On October 4th, 2007, members of the Edmonton Bar gathered at Edmonton City Hall for this group photo taken on the steps inside the foyer. Photos can be ordered from the photographer Bill Hill. Go to: www.lawsocietyalberta.com for more details.

Conduct Report and Warning

continued from page 04

Receiving funds from non-clients is full of risks and should be avoided. When the non-client loses money the lawyer is usually both sued and the subject of a complaint to the Law Society. The involvement of a lawyer raises unrealistic expectations in the mind of the unrepresented party and the absence of clear conditions associated with the provision of funds creates risk. If the lawyer attempts to clarify the conditions or seeks to protect or secure the unrepresented party, the lawyer’s actions may be in conflict with the client’s interests.

The situation is replete with danger to the lawyer, the solicitor/client relationship, and the reputation of the profession. With limited exceptions, for example receiving funds from a bank which is funding against the delivery of security by the lawyer, the best rule is to refuse to accept funds from unrepresented parties. The best practice is to have the unrepresented party obtain separate counsel or, failing that, have the unrepresented party make the payment directly to the client.

New Law Librarian Appointed
By Doug Mah, QC, Joint Library Committee

Sonia Poulin
Director, Provincial Law Libraries

Sonia Poulin has been appointed Director, Provincial Law Libraries, effective April 21, 2008.

Ms. Poulin has held a number of progressively responsible law librarian positions in both academia and private law firms and is currently the Director, Brian Dickson Law Library, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. She has a BA in Linguistics and French Studies (Concordia), a Master of Library and Information Studies degree (McGill) and is completing a PhD in Legal Research (McGill).

She is fluently bilingual and has worked in law libraries in Vancouver, Montreal and Moncton. I am confident that she will bring energy and vision to the new position of Director, Provincial Law Libraries, which will manage the 11 Law Society Libraries and 43 Alberta Justice and judges’ libraries in the province.

At this time, I would like to recognize Mona Pearce’s seven-year contribution as Chief Librarian of the Alberta Law Society Libraries and wish her well in her retirement.