A Message From
Darlene W. Scott, QC
2021-2022 PRESIDENT OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF ALBERTA
2021 saw the continuation of the global pandemic, but both the Law Society and the legal profession in Alberta also continued to demonstrate resilience and adaptability in responding to its challenges. For me personally, while my Presidency has certainly had its challenges arising from the requirement for virtual meetings, it has been a tremendously rewarding and enriching experience. We have all had to adapt to new and changing environments to learn new ways of working, but there have also been rewards and improvements in how we conduct our business. The challenge coming out of the pandemic will be not to just return to our old ways, but to continue adopting new ways of thinking and improvements in how we do our work.
A Message from
Elizabeth J. Osler, QC
Chief executive officer & executive director
Like many organizations, we continued to work remotely for the duration of 2021. I am proud of how our organization has performed under such challenging circumstances, remaining resilient and passionate about the work that we do while looking for new ways of doing things and finding efficiencies in our processes.
I recognize that everyone has navigated the pandemic on both a personal and professional level and that everyone’s experience has been different. It has not been an easy journey. I want to sincerely thank the staff and our Bencher table for keeping the operation of the organization running smoothly and continuing to advance our important strategic work during such uncertain times.
Our strategic work focused on furthering our lawyer competence and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) efforts. Our 2019 articling survey continues to be the foundation for much of this work.
The results of the survey raised concerns about the inconsistency of articling experiences. While the reasons for inconsistency are complex, a few of the issues highlighted were the varying quality of the articling experience and a lack of training or resources for principals.
One of the strategies to address these issues was the development of a mandatory Principal Training Course. In 2021, the Benchers approved both the development of the course and the Rule amendments to allow the Law Society to apply the mandatory requirement for principals to complete the course, regardless of previous experience. We believe that investing in the principal and articling student relationship will create a positive articling experience for both groups and will provide new lawyers with a strong foundation for a successful and rewarding legal career.
We also introduced automatic enrolment in our Mentor Express program to encourage all newly admitted lawyers to develop one or more mentoring relationships during their first year of practice. This initiative was meant to facilitate a more holistic approach to continuing personal and professional development during the critical early years of a lawyer’s career. It is important to note that this program would not be possible without the commitment of the numerous volunteers who gave their time to our mentorship programs over the course of the year. We simply could not do it without you. Thank you.
I also want to recognize our other volunteers who generously gave their time to our committees and adjudication work. We sincerely appreciate your interest and engagement in our work.
Read about more of our 2021 initiatives in the Year in Review section below.
We are nearing the halfway point of our strategic plan, and while it is incredible to look back at all we have accomplished so far, there is still more exciting and interesting work to be done. There will be further engagement opportunities for the profession as we develop a new approach to continuing professional development (CPD). Our goal is for lawyers to be more engaged with their CPD plans and we believe the profession will benefit from the introduction of the Professional Development Profile in 2022 and the new CPD planning tool in 2023. These are important elements for the future of lawyer competence, and I encourage Alberta lawyers to share their feedback with us.
Like many other organizations, we eagerly and optimistically anticipate a transition back to working in-person in the coming year, both internally as an organization and externally with the profession and members of the public.
Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2022.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth J. Osler, QC
Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director
Who We Are
About the Law Society
The Law Society of Alberta regulates the legal profession in the public interest by promoting and enforcing a high standard of professional and ethical conduct by Alberta lawyers.
We derive our authority from the Legal Profession Act (the Act) and set standards through the Code of Conduct and the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta.
Mission
Ensure high standards of professional conduct and competency through the governance and independent regulation of the legal profession.
VALUES
- Integrity – honest and ethical behaviour.
- Transparency – open, timely and clear processes.
- Fairness – equitable treatment of people interacting with the Law Society and the profession we govern.
- Respect – equity, diversity and inclusion in the profession, the Law Society and our interactions with the public.
- Independence – autonomous regulation of an independent legal profession and commitment to the rule of law.
- Visionary leadership – innovation in regulation, governance and business operations
Regulatory Objectives
The Law Society views its core purpose as an active obligation and duty to uphold and protect the public interest in the delivery of legal services. The public interest, as it applies to the work of the Law Society, will be upheld and protected through the following regulatory objectives:
- Protect those who use legal services;
- Promote the independence of the legal profession, the administration of justice and the rule of law;
- Create and promote required standards for the ethical and competent delivery of legal services and enforce compliance with those standards in a manner that is fair, transparent, efficient, proactive, proportionate and principled;
- Promote access to legal services; and
- Promote equity, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and in the delivery of legal services.
The Law Society will have regard for these regulatory objectives when discharging its regulatory functions.
Read the Executive Summary – Regulatory Objectives of the Law Society of Alberta.
Strategic goals
The Law Society’s 2020 – 2024 Strategic Plan provided direction and focus to the board and the entire organization, including a framework for decision making, resource allocation and priority setting. The Strategic Plan guided our activities to achieve four main goals:
- Innovation and Proactive Regulation: Regulate the legal profession in a manner that is innovative, proactive, transparent and proportionate.
- Competence & Wellness: Promote a broad concept of competency and wellness in the legal profession.
- Access: Promote affordability of legal services and remove regulatory barriers to access where reasonable and appropriate.
- Equity, Diversity & Inclusion: Lead the profession to increase cultural competency and promote a profession that is representative of the public it serves.
Board members in 2021
The Law Society is governed by a 24-member Board. Of the 24 Board members, also called Benchers, 20 are lawyers elected by the profession or appointed by the Bencher’s pursuant to the Bencher Vacancy Policy, and four are public representatives appointed by the Alberta Minister of Justice and Solicitor General. As well, the immediate past-President serves on the Executive Committee. For 2021, this was Kent Teskey, QC.
Given the Bencher Election in November 2020, we had a new group of Benchers begin their three-year term in February 2021.
- Darlene W. Scott, QC, President
- Ken Warren, QC, President-Elect
- Sony Ahluwalia (joined February 2021)
- Ryan D. Anderson, QC
- Arman Chak (until February 2021)
- Ted Feehan (joined February 2021)
- Corie Flett, QC
- Lou Cusano, QC (joined February 2021)
- Bill Hendsbee, QC
- Kene Ilochonwu (joined February 2021)
- Cal Johnson, QC
- Linda Long, QC (until February 2021)
- Jim Lutz, QC
- Bud Melnyk, QC
- Walter Pavlic, QC (until February 2021)
- Lou Pesta, QC (until February 2021)
- Sandra Mah (appointed to Provincial Court of Alberta July 2021)
- Sanjiv Parmar (joined December 2021)
- Corinne Petersen, QC (until February 2021)
- Sandra Petersson (joined February 2021)
- Stacy Petriuk, QC
- Robert Philp, QC (until February 2021)
- Kathleen Ryan, QC (until February 2021)
- Deanna Steblyk, QC
- Margaret Unsworth, QC
- Moira Váně (joined February 2021)
- Grant Vogeli, QC (joined February 2021)
- Salimah Walji-Shivji (joined February 2021)
- Elizabeth Hak, Public Representative (until December 2021)
- Barbara McKinley, Public Representative
- Cora Voyageur, PhD, Public Representative (until December 2021)
- Louise Wasylenko, CPA, CMA, Public Representative
Committees
Major committees and liaisons conduct governance work associated with our core regulatory functions. Learn more about our committees here.
Board Committees
Executive Committee | Audit and Finance Committee | Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee | Lawyer Competence Committee | Nominating Committee | Policy and Regulatory Reform Committee | Professional Responsibility Committee
Adjudication Committees
Assurance Fund Adjudications (Finance) Committee | Complaint Dismissal Appeals Committee | Conduct Committee | Credentials and Education Committee | Practice Review Committee | Trust Safety Committee
Advisory Committees
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee | Indigenous Advisory Committee | Lawyer Competence Advisory Committee
Year in Review
PANDEMIC RESPONSE
While the novelty of the “new normal” wore off and many of us settled into remote routines that increased efficiencies and maintained key business operations, there were still some key initiatives that the Law Society put forward to respond to ongoing pandemic-related challenges:
- The Law Society offices remained closed for the entirety of 2021, with all staff working remotely. The health and safety of staff, volunteers, the public and the legal community continues to be a priority for us.
- Virtual hearings and the Video-Conference Hearing Pilot Project Guideline was brought back in front of the Benchers for a review and an extension of the virtual hearing pilot was approved until June 30, 2022. In reviewing the experiences of virtual hearings to date, the Tribunal Office believes that while panels and parties were pushed into the virtual hearing realm out of necessity, the experience has exceeded expectations, resulting in more participation from lawyers and the public in our virtual hearings. Thirty-seven virtual hearings were successfully held in 2021 over the course of a total of 88 hearing days.
- In response to potential impacts the pandemic might have on articling students and law firms, an amendment to Rule 56 setting the term of articles at a minimum of eight months and a maximum of 12 months was approved in April 2020. In March 2021, the Benchers confirmed that the eight to 12-month articling term would remain in place for 2021-2022 as students and employers continue to navigate the pandemic. In 2022, we will consult with articling students and principals to determine if this should be a permanent change.
filling bencher vacancies
The Benchers amended Rule 17 of the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta in June 2019 related to filling a Bencher vacancy. This change was made to create the opportunity to enhance the diversity of skills and experiences at the Bencher Table, allowing the Benchers to appoint lawyers that meet the table’s needs at that particular point in time rather than automatically appointing the candidate who received the next-most number of votes in the previous Bencher Election (in this case, November 2020).
In February 2021, the Benchers formalized the Bencher Vacancy Policy that operationalized these Rule amendments and set out a functional process for filling Bencher vacancies. The application process was initiated in the fall, and Sanjiv Parmar was appointed to the Bencher table.
Read more about Sanjiv Parmar and filling the Bencher vacancy.
"My experience" project
The “My Experience” Project, launched in 2020, continued into its next phase when we released the shared experiences to the profession through weekly eBulletins.
The experiences shared made it clear that we do not all experience day-to-day life as a student-at-law or Alberta lawyer in the same way. While lawyers are advocates for fairness, this is not a constant value experienced by lawyers and students who identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Colour in their interactions within the legal community. The experiences and themes identified through this project will inform the Law Society’s strategic EDI work through the allocation of resources, policies, programming and other areas within our regulatory jurisdiction.
The Path
In April, we launched the Indigenous Cultural Competency Education requirement called The Path (Alberta) — Your Journey Through Indigenous Canada.
All active Alberta lawyers have 18 months to complete the five hours of education following the launch, or effective from the date they become active. This makes the deadline Oct. 20, 2022 for most active lawyers. As well, inactive lawyers can also take the program.
The Path (Alberta) differs from the national version that some lawyers may have taken through the Canadian Bar Association or other organizations. The Law Society’s Indigenous Initiatives working group, along with input from the Indigenous Advisory Committee, worked with the developers of the program to create additional Alberta-specific content, to offer an educational tool specific to Alberta lawyers.
The decision to mandate this education opportunity was integral to our commitment and obligation to respond to the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action, in particular, #27 which calls upon Canadian law societies to ensure all lawyers receive Indigenous Cultural Competency Training.
pre-hearing and hearing guideline
The Law Society worked diligently to update the Rules and prepared a new guideline to capture best practices, procedural fairness, efficiency and practicality. The amended Rules were approved in principle in December 2020 and the approval of the new Pre-hearing and Hearing Guideline was approved in April 2021. This new Guideline is a comprehensive tool designed to assist Adjudicators, lawyers and the public participating in all types of Law Society hearings.
Lawyer Referral Service Engagement
In 2021, the Law Society wanted to better understand how Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) assists the public in finding a lawyer. We launched a survey in the spring and held a focus group in the fall to gather feedback on LRS operations, how clients are using the service and to understand if there were improvements needed.
The information gathered will assist the Law Society in examining the program for areas of improvement to further promote access to justice within Alberta.
Automatic Enrolment in Mentor Express
A recommendation coming out of the Lawyer Licensing and Competence in Alberta Report encourages all newly admitted lawyers to develop one or more mentoring relationships during their first year of practice.
To implement this recommendation, we introduced a new initiative in May where all new lawyers called to the bar are automatically enrolled in the Mentor Express program for one year. Mentor Express is a non-traditional mentorship program where mentees browse an online listing of mentors and choose one-hour sessions with those they are interested in meeting. The self-match system allows mentees to seek guidance and insight relevant to their own career development with a variety of mentors in different work settings.
An expanded version of the Mentor Express program launched in September 2021 to accommodate this change.
Ongoing Support for Innovations in the Practice Readiness Education Program
The Law Society provided ongoing support to the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED) for innovations in delivering the Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP). Specifically, the Law Society supported CPLED in launching a 14-week accelerated bar admission program, called Accelerated PREP, beginning May 2021.
The accelerated format contains the same content as the standard PREP but requires students to attend full-time for 14 weeks. This means students complete their entire bar admission program before beginning their articling term with their principals. The inaugural offering of Accelerated PREP was delivered to a group of Alberta students during the summer of 2021. The Alberta students provided valuable feedback to help CPLED determine if the program delivery would be added to CPLED program offerings in the future, thus allowing for greater flexibility for students and firms to choose the delivery style that best suits their needs.
Assurance fund
Since 2014, the Alberta Lawyers Indemnity Association (ALIA) has provided its subscribers with mandatory coverage for lawyer misappropriation as part of its Group Policy. The Law Society is also required under the Act to maintain an Assurance Fund to respond to lawyer misappropriation claims.
The Law Society completed a review of the Assurance Fund and the Board approved amendments to the Assurance Fund Rules in June. The amendments confirm and reinforce that ALIA’s Group Policy is the primary source of recovery in the event of lawyer misappropriation. The new Rules confirm that the Assurance Fund will not respond to claims arising from theft of funds by non-lawyers who are employed by law firms. As well, the Rules clarify the Assurance Fund is to be a fund of last resort for lawyer misappropriation claims.
In addition to clarifying that the Assurance Fund is a fund of last resort, new Rules were added to address the sustainability of the Assurance Fund and to confirm some existing restrictions on recovery. The Rules were also amended to clarify hearing and appeal processes and the role of the Law Society’s Tribunal Office.
Mandatory Principal Training Approved
In 2019, we conducted surveys of articling students, new lawyers, principals and mentors to better understand the state of the articling system. The results raised concerns about the inconsistency of articling experiences from both the perspective of students and principals. While the reasons for inconsistency are complex, a few of the issues highlighted were the varying quality of the articling experience and a lack of training or resources for principals.
One of the strategies to address these issues was the development of mandatory principal training. In 2021, the Benchers approved both the development of the training and the Rule amendments to allow the Law Society to apply the mandatory requirement for principals to complete the course, regardless of previous experience.
While many principals are doing a very good job supervising and mentoring articling students, it is important that the Law Society works towards consistency in the articling experience for all students and principals.
The Law Society worked with the Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA) to develop the Principal Training course, which includes eight lessons covering such topics as Law Society duties/requirements, how to be an effective mentor, dealing with difficult conversations and cultural competency, to name a few. Parameters on time commitment, registration fees, completion requirements and process changes were also decided.
Continuing professional development
In February 2020, the Law Society suspended the mandatory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) filing requirement for the profession for the years 2020 and 2021. This gave the Law Society a chance to focus on building a new approach to continuing professional development that will aspire to empower and equip lawyers to provide the best legal services they can to Albertans.
In the summer of 2021, we reached out to the profession to recruit participants for a Competency Profile Development Task Force, focus groups and pilot survey participants. In October, the Board approved an extension to suspend the annual CPD filing requirement to May 2023 to allow more time to build a CPD approach that goes beyond setting a minimum standard for competence and offers an enhanced experience for lawyers.
We want lawyers to be more engaged with their CPD plans and believe the profession will have more guidance and tools to make that happen with the introduction of the Profile in 2022 and the new CPD planning tool coming in 2023.
Innovation Sandbox
In October, the Benchers approved the creation of an Innovation Sandbox, where legal service providers are encouraged to develop innovative models for the delivery of legal services that cannot currently be offered due to existing regulatory requirements.
Changes in technology, the emergence of alternative service providers and an increasingly globalized legal market has changed the legal environment in Alberta and in fact, around the world. As these changes continue to shape the future of the delivery of legal services, law and the lawyers who practise it, accessible and affordable legal services continue to be an unmet need for the public.
The Innovation Sandbox allows the Law Society to support innovators in testing new ideas and models for the delivery of legal services in a controlled environment, with the Law Society providing active oversight.
Online applications to participate in the Sandbox opened in the first quarter of 2022.
New Trust Safety Rules
Also in October, the Benchers approved amendments to the Rules regarding the approval and management of trust accounts by Alberta lawyers. The amended Rules went into effect on January 1, 2022.
The enhanced Rules highlight the accountability and oversight required by lawyers for any tasks delegated to firms’ employees. As well, the Rules have been updated to align with modern banking practices and allow lawyers to shift their practices to a more digital environment.
You can find out more details about these changes on our website.
Articling Placement Program
The Articling Placement Program was also approved at the October Bencher meeting. The program is designed to assist articling students who are in unsafe or untenable articles due to harassment or discrimination with exiting their current position and continuing their articles with a new firm. The program was developed in response to the results of the 2019 articling survey, which showed that approximately one-third of respondents described experiencing harassment and/or discrimination during recruitment and/or articling.
Articling students have the right to be free from harassing and discriminatory behaviour and have the right to report their circumstances without fear of reprisal or negative impacts. While coming forward about these issues will always be difficult, the program is intended to reassure articling students that reporting their issues will not lead to the loss of articles. The program’s default position is that articling students’ experiences are believed.
The Law Society recruited several law firms to offer replacement articles to students through this program, and more information about how to access the program was released in early 2022. The Law Society is grateful to these roster firms for their willingness to participate in this program.
Extension of Part-Time Membership Fee Pilot Approved
Since February 2020, the Law Society has been piloting a part-time membership fee status to explore if the status would help retain lawyers, particularly young female lawyers, in private practice. In December, the Benchers approved a two-year extension of the part-time membership fee pilot. The extension will allow for further analysis of the pilot and the criteria being used. Offering a part-time membership fee status is consistent with the EDI and access to justice goals in our Strategic Plan.
The Numbers
Financial reports
The Law Society uses external auditors to produce financial statements annually. Our 2021 financial statements can be found on our website.
Lawyer Fees
The 2021 practice fee was $2,340 per active lawyer, which represented a 10 per cent reduction from the 2020 practice fee. Lawyers have the option of paying the fee in two equal installments. The 2021 part-time membership fee is $1,170.
External Funding
The Law Society provides external funding to a variety of affiliated organizations annually. In 2021, we provided $3.95 million worth of funding to six different affiliated organizations:
Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education | Alberta Law Libraries | Alberta Lawyers' Assistance Society | Pro Bono Law Alberta | Legal Archives Society of Alberta | Alberta Law Review
Lawyer Statistics
As of December 31, 2021, there were 10,829 active lawyers and 4,403 inactive or inactive-retired lawyers. Both statistics show an increase over the 2020 numbers.
Currently, the Law Society is piloting a part-time status. At the end of 2021, there were 327 lawyers electing to hold this status. Thus far, it tends to be most popular amongst more junior level female lawyers and very senior level male lawyers.
Age and Identity Breakdowns
Of the total number of active lawyers in Alberta, approximately 43 per cent identified as female, 57 per cent identified as male, and less than one per cent identified as transgender. Please note that the Law Society is committed to an inclusive reporting process that allows for statistically significant year-over-year reporting.
The number of lawyers that identify as male and female lawyers in both firm and in-house settings remains relatively consistent and equal for those who have 25 years of service or less, with a small percentage (<1 per cent) identifying as transgender. However, in the senior cohort of those with over 25 years of experience, those who identify as male outnumber those identifying as female by a ratio of about three to one, with none identifying as transgender.
Regulatory statistics
Concerns about Alberta lawyers
Of the 1,254 general inquiries and complaints about Alberta lawyers received in 2021, 815 were diverted to Early Intervention. Early Intervention is a proactive and collaborative approach to supporting lawyer competence and the delivery of legal services to all Albertans. In this process, we provide resources and programs to help lawyers achieve reasonable standards of professional and ethical conduct.
The Conduct Department opened 236 complaint files for review in 2021. The majority of the complaints were dismissed or resolved without a hearing. There were 19 matters referred to a hearing before a Hearing Committee.
A combined total of 24 conduct and resignation hearings were concluded in 2021. The disciplinary outcomes of these hearings are displayed below.
our discipline processes
Hearing Committee
When the Conduct Committee directs a lawyer to a conduct hearing, the matter is heard by a Hearing Committee. If a lawyer is found guilty, one of the following sanctions are imposed:
- Reprimand: A formal expression of reproach, delivered orally by the Hearing Committee, which becomes part of the lawyer’s disciplinary record.
- Suspension: A lawyer’s membership in the Law Society of Alberta is suspended and the lawyer is prohibited from practising law in Alberta for a specified period.
- Disbarment: The lawyer’s membership in the Law Society of Alberta is terminated and the lawyer is indefinitely prohibited from practising law in Alberta.
In addition to the penalties described above, a lawyer may also be required to pay a fine and/or costs to the Law Society of Alberta.
Resignation Committee
When a lawyer who is the subject of conduct proceedings wants to resign, the resignation application is heard by a panel of three Benchers. There are two types of resignations in such circumstances:
- Resignation in the Face of Discipline: A lawyer who faces conduct proceedings that are not likely to result in disbarment but is granted permission by a Resignation Committee to resign due to mitigating circumstances.
- Deemed Disbarment: A lawyer who faces conduct proceedings that would likely result in disbarment but is granted permission by a Resignation Committee to resign under s. 61 of the Legal Profession Act. Such resignations are considered deemed disbarments (disbarment by consent).
administrative suspensions
When a lawyer fails to fulfil the administrative requirements imposed by the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta, such as filing annual reports and the payment of membership fees and insurance levies, the lawyer is administratively suspended until they have fulfilled their obligations. A total of 84 lawyers were administratively suspended in 2021. The majority of them resolved the issue by fulfilling their requirements and have since been reinstated.
Contact Us
The Law Society of Alberta | 700, 333 – 11th Avenue SW, Calgary, AB T2R 1L9 | lawsociety.ab.ca | feedback@lawsociety.ab.ca | 403.229.4700 or toll free 1.800.661.9003