Many of our clients contact us after starting a human rights application on their own before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, but then realize that they need assistance with the human rights mediation or the human rights hearing. Here are some steps you should consider when hiring a Toronto human rights lawyer if you have already started your own application, and are unsure whether you wish to proceed as a self-represented applicant.

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Step 1 - Consider the time and energy you will be spending on your human rights case. If you find that you are spending more time and energy than necessary, you may wish to consider retaining a Toronto human rights lawyer to assist with your case.

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Step 2 - Consider the complexity of your case. Did you experience one instance of discrimination? Or multiple instances of discrimination? Did you experience discrimination under only one of the prohibited grounds of the Ontario Human Rights Code? Or multiple grounds? (The grounds for discrimination include race, religion, disability, gender, age, family status etc).

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Step 3 - How many documents do you have to support your case? The more documents you have (especially medical documents) the more complex and fulsome your disclosure obligations will be. Consider whether hiring a Toronto human rights lawyer will help with organizing and disclosing your documents as required under the HRTO Rules of Procedure.

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Step 4 - How many witnesses are you calling? If you are not the only witness, you should consider retaining a Toronto human rights lawyer to examine the other witnesses during the human rights hearing. Without a lawyer, you may run the risk of failing to present all the available evidence that supports your case. And the human rights adjudicator may rule against you.

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Have you started a human rights application on your own, but now feel stuck or confused as to next steps? We have extensive experience representing applicants before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. We recommend that you contact a Toronto human rights lawyer at our firm for a free telephone consultation. Contact us today.