The Law Society of Alberta has published a new Professional Development Profile as part of an overhaul of the system of Continuing Professional Development in the province. In 2020, the Benchers of the Law Society of Alberta set out to enhance its approach to continuing professional development (CPD). One key goal is to make the…
Law Society of Alberta continues Lawyer Referral Service review
In 2020 the Law Society of Alberta took the Lawyer Referral Service back in house, and launched a survey to gather the input of key stakeholders regarding the service. After many years being run by Calgary Legal Guidance, in March 2020, the Law Society took LRS back in-house. This was partly to better understand how…
New lawyers in Alberta to be automatically enrolled in mentoring programme
Following the approval of 2020 recommendations by the Alberta Benchers, focused on enhancing lawyer competence in the province; the Law Society has implemented a new programme whereby newly qualified lawyers will automatically be registered for mentorship. The programme has arisen from the fact that one of the recommendations in the report was to encourage all…
Lawyer Licensing and Competence in Alberta
The Lawyer Competence Committee (LCC) has been working with legal analyst, Jordan Furlong, on a report and recommendations for lawyer licensing and competence in Alberta. The report was approved by the Committee at their Bencher meeting on December 3rd 2020. Work is now underway to prioritise the recommendations, as well as consider resourcing, timelines for…
Law Society of Alberta consultation on model code of conduct amendments
The Law Society of Alberta has extended the deadline of a consultation on an updated model code of conduct to the 30th June. The amendments to Model Code Rule 6.3 are centred around discrimination and harassment. The draft amendments aim to provide clearer guidance on prohibitions against discrimination, harassment and bullying. This is following feedback…
More regulatory responses to COVID-19
Following on from last month’s newsletter, we’ve put together the following list to examine different regulator responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here it is interesting to note the development and changes, as regulators begin to get a grasp on the crisis and develop innovative responses to meet the changing environment. If you have any questions…
Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan to launch new skills course with CPLED
A new skills course designed by the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED) will be launched for articling clerks in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan. The course, known as The Practice Readiness Education Program or PREP is designed to equip students with the necessary practical skills to pursue a career in law in the future. The…
FLSC launches anti-money laundering and terrorist financing risk advisory for the legal profession
The Federation of Law Societies of Canda (FLSC) has launched a series of risk advisories and risk assessment case studies, designed to help legal professionals adapt to the new anti-money laundering rules. The rule changes are based on an FLSC model rule and have been adopted by Nova Scotia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The…
Law Society of Alberta piloting part-time membership
The Law Society of Alberta is currently piloting a part-time membership programme, which would be the first of its kind in Canada. In order to be eligible for the part-time membership, a lawyer must be in private practice, work fewer than 20 hours a week, and average fewer than 750 billable hours per year (not…
University of Alberta professors found governance ‘lodge’
Hadley Friedland was just outside a conference room in Edmonton, speaking over the phone about a presentation on Indigenous law she’d just made to a room full of lawyers and legal academics. The conference was being sponsored by the Law Society of Alberta. Around the country, First Nation communities, in “acts of self determination,” are…