The Advisory

Trial by Media and the Rule of Law - 2008 Media and Law Seminar

When news of high profile court cases or legal issues reach the public, is the rule of law being supported or compromised? Is the public’s understanding of the rule of law increased or affected? How has the rule of law been tested by media in order to meet the public’s need to know? Join members of the legal profession, judiciary and media to debate this topical issue. It will be held Saturday, May 24 at the Lister Centre, University of Alberta in Edmonton. It will feature two panel discussions, a dinner and a keynote speech.

Panel 1 - Does the legal system straitjacket full reporting? Legislators, lawyers and the judiciary each have their roles in the operation of the justice system. Have these groups placed artificial constraints on journalists that prevent full reporting of legal issues, thus undermining public confidence in the justice system? This panel, featuring a representative from media, judiciary and the legal profession, will debate and discuss these issues.

Panel 2 - Rule of Law vs Rule of War: What are the lessons to be learned? How do the media portray the rule of law in combating acts of cause-related terrorism? Do we do enough to make the public fully aware of the role of the rule of law in safeguarding citizens? Panellists from all sides will discuss and debate the lessons to be learned.

New Website Enables Lawyers to Fulfill CPD Plan Requirement

By Peter Michalyshyn, Q.C. President-Elect, Chair, Continuing Professional Development Committee

Peter Michalyshyn, Q.C.

The unveiling of a new website at the Alberta Law Conference will enable Alberta lawyers to plan for their future.

In 2007, the Law Society of Alberta Benchers approved the implementation of a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program, to come into effect by March 2009. The new program will focus on the preparation of annual CPD plans, and will turn on the first principles of professional responsibility and intentionality.

The new website, www.CPDAlberta.ca provides a mechanism for lawyers to determine their continuing professional development goals, identify ways to pursue these objectives, and to report to the Law Society of Alberta that they have a CPD Plan.

The CPD program is lawyer-centered, and is least intrusive of lawyers’ independence and own sense of ethics. It is also consistent with the accepted principle that adults learn best when they direct their own learning. What’s new in the CPD program is the sense of intentionality: that lawyers must regularly take time to consider and plan their professional development, and must be seen to be engaging in such activities.

Tools for lawyers to develop their own plans, including this website, are being provided through a partnership between Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA) and LSA. At the website, there is a resource bank, self-assessment tool and CPD plan template.

While on-line access will be encouraged, paper-based versions of the CPD tools will also be available, and use of the CPD plan template and other tools will be strictly optional – recognizing that many lawyers already prepare and keep annual learning plans.

The Rules of the Law Society will define continuing professional development broadly to include learning activities relevant to a lawyer’s professional needs or career interests, those of his or her employer, or those related to the lawyers, professional ethics and responsibilities. In any case, the learning activity will have to contain significant substantive, technical, practical or intellectual content. It is each lawyer’s responsibility to determine whether a learning activity meets these criteria and therefore qualifies as Continuing Professional Development.

At the same time, the CPD Initiative creates an accountability regime so that the Law Society can make the case – in the public interest and in an increasingly-scrutinized regulatory environment - that lawyers are effectively engaging in continuing professional development.

From the President

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With approximately 1.5 billion dollars in the mixed trust accounts of Alberta lawyers on any given day, it is time to ask if we need to consider improvements to the regulation of those accounts. Changes to the structures and programs of the Law Society are not, however, the measure of the health of the profession. The fact is that each and every one of the 8,000 practising members of the bar adds to the credit and standing of us all every time quality legal services are provided to a client. Each one of us is an ambassador for the profession, every time we answer a phone, draft a document or make an appearance in a court. That so few matters come to warrant the intervention of the Law Society speaks volumes to the professionalism of Alberta lawyers.

I look forward to the opportunity of working with a dedicated and talented group of Benchers and staff of the Law Society.