Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family
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The Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family was established on 1 February 1987. The objects of the Institute are to undertake and advance interdisciplinary research, education, and publication on issues related to law and the family; to promote evidence-based reform of the law and legal processes; and, to improve access to justice in family law matters.
The Institute is an independent organization affiliated with the University of Calgary, and is managed by a board of directors made up of prominent judges and family law lawyers, and leading scholars in law, social work, psychology and sociology, from across Canada. The Institute has been incorporated as a registered charity since 1988.
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Browsing Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family by Author "Birnbaum, R."
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Item Metadata only The Canadian Experience with Views of the Child Reports: A Valuable Addition to the Toolbox?(Oxford Academic, 2016) Bala, N.; Birnbaum, R.; Boyd, J.-P. E.Non-evaluative Views of the Child Reports prepared by legal or mental health professionals are an increasingly popular means of involving children in the resolution of parenting disputes in parts of Canada, but there are no widely accepted standards and significant differences exist in how children are interviewed and how these reports are prepared. This article examines the methods by which children's views are obtained for use in court and non-court dispute resolution processes, reviews Canadian case law on Views of the Child Reports and presents the results of a survey of 65 legal and mental health professionals about their practice and experience preparing Views of the Child Reports. We discuss the benefits and limitations of these reports, the need for clear protocols and the factors that should be taken into account in establishing best practices, as well as the need for further research.Item Metadata only Controversy about the Role of Children's Lawyers - Advocate or Best Interests Guardian? Comparing Practices in Two Canadian Jurisdictions(Wiley Online Library, 2013) Bala, N.; Birnbaum, R.; Bertrand, L.There is controversy about the role that lawyers for children should play in family proceedings, but little empirical research about what they actually do. This article reports on a study (n = 166) of the experiences and perspectives of lawyers in two Canadian provinces with different policies for the role of children's counsel. Official policies seem to have only a limited impact on the practices of lawyers for children, whether the policies direct lawyers to adopt a best interests guardian or a traditional instructional advocate role. Lawyers generally seem more comfortable adopting an instructional advocacy role, especially with older children. Lawyers who represent children comment on the deep satisfaction that they feel from this work. This article compares the practice of lawyers in the two jurisdictions on a number of issues related to child clients and proposes policy changes to provide better guidance and education for children's lawyers.Item Open Access Hearing the Voices of Children in Alberta Family Proceedings: The Role of Children's Lawyers and Judicial Interviews(Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family., 2012) Bertrand, L.D.; Bala, N.; Birnbaum, R.; Paetsch, J.J.The survey reported on in this report was conducted in conjunction with a presentation on the voice of the child delivered to members of the Child Welfare section of the Canadian Bar Association – Alberta chapter on May 3, 2012 in Calgary. The session was also available via web-cast to CBA members in Edmonton. An invitation to attend the session was e-mailed to CBA Child Welfare section members during the week of March 26, 2012. This invitation also included a request to members that they complete a web-based Survey of Lawyers about Children’s Participation in Family Disputes by April 20, 2012 and informed members that highlights of the survey results would be presented at the May 3rd session. The invitation contained a link to the survey. During the week of April 16, 2012, a reminder e-mail about the survey was sent to members of the Child Welfare section. The survey contained background questions regarding respondents’ experience in the family law area in general, as well as their experience with representing children in both custody and access and child welfare proceedings. Lawyers who had experience representing children were asked about the characteristics of their meetings with child clients and the type of approach they take to child representation. Participants were also asked about their experiences with and opinions of judicial interviews with children. Other issues explored included whether lawyers tell their child clients the different ways their views can be shared with the court in family cases, at what ages they think it is appropriate for judges to interview children in custody and access and child welfare proceedings, and whether they think it is appropriate for children to testify in open court. The May 3, 2012 session was attended by approximately 65 legal and 20 mental health professionals in Calgary, with an additional 20 viewing the presentation by webcast in Edmonton. A total of 29 surveys were completed by legal professionals. It should be noted that this relatively small sample size precludes generalization of participants’ responses to all family law professionals in Alberta.Item Metadata only Hearing the Voices of Children in Alberta Family Proceedings: The Role of Children's Lawyers and Judicial Interviews(Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family., 2012) Bertrand, L.D.; Bala, N.; Birnbaum, R.; Paetsch, J.J.Item Metadata only Judicial Interviews with Children: Attitudes and Practices of Children's Lawyers in Canada(Ingenta Connect, 2013) Birnbaum, R.; Bala, N.; Bertrand, L.Children's lawyers in two Canadian provinces with different policies about the role of children's counsel in family cases were surveyed to explore and compare their experiences and attitudes about their role as counsel and about children meeting with a judge. The majority of lawyers acted as gatekeeepers, often preventing children from having a full range of choices about how to communicate with the court. Lawyers who adopt a traditional advocacy role as opposed to viewing themselves as best interest guardians are somewhat more likely to give their child clients an opportunity to meet the judge. In order to assist the decision-makers who are often making life-altering decisions about children and promote the rights of children, there should be more training and education of justice system professionals on how to support children who want this opportunity to meet with a judge.Item Metadata only The Rise of Self-representation in Canada's Family Courts: The Complex Picture Revealed in Surveys of Judges, Lawyers and Litigants(2013) Birnbaum, R.; Bala, N.; Bertrand, L.Item Open Access Self-represented Litigants in Family Law Disputes: Views of Alberta Lawyers(Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family., 2012) Bertrand, L.D.; Paetsch, J.J.; Bala, N.; Birnbaum, R.The current study modified the instrument in a survey by Birnbaum & Bala (2012) with Ontario lawyers to obtain the experiences with and opinions of Albertans regarding self-representation. The Survey on Experiences with Self-represented Litigants was a web-based survey that was conducted with a sample of family law lawyers in Alberta. The sample was compiled from various lists maintained by the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family (CRILF) and e-mail addresses were verified by individual lawyers’ and law firms’ web sites and the 2012-13 Alberta Legal Telephone Directory. An initial invitation to complete the survey along with a link to the web site containing it was e-mailed to 174 family law lawyers across Alberta on June 13, 2012 with a request that they complete the survey by July 6, 2012. A reminder e-mail to the complete sample was sent on June 26th and the survey was closed to new responses on July 31, 2012. A total of 73 valid surveys were completed, resulting in a response rate of 42%. The survey contained background questions regarding respondents’ experience in the family law area in general, as well as their experiences with self-represented litigants in the family law area. In addition, participants were asked their views on alternatives to the traditional family law model, their opinions of parenting education workshops, and their involvement in providing pro bono services in family law.