Q: What is the law society and how does it help people?
A: The main responsibility of the law society is to govern the practice of law. Law societies are established in each province by provincial legislation. There is similar legislation covering other professions such as medicine, dentistry, engineering and accounting. These professions are allowed to make their own rules regarding admission to practice and the conduct expected of members.
Law societies are governed by a board called benchers, who are elected by members of the profession. Most provincial law societies also include representatives from the public.
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The main duties of the law society are setting out the necessary requirements to practise law, the standards of conduct that lawyers must follow and the discipline process for lawyers who breach rules. Someone wanting to practise law must apply to the law society in the province in which they seek a licence. In all provinces, a law degree is a requirement to practise. Unless, one has been previously licensed or licensed in another province, one will also have to article (work with a senior lawyer for a year), take the bar admission course and write bar exams. A law society also scrutinizes out-of-country degrees or people returning to the profession to decide what requirements such a candidate will have to meet.
Once licensed, there are requirements a lawyer must maintain to keep a licence. Those include attending professional development seminars, paying the required fees including liability insurance and abiding by the society’s code of ethics. Lawyers in private practice must keep a separate trust account in which they hold client’s money, such as, money paid on a sale of real estate that is held while the deal is completed.
Trust accounts are governed by strict rules and a reason for discipline might be if lawyers take money from a trust account for their own purposes. Law societies maintain reimbursement funds to cover losses clients may suffer when this happens.
Law societies consider complaints from the public about specific lawyers. As a first step, staff of the society will investigate the complaint.
Eventually, if warranted, a disciplinary hearing will be held, usually in front of a committee of benchers. Disciplinary action includes fines or temporary and indefinite suspensions.
Law societies do not decide if a lawyer was negligent in his practice. For example, did your lawyer fail to sue when he should have? Did he neglect to advise you of tax implications on a property transfer? Such questions are determined by a court. A client has to sue his lawyer for negligence. If successful, the lawyer’s professional insurance will pay out the loss.
If a person is unhappy with a decision of the law society, or any other professional body, the decision would have to be challenged in court.
Don Purich is a former practising lawyer who is now involved in publishing, teaching and writing about legal issues. His columns are intended as general advice only. Individuals are encouraged to seek other opinions and/or personal counsel when dealing with legal matters.
