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- Practice and Equity Advisors
The Practice and Equity Advisors are available as a free and confidential service to help lawyers eligible to practice in Alberta, articling students, and legal support staff with legal, ethical, equity and practice inquiries. The Practice and Equity Advisors do not provide advice to the public. If you are a member of the public, contact our Customer Service team for assistance.
Talking to the Practice and Equity Advisors does not eliminate other options such as filing a formal complaint with the Law Society or the Human Rights Commission or undertaking a civil action.
All incoming contacts to the Practice and Equity Advisors are triaged and assigned for response in the order they are received, and you will receive a response at their earliest available time. This may take up to five business days; you may receive a response earlier but we ask that you be prepared for this timeframe. We ask that you do not submit multiple inquiries on the same matter, as this may delay a response.Â
Complaints of Discrimination or Harassment
If you, as a lawyer, student or law firm staff member, believe that another individual may have crossed a boundary related to discrimination or harassment, we urge you to contact the Practice and Equity Advisors as an initial step. Visit Complaints about Discrimination and Harassment in the Profession for more information on the reporting process.
Our Practice and Equity Advisors are:Â
- Deborah BookÂ
- Jonathan GriffithÂ
- Jesse MackenzieÂ
They are available to provide the following services:Â
- Respond to ethics-related inquiries based on your practice;Â
- Mediate and arbitrate inter-lawyer disputes;Â
- Assist lawyers in accessing resources for practice related issues (including stress or mental health and well being resources);Â Â
- Provide confidential support and advice to assist in addressing discrimination or harassment in the profession;
- Presentations to firms and other organizations on a variety of ethics-related topics; and,Â
- Participation in seminars, conferences and law school events on a variety of ethics related topics, by request.Â
Practice and Equity Advisors in Alberta also provide their confidential ethics-related services and support to lawyers from the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. With increases in lawyer mobility in recent years, the Practice and Equity Advisors also field inquiries from lawyers outside Alberta with questions about practice in the province or related to the Mobility Rules.Â
To assist the Practice and Equity Advisors, please provide as much detail as possible in your inquiry so they are better prepared to assist you. We also ask that you try to make your request – via phone call, email or online booking –  personally whenever possible, rather than via an assistant or other party. If you have reached out to a Practice and Equity Advisor to discuss a matter previously, please identify that in your message.Â
Our Practice and Equity Advisors respond to approximately 6,000 inquiries per year. They are available to lawyers to assist with accessing appropriate resources, responding to inquiries about ethical, equity and practice matters, and giving presentations to firms and organizations on ethics, equity and practice-related issues on request. The following list clarifies the matters in which our Practice and Equity Advisors may provide advice and assistance.
Practice and Equity Advisors do advise on |
Practice and Equity Advisors do not advise on |
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The Law Society of Alberta offers practice advice to lawyers in a variety of different ways:
- AdvisorLink: A program where lawyers or students-at-law are provided with the contact information for lawyers in the community who have agreed to serve as a resource to less experienced members of the Bar. These lawyers are available to answer one-off inquiries in a wide range of practice areas.
- SoloNet: An online community hosted by the Office of the Practice and Equity Advisor for sole and small firm practitioners.
- Articling Placement Program: The Law Society of Alberta has decided to pause placements through the Articling Placement Program (APP) until further notice. We will continue to provide other means of support to students who reach out. For more information, view the full announcement.
- Resource Centre: A regularly updated library of Law Society-produced materials including articles, courses, model policies and checklists, webinars and more. You may also want to refer to the Legal Profession Act, the Code of Conduct or the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta.