Family lawyers call out for virtual court appearances

There’s a call for more virtual court appearances from family lawyers in the north who say they're more efficient and cost-effective.

The call comes in response to Ontario Superior Court guidelines emphasizing in-person court dates, but the north is prioritizing zoom divorces.

Virtual court appearances have been the norm the past two years, though provincial courts are now starting to phase-in more face-to-face court dates.

Family lawyers have been concerned with the Ontario Superior Court's recent guidelines, stressing the importance of in-person hearings. They said virtual hearings have been better for clients and should be the default.

"I'm moving my cases faster in the last two years, and I'm resolving them faster as things are settling faster. We do mediations virtually, court conferences virtually, arbitrations virtually, hearings virtually," said family lawyer Peter Doucet.

"We are not sitting in court waiting for our matters to be heard. We are here at our desks waiting for our turn, where we can do other work and it saves the clients a lot of money that way," said family lawyer Lisa Barazzutti.

Doucet and Barazzutti said the greatest savings come with reduced travel time.

"Imagine a client having to pay me to get into my fancy car and drive five hours, back-and-forth, to Hearst, for a one hour motion or a one hour conference. Insane," said Doucet.

The lawyers said the northeast was able to pivot more quickly to telephone and video conferencing given its geography. And, each region in the province has its own particular guidelines for court matters, aside from general provincial directives.

For northeastern Ontario, court proceedings are virtual by default, except for trials, settlements and more complex matters. They can also be virtual, if needed.

Barazzutti said face-to-face does have its benefits.

"It's always good to see litigants in-person. If you're a judge, let's say, assess credibility issues."

Doucet said many judges he works with are sympathetic to the headaches of in-person court. Having operated his practice virtually for years, he suspects a major shift.

"Courts are going to realize that we were much more efficient, were much more effective, and were much more cost-effective."

One of the tenets of family law, Doucet said, is to prioritize remote work and low client costs. And, like  superior court said,  it will always offer hybrid options.