the SOCIETY RECORD - Nova Scotia Barristers' Society

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society news our assessment of the changes was focused by concerns about loss of self regulation. Today, Council’s perspective is much more concerned with what we might learn from the new regulatory models, and how to apply and adapt those learnings to Nova Scotia to improve the quality of legal regulation here. Access to justice issues are very much on Council’s mind and are a clear priority. The strategic issues are how does the Society play an effective role, likely as a coordinator or convenor, and in what areas should our priorities be. There are numerous projects both provincially and nationally that will impact us in Nova Scotia, and Council’s task is to determine where our finite resources ought to be directed. Developing standards Under the Legal Profession Act, the development of standards for the legal profession is a requirement for the Society. In addition to the Code of Professional Conduct, our primary standard, the Society first developed and promoted real estate practice standards. They were followed by family practice standards. These two areas are continuously monitored by committees that, in addition to adding standards as required, promote the development of resources and other materials that will allow lawyers to readily access information to assist them in understanding and meeting their professional requirements. This year, Council endorsed the development of law office management standards. A committee has been actively researching and compiling information that will start to be released as draft standards over the next few months. Unlike the real estate and family law standards, each law office management standard can stand alone. Therefore, the committee is recommending that they be promulgated as they are developed, without waiting for a comprehensive package. Council has yet to determine if this approach will be adopted but notices in InForum will advise lawyers of the status, of requests for consultation, and of ultimate adoption. Initial discussions on a project to develop criminal law practice standards have begun. Following consultation with the Nova Scotia Criminal Lawyers’ Association, the Executive Committee has endorsed this as an activity for the coming year. This proposal will likely be submitted to Council for its consideration later in the spring. Better public access to legal services New clarity and direction in the Code of Professional Conduct will improve public access to a broader range of limited scope legal services in Nova Scotia. Updates in February introduced specific rules and clear definitions on providing limited scope services, with additional guidance on ethical and competence questions that might arise. Similar rules now exist in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. Nova Scotia is the first province in eastern Canada to adopt the updated rules, which will provide more possibilities to people who don’t qualify for legal aid or may be unable to afford legal services throughout an entire matter. With the support and guidance of the new ethics rules, lawyers can now represent a client for part of a legal matter, without the expectation that the lawyer will need to act for the client generally, or become the solicitor of record for the client. This ‘unbundling’ of legal services opens up the middle ground between full representation and no representation. The new rules specify that the same standard of competence for fullscope retainers applies to limited scope services. They also emphasize the importance of communicating effectively with clients – also in writing – to avoid misunderstandings or unrealistic expectations. It is also important for lawyers to take steps to ensure, where appropriate, that opposing counsel and the judiciary also understand a retainer’s limited scope as well. The Society’s practice standards committees are examining limited scope legal services in light of the recent Code updates, with a view to developing related standards and providing further guidance. May 31: First CPD reporting deadline Practising lawyers in Nova Scotia are now required to complete 12 hours per year of eligible continuing professional development activity. The deadline for reporting your 2012-13 activities toward the Society’s new CPD requirement is May 31. The Society has developed an easy-to-use tool for reporting: the NSBS CPD Log is found in the Member Login area of the Society’s website, at members.nsbs.org. The CPD Log is the portal through which all practising lawyers will report their annual CPD Requirement by May 31 each year. There are two alternatives: • If you use CPD File, a national CPD database tool, the information recorded there will be imported to the Society prior to the deadline, so you don’t need to record it again in the NSBS CPD Log. • Firms capturing their lawyers’ CPD activities centrally have the option to import that data into the NSBS CPD Log. Check with your system administrator to confirm whether you must also add your activities to the CPD Log. Despite which option you use for recording your CPD activities, all lawyers must check the data captured in the CPD Log to confirm its accuracy prior to the reporting deadline. 12 The Society Record
society news For more details on the CPD Requirement and reporting process, visit the Professional development section of the Society’s website, under the tab “For lawyers”. If your questions aren’t answered by the information on the website, please contact the CPD Line at 422 1491 ext 371 or email CPD@nsbs.org. Society transitioning to electronic forms Over the next several months, many of the forms used by lawyers to communicate with or provide information to the Society will move to an electronic-only format. The Society has purchased a product called WebFormz, which integrates directly with the Society’s membership database. Currently, something as simple as a change of address requires a lawyer to complete a form (by hand or by using a fillable PDF) and send it to the Society (by mail, fax or email), where someone manually enters the updated information into the Society’s database. This current system is time consuming and includes a risk of error in the data entry step. When WebFormz is functional, the lawyer will enter the data into an online form, which will automatically update the Society’s database – much more efficient and with much less risk of error. While a change of address form is fairly simple, the Society has more than 30 forms on its website – everything from Trust Account Reports to applications for a change of category. Over time, all Society forms will transition to WebFormz. It is our plan that WebFormz will be used for the upcoming Annual Lawyer Report, which will be made available to lawyers in May for completion by the end of June 2013. New Trust Account Regulations New Trust Account Regulations came into effect in Nova Scotia on January 1, 2013. Most of the revisions were designed to simplify the regulations and provide further clarity and additional definitions. The new regulations are based on principles that apply more broadly to the variety of ways in which trust account transactions can now take place. The fundamental principles remain the same: It is a privilege and significant responsibility for lawyers to be permitted to hold client funds and property, and lawyers are held strictly accountable by the Society for properly dealing with all client funds and property held in trust, as part of its mandate to protect the public. New complaints review process coming soon By June, a new Complaints Review Committee will be in place, created to ensure an independent process for reviewing dismissed complaints at the request of complainants. It will be chaired by a public representative and comprised of volunteer lawyers who are not associated with the Society’s professional responsibility process. Currently, requests for review of dismissed complaints are directed to the Executive Director, who forwards them to a subcommittee of the Complaints Investigation Committee, which works closely with Professional Responsibility staff. The past three years have seen an average of 35 such review requests per year. On January 25, Council voted to amend the Regulations to establish the new review process, upon recommendation by the Professional Responsibility Policies and Procedures Committee, which had examined the issue. The role of the new Committee will be to determine whether a decision by staff to dismiss a complaint is correct, based upon applicable regulatory thresholds. This will not involve conducting a new investigation, but rather a review of the material on file considered by staff, the applicable regulatory authority and threshold under which the complaint was dismissed, the reasons provided by staff, and the submission of the complainant when requesting review. The requests for review will be sent directly by complainants to the new Committee Chair. For more details, see nsbs.org/news. Barristers’ Library expected to return to the Law Courts this summer The Barristers’ Library is expected to return to The Law Courts building at 1815 Upper Water Street this summer as renovations to the seventh floor are completed. It has operated in temporary quarters on the fifth floor of Summit Place, at 1601 Lower Water Street, since October 2012. Contact information remains the same for Library & Information Services: 425 2665, 1 866 219 1202 (toll-free) and nsbslib@nsbs.org. Watch InForum and the Society website for further updates. Council approved the new Trust Account Regulations on November 23, following a substantial period of work by the Trust Account Regulation Review Working Group and consultation with the legal profession. For details, visit the Regulation area of the website, and see Section 10 of the Society’s current Regulations under the Legal Profession Act.
Page 1 and 2: the SOCIETY RECORD VOLUME 31 | NO.1
Page 3 and 4: Contents VOLUME 31 | NO 1 | Spring
Page 5 and 6: the president’s view As I travel
Page 7 and 8: BRIEFS Nova Scotia lawyers honoured
Page 9 and 10: BRIEFS Annual networking events for
Page 11: society news Council updates Societ
Page 15 and 16: Madonna was an active participant i
Page 17 and 18: Illegal downloading of music, film
Page 19 and 20: Society’s successful initiative t
Page 21 and 22: say the public policy reasons are n
Page 23 and 24: “These dwindling numbers [of lawy
Page 25 and 26: Small rural and close communities -
Page 27 and 28: Photo by Eliot Wright/Provided by N
Page 29 and 30: “Volunteering allows for a break
Page 31 and 32: in police service delivery. They pr
Page 33 and 34: A desire to broaden and deepen her
Page 35 and 36: The students appreciate the opportu
Page 37 and 38: 7. Update! Make sure you have the l
Page 39 and 40: Spring 2013 39

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