Lawyer Beau Atkins was born and raised in Calgary and he completed his law degree at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Law in 2011. He then co-founded and partnered a successful Saskatoon family law firm — the first of its kind in Saskatchewan — for almost five years. Inspired by improving the efficiency of his practice, his passion for building businesses and technology, Beau founded Evolve Family Law in May 2020. And using new technology, the Evolve Family Law firm is leading the way in Saskatchewan.
What is the inspiration behind Evolve Family Law?
“During my third year of law school, I went through my own divorce from my son’s mother. It was a difficult process and the experience propelled my professional focus to family law. This path proved to be therapeutic for me and was made easier by my own personal experiences.”
“Evolve Family Law offers only flat-fee billing, affordable payment plans and handles any issues related to divorce, separation and pre-nuptial agreements. I’m passionate about guiding clients through difficult and stressful life events.”
As a family lawyer, what service do you feel you offer your clients?
“I’m sympathetic and I strive to limit the amount of stress clients experience around their separation or divorce. The reality is that more and more Canadians self-represent because the legal industry is not accessible or approachable. I want to change that — whether that’s through flat-rate billing, transparent pricing on our website, payment plans or enabling clients to use electronic signatures to sign certain documents and easier processes overall. Evolve Family Law strives to provide a degree of certainty in terms of the costs involved in each client’s legal journey.”
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What can clients expect with your new approach to family law?
“I believe new technology will empower clients and improve the client experience, during what is already a challenging time in their lives. The legal industry resists change. I don’t think the current model is tenable in the long-term. In the US, for example, the legal industry has shown to be more progressive with services like LegalZoom.com or HelloDivorce.com offering more technology-based and client-centred approaches.”
What is your vision is for the future of law and the practice of family law?
“I envision weaving technology into the practice of family law for the ultimate benefit of clients. From using a client-portal, making it easier to schedule appointments, fill out forms, pay bills and just the overall reduction of inefficiencies. Our goal is to lower our costs and maintain or increase the value of the legal services we offer.”
“I still spend at least one day a week in court, and I don’t think that will change. What I hope to reduce is the non-legal work our lawyers do through better processes and automation; it’s the lack of time and cost efficiency that needs to change most.”
