Law Society of Alberta - 2006 Annual Report

Becoming a model regulator for the profession

At the end of 2005, the Benchers set major goals and supporting objectives for the Law Society and identified several key priorities.

These goals and objectives were determined after several years of consultation, and are intended to enhance the self-regulatory function of the legal profession, and to do so in a way that is visible to the public.

Our role as the Law Society’s administrative body is to develop plans and measurements that will demonstrate our achievements as we work together to achieve the vision of being a model regulator.

At the beginning of 2006, the staff collectively and collaboratively identified three key themes or core values:

Service to both internal and external customers
Effective and respectful communications
Being knowledgeable about the Law Society

Goal 1:
To serve the public interest by promoting and ensuring high ethical standards and high standards of competence on the part of all those seeking admission to and practicing law in Alberta.

Goal 2:
To preserve and demonstrate the value of a self-regulated and independent legal profession.

Goal 3:
To uphold and preserve the fundamental principles of justice, including the rule of law, the independence of the bench and bar, effective and equal access to justice


	Bar intended to be self-governing From the beginning in 1907, the Bar was intended to be self-governing. Lawyers would be governed by an elected group of their members called Benchers; a governing structure which continues today. The new Legal Profession Act of the early 90’s continues the principle of self-governance of the legal profession. Self-governance did require help from time to time! Initially, for example, the Courts handled the issues of discipline, suspension and disbarment of members. This pattern was developed from the Inns of Court of England and a study of the Law Society of Upper Canada. One thing the early profession did not want, however, was a division between Barristers and Solicitors. A profession where a licenced member of the Bar could do solicitor’s work or appear freely before the Courts was quickly adopted as the norm in Alberta. excerpt from 100th Anniversary Law Society of Alberta history book

	Issue	Accomplishments To Date
1	Continue working on issues of safety of trust property and compliance audits.	Interdepartmental collaboration resulted in identifying and determining an action plan. Working with other Law societies to fund a consultation with the federal regulator of banks on these issues.

2	Determine length of time for matters to proceed through complaints to hearing, and make necessary changes to meet those timelines.	Our measurement systems are in place to measure timelines. Goals for informal complaints have been set.

3	Determine what LSA is trying to accomplish in the area of unauthorized practice.	Completed in December 2005. We will prosecute where an unauthorized practitioner is a risk to the public.

4	Move ahead with continuing professional development issues	Committee has approved LESA’s description of the on-line self-assessment tool. LESA will now use that to build a prototype. The committee has a working definition of Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

5	Determine strategy around communication issues	In February 2006, the Benchers adopted the strategy developed by the Communications Committee.

6	Determine what services ASSIST will provide and associated costs.	Completed for 2006-2007, and incorporated into budget

7	Explore what should be done in addition to the already identified approach to pro bono work.	Framework and model for Pro Bono Law Alberta has been developed. A working group has been established to take on the work of forming the organization and developing an implementation plan.

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