Two employment lawyers were in Williams Lake Monday to share information with business owners.
Part of Reach Legal, a network of lawyers with expertise in various aspects of the law, Erin Brandt and Paula Krawus said Williams Lake was their first stop on a 10-day tour to various communities.
After making an employer-focused presentation at Community Futures Cariboo Chilcotin Monday afternoon, Krawus and Brandt said they are specifically marketing their expert services to communities that are outside Vancouver, Kelowna and Victoria.
“We are making ourselves available to communities that do not have lawyers that specialize in certain areas of the law,” Krawus said. “In a small community there might be one family lawyer. The wife might go to the lawyer and there’s no other lawyer for the husband.”
Brandt who co-founded the network, said they are also trying to service communities that have a complete absence of lawyers.
“There are some towns across B.C. that just don’t have any lawyers,” Brandt said. “Although I would say Williams Lake is on the higher end of having service lawyers.”
Reach Legal also hopes to assist community lawyers that may not have experience in certain types of law, Brandt said, noting they were meeting with lawyers from Williams Lake on Monday evening.
“We hope to act as a bridge, connecting lawyers to legal professionals who can consult on specific cases and specialized areas of law,” Brandt explained. “The idea is to build a stronger community of legal professionals in these regions, by supporting what is already working.”
On Tuesday they will be in Quesnel, and then plan to tour to Mackenzie, Tumbler Ridge, Dawson Creek, Fort St. John and Chetwynd.
The network launched on April 26, 2018 and plans to offer legal services via video conferencing and other mobile options, as well as see lawyers travel as needed for court appearances.
