FAQs

Yes, my office is in beautiful downtown New Westminster, BC. While I’m moving with the cutting edge of legal service delivery to make my services accessible to clients virtually, and to reduce the environmental footprint of my practice, family legal practice is still very much based on producing, storing and delivering paper, and on the face-to-face connection with clients. Request to meet in person if New West is handy to you, or opt for video conferencing or phone.

When a family lawyer offers a free half hour consult, the point of the exercise is to find out if they want to take on your case, and if you have the ability to pay. At the end of the half hour you may get the option of retaining the lawyer (a retainer of $5,000 or $10,000 is often requested at this point), but it is unlikely that you will have a full understanding of any other options.

My goal for an initial consultation is different: solid in-depth advice on your family legal issue, for you to take constructive steps forward. With or without further legal help.

Yes! This is a particularly good option if you wish to represent yourself in negotiations with your ex or at court. Platform 2 uses secure digital messaging, videoconferencing, electronic signatures and electronic payments to open up access to a variety of legal services for people who cannot or do not have time to come to a lawyer’s office.

Credit card is our preferred method of payment, because it is so easy and secure for both you and us. When a new client books a consultation, the fee is collected at the same time as the appointment is scheduled, and placed in our lawyer’s Trust Account until after the service is rendered.

We also accept interac e-transfers, cheque, or cash (if tendered in person) for payment on invoices.

Yes, you can get family legal advice from Platform 2 if you live (or in many cases if your ex lives) in British Columbia. My client intake process can be done entirely virtually, on a desktop computer, tablet or smartphone, and we can meet virtually.

If your needs involve going to court, and the Lower Mainland of BC is not home to you, there are options for representing yourself with the help of a lawyer, or engaging a lawyer to represent you before the courts via remote technology.

That is often the real question. Family breakups and everything involved with them create incredible stress and uncertainty for individuals. 

Knowledge is power.

We will certainly try!
 

This is the clunky, obscure term used by lawyers to describe a whole range of discrete legal services that clients can access without retaining a lawyer to represent them on all aspects of their case.

A lawyer who offers “unbundled legal services” is prepared and qualified to help self-represented litigants with such tasks as getting advice about their legal rights generally or in relation to a settlement offer or a court application, to “ghost-write” a letter or any document for use in court, to coach them to speak effectively for themselves in court--to give just a few examples.