The Law Society of Saskatchewan Canada has issued an article written by the Future of Legal Services committee entitled ‘Better connecting consumers of legal services and alternative legal providers’ to highlight access to justice information. The article focuses on how legal information can help and the different ways lawyers can be more transparent about billing…
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…
Canadian Bar Association launches truth and reconciliation toolkit for law firms
In June 2021, the Canadian Bar Assocation (CBA) is launching a Truth and Reconciliation toolkit, focused on large Candaian law firms, and helping them to reconcile and renew relationships with indigenous communities in Canada. The toolkit is aimed at firms that are already on a reconciliation journey or would like to begin one, and firms…
Canada launches national wellbeing study of legal professionals
A partnership of the different Canadian law societies, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, the Canadian Bar Association and the Université de Sherbrooke is coming together for a first-of-its-kind national study on the well-being of legal professionals. The study is based on the fact that legal practitioners are amongst the grouping of professionals most…
Understanding and Interpreting Law School Enrolment Data
Abstract The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) has a long-standing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in legal education and in the legal profession. In line with its mission to promote quality, access, and equity in legal education, LSAC is providing a report, Understanding and Interpreting Law School Enrollment Data: A Focus on Race and Ethnicity, to help law schools, admission…
Canadian Bar Association report on justice and COVID-19
During the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) AGM, held on the 18th February 2021, the CBA released its new report on COVID-19 and the justice system ‘No Turning Back’. The report, which was produced by a special task force, has concluded that there can be no return to the way things worked in the legal profession…
Canadian law schools must do their part to help combat climate change
The intensifying physical and socio-economic effects of climate change, mainstreamed by political debates and scientific evidence on anthropogenic disruptions to the global climate system, have motivated changing legislation, regulation, litigation, and institutions. But legal education is not keeping up; climate change has not yet been taught well and broadly in Canadian law schools. While a few schools have…
Federation of Law Societies of Canada commitment to reconciliation
On the 7th December 2020 the Federation of Law Societies of Canada released a formal statement of commitment to reconciliation. The statement was in recognition of the federation’s responsibility as a justice stakeholder to foster reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. The statement received the unanimous approval of the Federation Council and is an essential part of…
Canadian Bar Association releases new resources to improve access to justice
The Canadian Bar Association has released a new guide aimed at addressing the country’s access to justice crisis. The guide has been developed by the CBS’s Access to Justice Subcommittee, based on past research, particularly the Reaching Equal Justice Report. The guide is divided into three different sections, with each section providing background to the…
A Conversation About Canadian Legal Education: Lakehead University and Dialogue Pedagogy
Abstract Through my experiences opening the first new law school in Ontario in 44 years, I have had time to reflect on my own teaching style and have employed what has been termed “Dialogue Pedagogy.” Using an auto-ethnography methodology in this paper, I will examine ways of teaching the law including the case-law system of…