the SOCIETY RECORD - Nova Scotia Barristers' Society

society news
Council updates
Society leadership and new Council for 2013-2014
On June 15, 2013 during the Annual Meeting, the Society will
welcome new leadership for the next Council year.
President for 2013-2014 will be René Gallant (centre) of Halifax,
who is Nova Scotia Power’s Vice President Regulatory Affairs.
Halifax lawyer Tilly Pillay QC (at left) will be First Vice-President;
she works with the provincial Department of Justice as its Director
of Litigation and Co-Executive Director of the Legal Services
Division. Jill Perry (at right), Managing Lawyer (Family) with
Nova Scotia Legal Aid in Sydney, will be the Society’s Second Vice-
President, as the successful candidate in the March election for the
position.
Newly elected members of Council for 2013-2015 include Diane
McGrath QC and Carolyn A. MacAulay for Cape Breton District,
and Robert Gregan and Robert Pineo for Central District. Acclaimed
members representing Halifax District are Christa M. Brothers, Gavin
Giles QC, William L. Mahody and Stephen McGrath. Acclaimed
members for Southwestern District are H. Heidi Foshay Kimball and
Darren MacLeod.
An election is set for April 15 to 22 to determine three At Large
members of Council.
Find candidate information and online voting instructions at nsbs.
org/council-elections. For Council updates throughout the year, visit
nsbs.org/council-materials.
National Admissions Standards
The Society is actively participating in the National Admissions
Standards project of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. In
February, Council adopted the National Entry Level Competency
Profile. Though very similar to the Standards currently in force for
the Society’s Admissions program (articling and the Bar Admissions
course), the National Admission Standards will allow for fine tuning
of our current programs to meet the new requirements.
The Federation project is also looking at good character and fitness.
The goal is to create a uniform approach to assessing all components
of an applicant’s suitability for admission to the Bar. The challenge
is to develop and adopt modern approaches to assessing character
without stigmatizing certain health issues. As well, it will be essential
that national standards address matters that are demonstrative in
their impact.
Developing strategic directions
Developing Council’s strategic directions for the next three years
is one of the most important tasks for Council this year. Not only
does it afford Council the opportunity to reflect on current priorities
but it causes members to look into the future and, as best they can,
to identify trends and influences that will impact regulation of
the profession in the near term. Though the Society is well aware
of changes to legal regulation happening elsewhere, it has not yet
considered the underlying causes of those changes and whether any of
them need to be considered for Nova Scotia. Three or four years ago,
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