.

The rise of technology in the family law field has not been all sunshine and rainbows, however. A disadvantage is perhaps the plethora of online resources, guides, aids, questionnaires, etc. While the move over to using more technology has aided many elements of access to justice in the area of family law, it has also indirectly overwhelmed the field and inevitably pushed people, who were hoping to save money, back to feeling like they need to hire a lawyer. While technological advancements in family law have promised a more accessible route to justice, the best resources for a particular legal issue need to be streamlined to avoid overwhelming the self-represented litigant, or anyone who is struggling financially and hoping to enter the self-representation path.