The practice of law, in Saskatchewan, is defined by section 29.1 of The Legal Profession Act, 1990, SS 1990-91, as:
The practice of law is the application of legal principles and judgment with regard to the circumstances or objectives of another entity or person that require the knowledge and skill of a person trained in the law, and includes the following:
(a) giving advice or counsel to others with respect to their legal rights or responsibilities or the legal rights or responsibilities of others;
(b) drafting or completing legal documents or agreements that affect the legal rights of an entity or person;21 c L-10.1 LEGAL PROFESSION, 1990
(c) representing another entity or person in any of the following:
(i) a court;
(ii) a formal administrative adjudicative proceeding;
(iii) a formal dispute resolution process;
(iv) any other administrative adjudicative proceeding in which legal pleadings are filed or a record is established as the basis for judicial review;
(d) negotiating legal rights or responsibilities on behalf of another entity or person.
section 29.1 of The Legal Profession Act, 1990, SS 1990-91
The Act further defines the authority to practise law:
Authority to practise law
30(1) Subject to section 31, no persons other than members who hold a licence shall:
(a) practise law in Saskatchewan; or
(b) hold themselves out as, or represent themselves to be, persons who may practise law in Saskatchewan.
(2) Subject to section 31, a person, other than a member who holds a licence, who commences, prosecutes or defends an action or proceeding in a court of civil or criminal jurisdiction or acts as counsel or a lawyer in an action or proceeding is:
(a) incapable of recovering any fee, reward or disbursement on that account; and
(b) deemed to be guilty of a contempt of the court in which the proceeding has been commenced, carried on, defended or prosecuted, and may be proceeded against for contempt before the Court of Appeal or a judge of the court sitting in chambers.
(3) Nothing in this section affects the ability of a person or entity to provide members of the public with information of a general nature about the law and legal procedures or any other legal information as defined in the rules.
Section 30 of The Legal Profession Act, 1990, SS 1990-91
This would suggest that, as a general rule, to help someone with a legal problem and collect a fee for it one must be licensed as a lawyer. There is, however, an allowance for the Law Society of Saskatchewan, the regulator of the legal profession governed by The Legal Profession Act, 1990, SS 1990-91, to create exemptions for individuals or classes of individuals who are otherwise not licensed as a lawyer.
Rules
10 The benchers may make rules for the governing of the society, for the regulating of members, firms, articled students-at-law and applicants, and for the carrying out of this Act, for the following purposes: …
(k.1) for the purposes of section 31, exempting persons and classes of persons from the prohibition against the unauthorized practice of law and, as a condition of the exemption, requiring any exempted person or class of exempted persons to comply with any term or condition …
31 Section 30 does not apply to: 31 Section 30 does not apply to: …
(i) any other person or class of persons, as prescribed in the rules.
section 10 of The Legal Profession Act, 1990, SS 1990-91
This leads us to the individuals known as Limited Licensing Pilot Participants/Practitioners. These are non-lawyer legal services providers who have applied for and been granted a Letter of Agreement under the Limited Licensing Pilot Project by the Law Society of Saskatchewan which permits them to provide legal services in a limited scope, subject to conditions.
What can a Limited Licensing Pilot Practitioner help you with?
Everyone under the Limited Licensing Pilot Project has applied for authorization to provide legal services in a personalized scope. This means that the services that one individual may be able to help you with may be significantly different than what another individual can help you with. The scope of practice is outlined in their Letter of Agreement.
At Gelinas Limited Scope Legal Services my Letter of Agreement allows me to help you with:
- drafting and negotiating of residential tenancy agreements (see my blog post on what constitutes an enforceable contract here);
- most civil claims (claims for money or the return of property) worth a principal amount of $30,000 or less dealt with under the Small Claims Act, 2016;
- residential tenancy disputes and evictions;
- municipal bylaw offences, provincial traffic offences, and select summary federal criminal traffic offences;
- discrimination based on the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code at the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission;
- automobile injury appeals at the Automobile Injury Appeal Commission;
- representation at the Highway Traffic Board;
- attempts to resolve certain debts at the Provincial Mediation Board; and
- potentially, the enforcement of judgments and orders from courts and tribunals at the Court of the King’s Bench.
Other Limited Licensing Pilot Practitioners may also be able to help with:
- corporate legal services;
- title transfers, wills, Power of Attorney, and Health Care Directive documents;
- property tax assessment, review, and appeals;
- services regarding Canada Pension Plan applications and reviews;
- worker’s compensation issues; and
- services regarding separations and divorces.
Conclusion
As a general rules, in order to help you with your legal problem and charge a fee for it one must be a lawyer. Exemptions do exist to this rule, including Limited Licensing Pilot Practitioners. Each Limited Licensing Pilot Practitioner has a scope of services tailored to them. For a list of who is a Limited Licensing Pilot Practitioner and what their scope of practice is, you click here.
For a free, no obligation to retain, 30-minute phone consultation, contact Gelinas Limited Scope Legal Services at 705 737-6451 or joseph@gelinaslegal.ca. Gelinas Limited Scope Legal Services is located in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
Disclaimer: Phoning, emailing, messaging or otherwise contacting Joseph Gelinas, Gelinas Limited Scope Legal Services, and/or Gelinas Paralegal Services, does not establish a representative-client relationship. A representative-client relationship is only established if it has been agreed to by the representative and the client(s). Do not provide any confidential or sensitive information when contacting Joseph Gelinas, Gelinas Limited Scope Legal Services, and/or Gelinas Paralegal Services. Nothing written on this site is to be taken as legal advice. Laws and the interpretations of laws are constantly changing and may have changed since this website was published. The facts of each case are unique and the laws may apply differently.
Important information about my relationship with the Law Society of Saskatchewan: I am not a lawyer or member regulated by the Law Society of Saskatchewan and the Law Society of Saskatchewan does not supervise my education, training or qualifications, or, apply a Code of Conduct or ethical standards (e.g. solicitor client privilege does not apply), provide a complaints or discipline process, nor mandate professional liability insurance with respect to my services; a Consumer Review Form is available to help the Law Society of Saskatchewan understand consumer experiences when accessing legal services through the Pilot.