An Interview with Bill Lasovich: Client Service Representative (CSR) in the Toronto Superior Court of Justice

by Montana Schott

As part of my summer internship with Mediate393 I had the privilege of speaking with Bill Lasovich, a Client Service Representative (CSR) in the Toronto Superior Court of Justice at 361 University Ave.

Bill has a great sense of humor, and throughout our interview I found myself laughing at his anecdotes from a job with its share of challenges. I am sure his good nature helps him navigate the stress of a never-ending workload and often frustrated clients.

Bill says that recent technology shifts have greatly changed the way court staff do their work. The emails don’t stop like the flow of people when office hours are closed. This, combined with a backlog of over 2000 uncontested divorces, means CSRs are always fighting an uphill battle.

Bill manages his expectations about what can realistically be achieved in a day, a skill developed from decades of experience working with the public. As a CSR, he tries to be as authentic as possible with people so that they trust his advice as he manages their expectations. He truly wants to help people, and finds that being realistic with them is one way of doing that. This authenticity leads to parties receiving better assistance, and they are less likely to return for further help.

At an earlier point in his career, Bill was assisting the public in a different way by delivering the Mandatory Information Program (MIP). Known then as the Family Information Session, it was presented by volunteer lawyers to give nonspecific legal information and information about alternatives to court. He frequently attended these sessions until 2002, when they experienced a conundrum; the volunteer lawyer that was presenting cancelled at the last minute when they had 70 people scheduled to attend the MIP. Bill felt confident that he could do the presentation after witnessing it so many times and jumped in to fill the void. A lawyer whose client had attended said that it benefitted their client, and Bill’s impromptu fill-in became a regular occurrence. For approximately nine years he continued to present the MIP, learning to anticipate the commonly asked questions. As a result, Bill was able to make the program extremely efficient and useful for the attendees.

Although much has changed in his work over the years, Bill notes that human nature is one thing that has not changed. The main source of conflict over the decades has been around financial disclosure. Bill cites the exorbitant amount of time, expense and court/judicial resources spent by parties either mis-trusting the other’s financial disclosure, or those resisting producing it, as a constant over the years.

The other constant over the years is the reality that a small percentage of family litigants consume a disproportionate amount of the court’s resources. Bill has observed parties who are so invested in their conflicts that they can lose in court, have costs awarded against them, and will still come back to litigate some more.

Bill’s profound respect for the judiciary is evident. Judges are the ones who must ultimately decide the cases he sees at an earlier stage. Bill believes it takes a special person to be a judge given the personal sacrifices they make and the complex legal problems they must address.  Bill will sometimes read the court’s decision in a complex case, out of curiosity to learn how it was decided.

Bill has great respect for his colleagues as well. He noted for example how another CSR took the initiative many years ago to create generic templates for common situations that people don’t know how to deal with, for example, when you’re filing for divorce but the spouse’s location is unknown. Although a generic template does not replace legal advice, it helped the parties in a practical sense better understand what is required of them, saving them time and frustration.

Going above and beyond like this is just one example of how dedicated the CSRs to assisting the public. Noting extensive  employee turn-over in the past few years, there is pressure on senior, experienced staff like Bill. He has seen many people retire in his time at 361 University Ave, and as people retire, Bill states that their institutional knowledge goes with them. Now he is one of the few remaining workers who possesses the wealth of knowledge so many before him had. As he has so often in his career, Bill is committed to passing on his knowledge to the next generation and supporting them confront the next set of challenges.

It was a great pleasure to spend some time with Bill, who so graciously shared his knowledge and wisdom with me. Thank you Bill!