Advance Notice: Apply to Join the Law Society of Alberta Board
Starting Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, applications will be accepted until noon MST on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025 to fill one Bencher vacancy. Specific details on how to submit your application will also be released on Sept. 11. This position will become effective at the Feb. 26, 2026 Bencher meeting and will fill the vacancy created by the end of President Stacy Petriuk, KC’s, term.
The Board follows Rule 17 of the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta, which allows the Board to fill a vacancy either by appointing from the applications received or by selecting from the results of the November 2023 Bencher election. In all instances, the Board considers both options when determining how they will fill the vacancy. Please note that candidates from the previous election who would like to be considered for the Bencher vacancy must express their interest by completing the online application.
How to Prepare
Review and update your information in the Lawyer Portal.
Prepare a CV that meets the following requirements. Please do provide a cover letter. CVs that do not meet these requirements will not be reviewed:Â
- Maximum two pages
- Minimum size 12 font
- Minimum 1.1 line spacing
- PDF or Word (Docx) format
Background Information
All active members of the Law Society in good standing may apply to fill a Bencher vacancy. The Bencher competencies are available on the Law Society website.
The key responsibilities are governance (participating in Board and committee meetings) and adjudication (participating in regulatory hearings).
Benchers spend approximately 500 volunteer hours on Law Society work each year. There are four regularly scheduled in-person Board meetings per year in Calgary, an annual virtual Budget Review meeting in November, plus an annual in-person three-day strategic retreat in June. Benchers typically sit on several committees or task forces in any given year. Each committee holds virtual meetings five times per year, on average. Virtual ad hoc Board meetings may be added as needed.
Adjudicator training includes online modules and a mandatory in-person session held in March annually. In-person Bencher governance and adjudication education sessions are held as required.
The new Bencher will serve for a one-year term until February 2027, unless they run and are elected in the November 2026 Bencher election, in which case they would begin a new three-year term in February 2027.
Visit our website for more information on the role of Benchers, the Board and Committees, and the Strategic Plan.
If you have questions, please contact Governance.