We Do It Differently
Human rights law is the heart and soul of our firm. Our co-founder and senior counsel, Lisa Teryl, was the senior legal counsel for the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission for six years. Lisa was also manager of legal services at the Human Rights Commission and of the Board of Inquiry administration. These positions make her uniquely qualified to counsel employers and employees who are trying to navigate the difficult terrain of human rights complaints.
- She understands the board of inquiry system and the best way to protect your interests
- Her deep knowledge of administrative and human rights law reduces the time and resources required to resolve a complaint
- Her familiarity with the broad range of tensions between employers and employees results in solutions that create effective and sustainable outcomes
Our Services In Human Rights
Human rights complaints are often complex and can include:
- emotionally charged accusations
- mismanaged complexities
- false allegations
- well-meaning, but misguided, interventions
- unequal accountability
- intense intra-office politics
- forgotten organizational values
- damaged reputations
- poisoned relationships
Not all of these complaints are in need of a hearing by the human rights tribunal (called a Board of Inquiry), which at its most basic is a small claims court for human rights. If a complaint is brought to the Commission by an employee, for example, the Commission will investigate it and it decides if their complaint goes to adjudication (court).
This process can take years (three is not unusual) and can result in extensive legal fees if the parties retain lawyers. The adversarial approach can aggravate damaged reputations and a poisoned work environment.
If matters escalate, Teryl Scott human rights lawyers offer both legal coaching—no retainer required—or full representation on matters regarding human rights.
Teryl Scott human rights lawyers also offer alternate services such as neutral mediation services for low and high conflict human rights workplace issues.
Our human rights lawyers are also available to provide independent 3rd party workplace investigations.
The following are some of the tools we use to resolve human rights complaints:
Legal Fees
Solicitor-client work: Our senior legal counsel provides this service billable at $450 per hour plus a 4% admin fee and HST.
Third-party investigations: As part of our commitment to provide better access to justice for lower income persons and organizations, a sliding scale is used for workplace investigations where nonprofits and small institutions are involved. See more information on our Workplace Investigations page under Employment Law.
Low conflict, three-week mediations are $3,500 plus $150 admin fee, HST and disbursements, after the initial consultation. See more information about these mediations on our Workplace Mediations page under Employment Law.
High conflict five-week mediations are $7,900 plus $150 admin fee, HST and disbursements, after the initial consultation. See more information about these mediations on our Workplace Mediations page under Employment Law.