Friday, September 24, 2010

Printable Version

In this issue:
• Law Society of Alberta Website Renovations Now Complete!
• Alberta Law Foundation 2010 Annual Report
• Beware of Continuing Collaborative Family Law Agreement Frauds

Law Society of Alberta Website Renovations Now Complete!

The Law Society of Alberta has completed updating its website. The renovations have created a new look to the website while also make it accessible by mobile.

The updated site includes:

• Information on the governance and adjudication roles at the Law Society.
• The rich history of the Law Society of Alberta.
• Highlighed information on the Law Society's initiatives such as Safety of Trust Property, and Access to Justice.
• Public Legal Education Articles.

Some of the new features are:

• An Advisory article index.
• RSS Feed (users can subscribe to receive new updates to the website).
• Web pages rather than pdfs.
• Users can choose between 3 font sizes to view the website.
• An enhanced search function.

Please note that Lawyer Search has been renamed Lawyer Directory and is accessible on every page.

To check it out, visit: www.lawsociety.ab.ca

Alberta Law Foundation 2010 Annual Report

The Alberta Law Foundation is the recipient of the interest which banks, credit unions, trust companies and treasury branches must pay on clients’ funds held in lawyers’ general trust accounts. The interest is made available by the Foundation to organizations engaged in activities which are considered to be in keeping with the Foundation’s objects.

Although revenue from interest on lawyer’s general trust accounts was down to $4.5 million from $23.7 million in 2009 and from $59.4 million in 2008, it is apparent that the current economic climate has increased the demand for legal services provided by ALF-funded organizations such as Calgary Legal Guidance and the Edmonton Community Legal Centre. The clear direction coming out of the ALF Board’s strategic planning meeting in June 2010 is that there will be a renewed focus on meeting the direct legal service needs of Alberta’s most vulnerable populations.

For further details, see the Alberta Law Foundation 2010 Annual Report including the Chair Report, Financial Report and List of Grants awarded.

For general information about the Foundation, visit the web site at www.albertalawfoundation.org.

Beware of Continuing Collaborative Family Law Agreement Frauds

Lawyers are urged to beware of circulating frauds on collaborative family law agreements.

The Law Society of Alberta continues to receive emails and calls from practitioners about various frauds in this area of family law. Lawyers receive calls for assistance, not only through emails but letters delivered by Canada Post (a new twist).

Please proceed with caution if you receive email messages or letters asking you to assist with the collection of spousal support arrears, or any other letter or email message that appears suspicious.

One such letter from a “Karen Clark” looked like this:

“My name is Karen L. Clark. I am contacting your firm in regards to a divorce settlement with my ex-husband (David M. Baker) who resides in your jurisdiction. I am currently on a charitable assignment with my church in Asia. We had an out of court agreement for him to pay $378,450.00 plus legal fees. He has only paid me $24,000 ever since this agreement was reached. I am hereby seeking your firm to represent me in collecting the balance from him. He has agreed already to pay me the balance but it is my belief that a Law firm like yours in needed to help me collect payment from my ex-husband or litigate this matter if he fails to pay as promised.

Please email me your firm’s agreement or retainer form. I do know that once your firm contact him or engage with him on this, he will have no other choice but to make the rest of the payment at once.

He paid me at first the amount of $24,000
Now he gave me a cheque of $145,000
Balance he needs to sent to me through your firm is the amount of $209,450.00

I strongly advice that your firm should cash the check as soon as possible now he decided to pay through his company account. I will provide you with his phone and address to contact him once I sign the retainer agreement or firm agreement and cash the check to enable your firm litigate the remainder of the amount he owes to me, which is $209,450usd. Always correspond with me through this email address at (com4peace@yahoo.com). “

The second twist is that each of these letters include a very real looking but counterfeit cheque or cashier’s cheque in a specified amount. The counterfeit cheques appear to come from St. Christopher House and are drawn on an account at a CIBC branch on Ossington Ave. in Toronto. The counterfeit cashier cheques appear to come from the Chase Bank.

Many lawyers are not replying to or acknowledging these messages when these are clearly attempted frauds. In cases where it is unclear, lawyers are replying with requests for identification and more details about the client’s current whereabouts and past circumstances of the matter, etc. They are also explicitly indicating that they will not proceed with work unless they have a signed retainer agreement and have received payment of a retainer.

Remember that the information and identification provided by the fraudster can look legitimate, but there likely will be minor inconsistencies or things that don’t add up.

If you receive what appears to be a certified cheque or bank draft, contact the issuing bank to confirm that it in fact issued the cheque before you deposit it in your trust account. Even if the issuing bank confirms the cheque is legitimate, do not immediately release or wire funds to the client. Cheques sent to a U.S bank can take four to six months, and sometimes longer, to clear.

If you have been targeted by one of these frauds, please advise the Law Society of Alberta at ReportingFraud@lawsociety.ab.ca

Information about Will Sought

Anyone having information about the Last Will and Testament of George Bursell Milner is asked to contact:

Brian Summers, Fraser Milner Casgrain at 780-423-7312 or brian.summers@fmc-law.com, 2900 Manulife Place, 10180-101 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 3V5

Printable Version

www.lawsociety.ab.ca
Law Society of Alberta
Calgary Office
Suite 500, 919 11th Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta T2R 1P3
Phone: 403-229-4700

Edmonton Office
201 10060 Jasper Avenue,
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3R8
Phone: 780-429-3343

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