The Law Society of Ontario’s (LSO) Nov. 28 meeting was led by treasurer Peter Wardle, who, after presenting an Indigenous land acknowledgement, gave tribute to the late Murray Sinclair.
Sinclair, an Indigenous lawyer, senator and judge who became the chief commissioner for Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), died earlier this month at age 73.
“The Honourable Murray Sinclair was a giant in the justice system — and a leader,” said Wardle.
“In setting out the TRC’s … calls for action, he offered a path towards genuine justice for Indigenous peoples, and reconciliation on the part of all Canadians. As a lawyer, judge and legislator, Mr. Sinclair was an exemplar to the legal profession.”
Peter Wardle, Law Society of Ontario
“As you know, paralegals are an integral part of the efforts of the legal community to address access to justice and unmet legal needs,” said Wardle. “This working group is named the Paralegal Future Vision working group. It will explore long-term challenges facing the paralegal profession and development recommendations for its sustainability and growth.”
During the morning’s public session, benchers also approved amendments to the Law Society Tribunal Rules of Practice and Procedure that codify rules around maintaining the confidentiality of certain information disclosed to parties involved in Law Society Tribunal investigations.
The recommendation for the changes states that the amendments make it certain “documents and information” required to be disclosed “shall only be shared or distributed by the party … for the purposes of the proceeding or as required by law, unless the Tribunal orders otherwise.”
Law Society Tribunal spokesperson Ivy Johnson later confirmed for Law360 Canada that information deemed confidential — and not for public consumption — is prohibited from being shared with third parties, such as news media, a public forum or anyone not a party to the hearing.
The rule, said Johnson, was already there in existing legislation, but codifying it in the tribunal’s rules makes it more obvious to LSO members.
“They’ve decided to codify this rule that already existed, just for the purposes of clarity — just in case a licensee … wasn’t aware of this rule,” she said.
The LSO also accepted a report from its Professional Regulation Committee on putting new systems in place to further protect the public from financial misconduct — both deliberate and unintentional — by members.
It involves “a long-term project to review and revise the … rules and requirements that govern licensee handling and management of client funds and property, as well as the tools available to the Law Society to facilitate compliance and enforcement,” states the report.
It goes on to detail how the project will enhance the “oversight” of licensees’ handling of client money.
“This project involves operational and policy changes that seek to protect the public by enhancing Law Society oversight of licensee trust account records, facilitating the early identification of account management issues, reducing record-keeping burdens for licensees where possible, and improving the Law Society’s ability to intervene effectively and in a timely manner, in the public interest.”
The initiative addresses harm suffered by both the public and the profession “when a few licensees willingly or unwittingly engage in fraud, misappropriation, money laundering or other forms of trust account mismanagement.”
The project involves “operational and policy initiatives that will proceed over the next two to three years” as well as other initiatives that will be brought forward over what remains of the current bencher term.
Additional details can be found in the report.
If you have any information, story ideas or news tips for Law360 Canada, please contact Terry Davidson at t.davidson@lexisnexis.ca or 905-415-5899.