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Thursday, June 10, 2010 |
In this issue: |
Notice of Special General Meeting of the Law Society of AlbertaA Special General Meeting of the Law Society of Alberta will be held on: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2010 Enclosed you will find the following:
Procedures for the meeting can be found under Section 27 of the Legal Profession Act and Rule 33 of the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta. Don Thompson, Q.C.
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Information CircularSpecial General Meeting Introduction This circular provides background material for the June 23, 2010 Special General Meeting of the Law Society of Alberta, which meeting was called as a result of a petition delivered under Section 28(1) of the Legal Profession Act. The Petition The petition, duly signed by at least 50 active members of the Law Society, requested a Special General Meeting to discuss:
The petition did not set out any specific resolutions on which the members would be asked to vote. The Law Society of Alberta and Legal Aid The Law Society, under Section 4 of the Legal Profession Act, is a party to an agreement respecting the operation of "a plan to provide legal aid to persons in need of it in civil matters or criminal matters or both." The other parties to the Legal Aid Agreement are the Minister of Justice and the Legal Aid Society of Alberta, and negotiations are under way to renew that agreement after its expiry in March, 2011. The Law Society is a party to the Legal Aid Agreement as it regulates the individual lawyers who provide client services through Legal Aid, whether those lawyers are employees of the Legal Aid Society or members of the private bar. That regulation includes protecting solicitor-client privilege, ensuring high ethical standards and competence on the part of all lawyers, and upholding and preserving the independence of all lawyers. The Law Society has no direct control over, or participation in funding the legal aid program. Finally, the Law Society has a more general role in ensuring and, wherever possible, enhancing access to legal services for all Albertans. This is expressed in the Mission of the Law Society: "To serve the public interest by promoting a high standard of legal services and professional conduct through the governance and regulation of an independent legal profession. " Access to Justice and Funding The rule of law is paramount to the role of the Law Society, but the rule of law cannot be sustained without lawyers. Legal Aid provides access to independent lawyers for disadvantaged Albertans, and this is a vital aspect of access to justice for those Albertans. Therefore the issue of that independence and the issue of funding are inextricably entwined. Those lawyers, and Legal Aid itself are funded from several sources, including Alberta Justice, the Federal Government, and the Alberta Law Foundation, and the following table (click here) sets out the history of the significant funding sources (some sources are not included). Legal Aid Alberta’s Corporate Business Plan, 2010 – 2013, forecasts that funding from the Province will remain at 2009/10 levels for the next three years, but notes an overall revenue decrease because of decreased Alberta Law Foundation Funding. The amount provided by the Alberta Law Foundation (which is independent from the Law Society) varies from year to year, because it is set by a statutory formula as 25% of the amount remitted to the Foundation by financial institutions as interest on lawyers’ trust accounts. It thus varies from year to year, based on that trust account activity and prevailing interest rates. The amount provided by the Province is set by Alberta Justice, which has recently considered the results of an extensive review of Legal Aid. That review includes certain recommended changes. The Minister of Justice said in a recent letter that she believes these changes "will help ensure that the provision of legal aid continues to be sustainable." The Minister also pointed out that her government is providing "a grant of $53.8 million; a substantial amount which has been maintained in place since 2008/2009." Legal Aid is accountable to all its funders to provide responsible and efficient use of this money. Access to Justice and Independence In a free society, based on the rule of law, the courts determine the balance between the rights of the state and the rights of individuals within that state. This requires that the judiciary be independent, but also that lawyers be independent to properly serve their clients and the courts. As those lawyers are funded by Legal Aid, Legal Aid must also be independent. If the judges, lawyers and Legal Aid are not thus independent, the individual client has not had true access to justice, and the rule of law has not been upheld. Although the Law Society will always be engaged by any complaint by a member of the public that they are not receiving truly independent advice and assistance, the Law Society’s over-riding duty is to guard the independence of regulation and governance of legal services and to do so in the public interest. This does, on occasion, lead to steps to guard independence of individual lawyers, but only in the context of that duty. The Law Society is, however, only one of the participants in the justice system, and cannot rectify deficiencies in the justice system by itself. It does take its responsibilities very seriously, but in the end, appropriate funding, access to justice, and independence are all the responsibility of all Albertans. Summary We can summarize the Law Society’s view of the legal aid situation at this time as follows:
Our current plans and activities related to legal aid include:
>> Legal Aid Alberta Revenue Summary
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