Do-it-yourself legal work

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33858, 2 June 1975, Page 11

Do-it-yourself legal work

Certain legal procedures could be streamlined and some of the functions undertaken by lawyers and their clerks might well be handled by the consumer himself, provided he possessed the precise details of the steps to be taken, according to the director of the Consumers’ Institute (Mr R. J. Smithies).

“Simple conveyancing, debt collection, small claims against traders and. in certain circumstances, divorce are areas where rhe client could be expected to act on his behalf, provided that he was fully aware of the requirements of the law,” said Mr Smithies. He was replying to a correspondent to “The Press,”

!, “Schoolmistress.” who said:! si “It is high time legal fees' -Iwere put under scrutiny. Thei e: charges made and protractedl titime taken for simple jobs! ■tiled me to make invest:-1 ejgations, which revealed that >i there are many legal matters j di that John Citizen can attend ; to himself without the bene-■-Ifit of legal genius,” she said. " “Schoolmistress” said that certainly a lawyer was often • necessary but. even so, far! imore should be generally: ’ known about the nature of his cont ributions-charges I ■ ratio. . r “There is too much of a a s secretive, high-priesthood I aura concerning legal practice, and an urgent need; 2; exists for some sort of ‘lay- 1 -I man’s guide to legal services and charges’,” she said. s : Mr Smithies said that the ' proposals for the hearing of ’small claims in informal e: courts or tribunals estab-1 i dished to deal with an indis! vidua! claim of interest to a consumer and not exceeding (say) $5OO. provide for. e the exclusion of legal representation for either side. “This is to both speed up - and reduce the cost of such C actions and enable people to present their own cases. “A layman’s guide to legal is certainly very 1 much needed and is a field ’That Consumers’ Institute has ■ always been interested in. 3; While there are a few books t available which explain the rilaw to the layman. none give -i details of the procedures -'that an individual might take liin .pursuing simple legal actions (such as undertaking, tihis own conveyancing), nor / do they indicate the more s j complicated areas where fI expert advice is essential,”! I said Mr Smithies.