CLE-TV: Resolving Disputes with the Self-Represented

Planning Committee
Dr. Julie Macfarlane  — Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Law, University of Windsor, Ontario
Erin Shaw — Barrister & Solicitor, Victoria

Presenters 
Gurprit Copland — Manager, Intake and Early Resolution, Law Society of BC, Vancouver
Aesha Faux — Barrister & Solicitor, Victoria
Dr. Julie Macfarlane — Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Law, University of Windsor, Ontario
Erin Shaw — Barrister & Solicitor, Victoria

About the Planning Committee

Dr. Julie Macfarlane is a full professor in the Faculty of Law, and was awarded a University of Windsor Professorship (the highest honour of the University) in the fall of 2014.

Julie has published widely in the area of conflict resolution, mediation, and legal practice. She is the author of the bestselling "The New Lawyer: How Settlement is Transforming the Practice of Law" (University of British Columbia Press 2008). Her student textbook "Dispute Resolution: Readings and Case Studies" is just going into its 4th edition (Emond Montgomery 2015). Both these texts are used widely in law schools throughout North America. In 2012, Julie completed a four year empirical study of Islamic divorce and published "Islamic Divorce in North America: A Shari'a Path in a Secular Society" (Oxford University Press), attracting much public and media interest. Her new project is the National Self-Represented Litigants Project established at Windsor Law in the wake of the momentum created by her national study of self-representation, published in 2013.

Julie is also an active mediator and dispute resolution consultant to a wide range of organizations and government agencies.

Erin Shaw is a family lawyer with 30 years of experience in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. She has a longstanding interest and many years of experience in working to make the justice system more accessible and user friendly.

Erin graduated from University of Victoria Faculty of Law in 1986 and starting practicing criminal law before moving to the non-profit sector where she worked for the BC Civil Liberties Association and the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund. She spent a number years working in government and as a private consultant on access to justice and law reform projects. She has been involved in the development of family law legislation and court rules, as well as alternative dispute resolution processes. 

Erin is the legal reviewer and a writer for the Legal Services Society Family Justice website, BC’s main family law website. She practices family law in Victoria.