Participate in the Part-time Membership Pilot
There is a new part-time status option available to Alberta lawyers beginning Feb. 1, 2020.
After extensive engagement with the profession, part-time membership has been defined as a lawyer in private practice who works fewer than 20 hours per week on average and fewer than 750 hours per year in total on billable tasks, excluding pro bono work, and has gross billings of less than $90,000 per year globally. Lawyers who choose part-time membership status will pay a reduced membership fee.
How do I participate?
Effective Feb. 1, 2020, lawyers can select part-time status through the Lawyer Portal. View Lawyer Status Change Guide.
Lawyers who are currently active can select part-time status directly through the Lawyer Portal by certifying that they meet the part-time requirements.
Lawyers who are not currently active and want to practise part-time should:
1. Review the rules for reinstatement (Rules of the Law Society of Alberta 115-118) to evaluate the requirements needed to reinstate;
2. Submit an Application for Reinstatement; and,
3. Select part-time status through the Lawyer Portal.
Students who applied online on or after April 1, 2019 who want to practise part-time can select part-time status on the Lawyer Portal once they are eligible to complete their bar call ceremony. Students who applied through a paper application will need to contact Membership to change their status to part-time.
View the Lawyer Status Change Guide for step-by-step information on how to change your status using the Lawyer Portal.
Upon receiving approval of part-time status from the Law Society, lawyers must track their hours and billable tasks to ensure they meet the part-time requirements.
Membership Payment
Complete your status change no later than Feb. 11, 2020 to ensure that you are invoiced for the correct amount for the March 15, 2020 to March 15, 2021 membership cycle.
If you do not choose your status by Feb. 11, you will be issued an invoice for your current status. Changes to your status following February 11 can still be made through the Lawyer Portal and adjustments to your invoice will be applied. See 2020-2021 Pro-Rated Part-time Fees Schedule.
Indemnity
Lawyers with a part-time status are not exempt from the mandatory indemnity program and will still be required to pay the full assessment (as well as any applicable surcharges) to the Alberta Lawyers Indemnity Association (ALIA). A part-time levy is not an option at this time.
ALIA plans to consider the option of a part-time indemnity levy after the Law Society’s part-time practice fee pilot project has concluded and data collected from that pilot will be analyzed by ALIA’s actuary and Board.
Questions?
For further details on the part-time fees pilot, read our FAQ or contact the Membership department.