Is a non-lawyer prohibited from commencing, prosecuting or defending proceedings in any court on behalf of others regardless of whether the fee is charged?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Law Society of British Columbia v Law, 2019 BCSC 1830 (CanLII):
Section 15(5) of the Legal Profession Act prohibits non-lawyers from commencing, prosecuting, or defending proceedings in any court on behalf of others regardless of whether a fee is charged. This provision is different from s. 15(1) of the Legal Profession Act in that even when representation is given free of charge, it is prohibited if it amounts to commencing, prosecuting, or defending proceedings. A line is drawn, between a non-lawyer occasionally speaking on behalf of another person on one hand, and taking over the prosecution of a proceeding as a solicitor is wont to do on the other hand: see Law Society v. Parsons, 2016 BCCA 435.
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