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…
Practising As a Lawyer in a Partnership and Multidisciplinary Practice in Québec: Progress and Prospects
Abstract The regulatory framework relating to the legal professions in Québec reached a turning point in the 2000s, following the adoption of the Règlement sur l’exercice de la profession d’avocat en société et en multidisciplinarité. More than a decade later, this article examines the negotiation surrounding the drafting of the Règlement, and the various arguments…
Law Society of Ontario approves AML amendments
In November 2019 the Convocation (Board of Directors) of the Law Society of Ontario approved in principle amendments to by-laws designed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The amendments which build on existing regulation include: a requirement that licensees identify and record the source of client funds for a transaction clarification with respect to…
Law Society of Ontario technology task force releases initial observation report
In November of 2019, the Law Society of Ontario’s technology task force released their initial observations and recommendations over future regulatory approaches to tech and how it could appropriately facilitate access to justice. The Technology Task Force has been established with the aim of reviewing the Law Society’s regulatory mandate, framework, and standards to determine…
Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey reveals new legal regulation strategy
Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey has unveiled Bill 161, which is designed to both implement Legal Aid Services Act, as well as amending the Law Society Act. The act is designed to ease the regulatory burden, as well as creating some accountability from lawyers. Some of the proposed changes include: raising maximum fines for lawyers to…
The Federation of Law Societies of Canada working with government in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing
The regulators of the legal profession in Canada and the Canadian government have embarked on a new chapter in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities. Late last Spring Canada’s Minister of Finance announced the creation of a joint working group comprised of representatives of the government and the Federation of…
Sustainability of self-regulation scrutinized in Ontario
Bencher candidate John Nunziata says he thinks the provincial government may have to intervene in the legal profession’s self-regulation model following the bencher election ending April 30. Nunziata told Law Times that he has heard the proposition of reviewing the Law Society Act discussed among Ontario’s members of provincial Parliament who watch the legal profession. However, Law Times requested interviews…
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…
B.C. Paralegal Association supports LSBC creation of ‘licensed paralegals’
The Law Society is seeking input from the profession regarding a proposal to establish a new class of legal service professional who would hold a limited scope licence to practise in the area of family law. The concepts advanced in the scope of practice proposed in Schedule A of the discussion paper are not conclusions….