Should the Law Society of Upper Canada move to support the expansion of paralegal practice to family law?

Gina Papageorgiou: Studies show that 60 per cent of family law litigants are unrepresented. It is a knee-jerk response to try to address that problem by expanding paralegal practice. The last Convocation report showed that there were significant problems with the spot audits done of paralegals last year, as well as a significant number of complaints about them. People involved in family law disputes are sometimes in the most vulnerable positions in their lives and they deserve the service of trained lawyers.

Avvy Yao-Yao Go: Any decision to expand paralegal practice must not be made lightly, especially in the area of family law where complex legal problems are often tangled up with even more complex human dynamics and/or power imbalances between the parties. If the rationale for expanding paralegal practice is to address the issue of unrepresented litigants in family courts, then perhaps the first logical place to look for a solution is to increase legal aid funding.

Anita Szitgeti: The most important aspect of the paralegal regulation question is that once having decided to take it on, the law society deals fairly with the issue. The specific issues surrounding the scope of paralegal practice need to be understood to be complex and require the input of those with expertise on the issue, lawyers, and paralegals alike. We need more current information than the one report we have been working with. I expect where we may end up is expanding the role of paralegals subject to lawyer supervision.

The unique issues faced by sole practitioners and small-firm lawyers are emerging as hot topics during the 2011 Law Society of Upper Canada bencher campaign.

That’s the case despite the fact that more than half of the current benchers at Convocation are either sole practitioners or work at small firms.

Among the most pressing concerns is the steady threat of discipline. “I think that there is a disconnect that continues to exist between the law society and its members,” says candidate Paul Cooper, a lawyer from Vaughan, Ont., whose campaign involves a strong focus on sole and small-firm practitioners. “Some people feel that the law society’s main focus is on discipline.”

The pressures facing today’s practitioner are many and varied. As a long-time solicitor, chartered accountant and educator in the Ottawa legal community, most recently as senior counsel with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, I believe I have the common sense, experience and commitment to effectively serve as your Bencher.

The betterment of the profession has always been an important part of my practice, whether as a mentor to young lawyers and law students, teaching law at the University of Ottawa or in building the profile of the Ottawa bar. For more than 25 years, I have taught, and continue to teach, professional responsibility and ethics in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa. I have served as President of the County of Carleton Law Association, Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Faculty of Law at Queen's University and founding Chair of the Montebello Solicitors Conference.

What inspired you to decide to run for bencher this year?
I have served the Ottawa Bar for all my years of practice. I have taught Professional Responsibility and Ethics for more than 25 years. And I have been busy in a successful business law practice in Ottawa. This year I retired from Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and now believe I have the time needed to properly carry out the responsibilities of a bencher. I have also believed for a long time that solicitors should be better represented in developing policies and making rules at the Law Society and in disciplining lawyers. A large portion of the Rules, By-Laws and Regulations of the Law Society concern solicitors and for too long the views and knowledge of solicitors have not been adequately represented at the Law Society. With the retirement this year of Brad Wright, an East region solicitor bencher, there will now be no solicitor bencher in the East. I felt obliged to run. It is important that solicitors be represented in the committees and in convocation and in the disciplining of lawyers, especially of solicitors. I have practised in both small firms and large firms. I believe the views of solicitors from smaller firms and from firms outside of Toronto should be better represented at the Law Society.

Which issue facing the law profession are you most concerned about?
The issues:
1. stress in the practice of law;
2. making the Law Society better reflect the diversity of Ontario society;
3. retaining women in the practice of law;
4. sustainable legal aid for the poor in criminal law and family law;
5. economics of small firm practices;
6. bringing better sense to rules for mandatory professional development;
7. being accessible and helpful to the lawyers in the province,

What would be your first priority upon getting (re)elected?
Educate myself on the issues and procedures at the Law Society to make myself more effective and being accessible to all lawyers.

What do you hope to achieve over the next four years as a member of Convocation?
To be a reliable and valuable contributer on all committees and in convocation. To be a fair and good judge when I sit on discipline matters. To advance the issues I referred to above.

What is the most prominent concern for the profession in your region of the province?
The pace of changes around us in the practice of law, including technology, competition, future of courts, bar admission course, economics of practice and the list goes on.

I am the senior member of Evans & Evans, a family firm dating back to 1894. We are located in Bradford, at the south end of Simcoe County. I have been in practice since 1966. My work has been mainly on the solicitor's side, in real estate, estates, wills and powers of attorney, and commercial law. I have been active in OBA, Rotary, and other organizations.

What inspired you to decide to run for bencher this year?
I am hoping that I can make a contribution to the profession as a Bencher.

Which issue facing the law profession are you most concerned about?
I believe the Law Society should be responsive to the lawyers of Ontario.

What would be your first priority upon getting (re)elected?
To make access to justice more affordable for the people of Ontario.

What do you hope to achieve over the next four years as a member of Convocation?
To promote civility in the profession and to address the issue of stress facing people entering the profession.

What is the most prominent concern for the profession in your region of the province?
Adequate court facilities.

Should the Law Society of Upper Canada change its name to the Law Society of Ontario?

Poll results: 31% yes; 69% no.

Philip Tunley: Yes.

Robert Wadden: I think the time has come to consider this. A change of name to the Law Society of Ontario would convey to the profession and public an improved attitude of openness and communication. But since it would have to be done by the legislature as an amendment to the Law Society Act, the law society would have to ensure that the change has broad support within the profession.

Julie Jai: Yes, I think the law society should change its name to the Law Society of Ontario. Although it is important to maintain links with the past and to understand our history, it is also important to make the justice system, including governance of legal professionals, accessible to the average person. Using terms that are easier to understand increases accessibility.

What happens behind the heavy wooden door at Osgoode Hall is something relatively few lawyers have witnessed. For first-time benchers, attending Convocation can be both intimidating and invigorating. And just because the seasoned benchers aren’t rookies anymore, that doesn’t mean they can’t easily recall their first memories there.

“This is the body that governs the profession,” Treasurer Laurie Pawlitza recalls thinking following her first Convocation. “And they all do it from a really small room where everybody is sitting side by side, balancing things on their lap.”

I have practised law for close to 25 years as a partner with WeirFoulds in Toronto and as a sole practitioner for 19 of those years in Barrie. I understand the challenges of practising in a large firm enviroment and as a sole practitioner in a smaller community.

My political experience as a Barrie City councillor and as an MPP provide a unique insight into the interaction of the legal profession with the workings of government. As Attorney General critic I worked with the Law Society to promote the interests of our profession and the public.

What inspired you to decide to run for bencher this year?
I am running for bencher because I believe in public service. The challenges facing our profession in terms of access to justice, greying of the bar, sustainable legal aid funding and removing barriers to equal treatment must be resolved.

Which issue facing the law profession are you most concerned about?
I am most concerned about the regulation of paralegals and ensuring their qualifications for the areas they are permitted to represent the public.

What would be your first priority upon getting (re)elected?
My first priority would be to be involved in the paralegal review in family courts.

What do you hope to achieve over the next four years as a member of Convocation?
I hope to achieve fair and reasonble fees and insurance, sustainble funding for legal aid and improving access to justice by establishing a positive relationship with our provincial government.

What is the most prominent concern for the profession in your region of the province?
The most pressing issue in Central East is the greying of the bar and providing proper mentoring so new lawyers will be attracted to the region.

Different practitioners see law and the practice of law in the context of their own area(s) of practice. It is important to have the different perspectives at Convocation; it is important to have a diverse Bench.

As a third party neutral, I bring the perspective of a person trained to look at and weigh options; to be aware of, but not be bound by partisan points of view; to act in the public interest; and to gather, evaluate, and weigh information before making decisions.

I am committed to serving the members of the profession, in the public interest.

•    Members need to be able to access educational and practice resources to practise competently;
•    The public needs to have confidence in the profession; and
•    Access to justice must be facilitated.

For further information on my background please use this web-link:
http://adrchambers.com/ca/panel-members/index.php?action=mediatorProfile&mediator=90
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What inspired you to decide to run for bencher this year?
The timing is right for me on a personal and professional basis in terms of having the time and the energy to devote to this important position. I have the skill set and a diverse background that will add to the bench at Convocation.

Which issue facing the law profession are you most concerned about?
Access to justice. This includes access, by all residents of Ontario, to a competent and diverse legal profession.

What would be your first priority upon getting (re)elected?
Getting to know my colleagues who were also elected and getting a clear idea of the current status of the work in progress. Finding out who does what when, how and why; getting a clear understanding of expectations and deadlines.

What do you hope to achieve over the next four years as a member of Convocation?
To develop a strong protocol and set of rules for dealing with self-(un) represnted parties; to figure out how to increase and enhance the confidence of the public in the legal profession; to put into place practices and procedures that put every initiative through the filter of QCA - Quality Control Assurance; to address the issues of qualifications and competence of the profession.

What is the most prominent concern for the profession in your region of the province?
Qualifications and competence of newer members of the profession due to the lack of formalized skills training and the lack of availability of sufficient numbers of available and interested mentors.

Is the 12-year term limit imposed on elected benchers under the Law society of Upper Canada's governance reforms still too long?

Poll results: 24% yes; 76% no.

Alan Heisey: My experience sitting on other boards is that ine years as a term limit is a period of time that is more appropriate for new blood so long as there is a mix of experience. Given the elected term for benchers is four years, that would suggest a two-term limit might be more appropriate. The whole question of appropriate term limits, if any, could be put to members as a ballot question as part of the 2015 election.

Joseph Tascona: Yes. I believe there should be an eigh-year term limit, which will have a positive impact in terms of new ideas and fresh approaches to the challenging and changing issues facing our profession. It also promotes increased competition in bencher elections as there will be a greater turnover of incumbent benchers.

Jacques Menard: In principle and in practice, I support the 12-year term limit. Yet we must be ever cautious that, as membership in Convocation rolls over, the institutional memory and expertise necessary to occasionally rein in management and keep the interests, opinions, and will of the membership at the fore is preserved. With anything shorter, Convocation could become just an assembly of people in passing with less and less ability to truly represent the membership.

As part of its ongoing election coverage, Law Times has created a map of where all of the candidates are according to their electoral region. Click here to view a PDF of the map.