Substantive Legal Knowledge - Law Society of Alberta

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Substantive Legal Knowledge

Substantive legal knowledge is at the core of your day to day practice. For every area of life, there is an area of law.

Resource	Summary
Amendments to the Condominium Property Act: New Deposit Rules Effective April 1, 2018	Effective Sunday, April 1, 2018, if a consumer is buying a new condominium in Alberta from a developer, the buyer’s purchase deposit must be held by an Alberta lawyer while the condominium is being built.
Canadian Bankers Association Contact List for Matters Involving Mortgage Discharges French version	Bank and contact information as of December 10, 2020.
CPD Tips: Substantive Legal Knowledge	Substantive legal knowledge is at the core of your day to day practice. For every area of life, there is an area of law.
Conveyancing Protocol Applying Protocol FAQs	The Protocol prescribes enhanced standards of conveyancing practice, which will result in better service for clients.
COVID-19 FAQ	The Law Society has developed the following guidance for lawyers to support them in the delivery of legal services in the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an unprecedented situation, and flexibility and diligence is required to ensure continuity of essential legal services without risk to public health.
Ethical Considerations Regarding Requests for Wills	When a lawyer receives a request to provide a will to someone other than the testator, the lawyer’s duty of confidentiality to the testator should guide how to respond and what information can be disclosed.
Giving Independent Legal Advice	A person seeking independent legal advice is as much your client as any other.
Independent Legal Advice Checklist	Sample form.
Mortgage Instructions Toolkit	Prepared by the CBA Real Property Section, the practice tools in this toolkit can help you respond to some common lender instruction requests.
New Notaries and Commissioners Act in Force April 30, 2015	They will now both be governed under the Notaries and Commissioners Act. The legislative amendments also contain consequential amendments to the Alberta Evidence Act and the Guarantees Acknowledgement Act.
Non-Lawyer Representation of Corporations in the Courts	In some cases, non-lawyer agents may be permitted to appear for parties in civil matters before the Provincial Court, or in certain summary offence matters.
OPCA Litigants – The Phenomenon of Freemen on the Land	The Law Society continues to hear concerns regarding “Organized Pseudolegal Commercial Argument” litigants (OPCA litigants), and specifically Freemen on the Land. Consequently, we want to remind lawyers of their obligations when dealing with OPCA litigants.

*Educational resources in this section are intended for the legal profession as an aid and are not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice. Readers must exercise their professional judgment about the accuracy, utility and applicability of the material. The Law Society of Alberta and Alberta Lawyers Indemnity Association (ALIA) accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions in any resource. If you find any information that is unclear, inaccurate or outdated, please send an email with details to Education.

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