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service. Secondly, the Benchers instructed the Committee to contact and liaise with local bar associations to garner the legal community's interest in promoting the establishment of a CLG model legal clinic in those locations as was done in Edmonton.

The third recommendation urged the Pro Bono Committee to work with the LSA's Insurance Committee to review the possibility of extending insurance coverage to retired and inactive lawyers who provide pro bono legal services through approved clinics. The Benchers have approved the necessary administrative action which now permits such insurance coverage to be provided, and this is now happening in our clinics.

The fourth recommendation suggested the formation of a broad stakeholder group with the mandate to develop a pro bono regime that maximizes and coordinates the resources for the delivery of pro bono services for those clients who do not have the ability to pay.

In the meantime, the Benchers were planning activities and events to recognize this year, 2007, the 100th Anniversary of the Law Society. Identifying the four goals for the Anniversary activities and events as celebration, recognition, education, and leaving a legacy, the Benchers adopted the pro bono initiative as the Law Society's Legacy Project, and provided start up funding and other support to ensure both a successful launch of the initiative, and an assurance of its long term success. In this regard, the Benchers were careful to ensure alignment of the program initiative to the guiding policy considerations, including the need to leverage resources for maximum benefit, thereby allowing pro bono programs to be developed by the appropriate agencies, rather than dedicating ongoing program funding to such initiatives. An innovative step taken by the Benchers was to authorize the inclusion in the annual membership renewal forms commencing January, 2008, of a tick box which will allow each of us to consider making a donation for the direct benefit of pro bono programs.

I am pleased and proud to say that this

initiative has progressed to the point that I am able to stand before you today as the first President of Pro Bono Law Alberta. This newly incorporated Society is the product of the diligence and dedication of many visionary members of our profession, after nearly a decade of hard work.

You can be sure that the excitement level is high as we move closer to the date when we, the legal profession, will be formally launching this legacy initiative to the people of the Province of Alberta.

Ladies and gentlemen, the privilege that each and every one of us enjoy as members of a learned profession, that is the privilege to participate as gate keepers in providing access to justice, is the legacy which is at stake for us as lawyers. This initiative, Pro Bono Law Alberta, will allow each of us to participate more easily, more effectively, and more creatively, in access to justice as an independent legal profession.

Whether we choose to provide pro bono legal services informally, to participate in the legal aid system, to act as volunteers in any of the clinics or other initiatives, to become involved in the new and innovative programs which are being developed, or to provide financial or governance and leadership support to our clinics, our other service providers, or to Pro Bono Law Alberta itself, we can all satisfy our duty to provide access to justice to all Albertans.

In closing, a story from a Senior Member of the Bar serving at one of our clinics:

"It was my distinction to see the first client of the first clinic. As my fellow volunteer said, we saw people with ‘complex problems involving no money'. I had a great evening, the two hours fly by and barely seems enough. It's like being newly admitted to the bar again. I hope all of our volunteers have a positive experience, and that we're able to expand this to meet what will no doubt be a growing demand."

Ladies and gentlemen, this is indeed an initiative of our profession worthy of being our legacy.

New Deadline for Cheque Specifications

The Canadian Payments Association has postponed the deadline for the new cheque specifications. The implementation date has been moved from January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2007. The changes are in preparation for Canada's move to cheque imaging for more efficient processing and clearing.

The date field on cheques must display one of three numeric formats:

DDMMYYYY,
MMDDYYYY or
YYYYMMDD (with the appropriate field indicators displayed below the date to indicate which format is being used).

There are other requirements, including minimum size, specific printing requirements on the back of cheques, standardized positions for key fields on the front and back of cheques and a prohibition on elements that might prevent the capture of key data, such as inverse printing, italics and slanted font forms.

The Canadian Payments Association advises organizations that custom print their own cheques to review these specifications and to confirm that they meet the new requirements by providing samples of their new cheques to the quality assurance division of their financial institutions. For more information, see www.cdnpay.ca