SR Vol 25 No 1, January 2007 - Nova Scotia Barristers' Society

societynewsadmissions & professional developmentThe Admissions & Professional Development Departmenthas had a busy year with the addition of new staff and theimplementation of an ongoing roster of programs that supportsour mandate of education, training and competency of both newand experienced lawyers.AdmissionsThe new Regulation has allowed the number of boutique firms andsole practitioners taking on Articled Clerks to increase this year.Under the new regime, Articled Clerks are not limited in whatthey can or cannot do in the various courts or proceedings.Therefore, there is a greater onus on Principals to ensure thatArticled Clerks are appropriately supervised, that they are notasked to appear on their own in the various courts or proceedingsuntil they are competent to do so, and that the EducationPlan is being adhered to. Thank you to all of the hard workingPrinicipals who make this system work!The number of lawyers applying for admission under the NationalMobility Agreement is increasing. We are regularly dealing withlawyers who have misunderstood or have not properly apprisedthemselves of our transfer regulations. Lawyers who move to NovaScotia from reciprocating jurisdictions cannot practice here untiladmitted to the Nova Scotia Bar, or unless they have an ExecutiveDirector’s permit. Lawyers who have a permit are considered visitinglawyers until admission and cannot advertise themselves, includetheir names on letterhead, or hold themselves out as associatesof a firm until they are admitted to the Nova Scotia Bar.CPD Report CardThe CPD team has been busy delivering dozens of outstanding programsduring 2006 and planning continues for 2007/2008. Accessibilityto education has greatly improved with the addition of ournew Lunch ‘N Law Program in the spring of 2006. Registrants canjoin the program via teleconference from any part of the province.Stay tuned for more Lunch ‘N Law programs in the new year.We have also undertaken a major revision of the Land RegistrationAct Course mandatory training materials, and look forwardto offering an updated course in the spring.We are now looking forward to 2007, and have many excitingconferences and seminars planned. See our website (www.nsbs.ns.ca/cpd.htm) for details.This exemplary education would not be possible without ourgenerous volunteers – members of the Bar and Judiciary!finance & AdministrationTrust Account ReportsIf you have a December 31 year end for trust account reporting,you may have already received your blank Trust AccountReport for 2006. The report has changed slightly from the reportissued last year as we’ve removed references to the Barristers andSolicitors Act and clarified some questions to remove the ambiguityin last year’s form.This would be a good time to start on Part A and contact your accountantto arrange completion of Part B of the report to ensureyour complete Trust Account Report is received in the Society’soffice before the deadline. The regulations around not filing theTrust Account Report on time are severe and are strictly enforced.At a recent meeting of the Trust Accounts Committee, the committeeagreed on an interpretation of Regulation 10.3.3. This isthe regulation that requires lawyers to obtain written confirmationfrom their bank to confirm that trust funds were depositedin their trust account. The Committee agreed that a printed copyof the lawyers online banking information will serve as the confirmationrequired by the regulation.WebsiteLook for a new website for the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society earlyin the new year. If you have found the existing website confusingand cluttered, the new website will be a vast improvement.A cross-functional team of staffers has been working with ImpactCommunications since the spring to design and develop a websitethat meets the needs of the Society’s stakeholders. Throughthe summer, Impact Communications interviewed a number ofmembers, media, and members of the general public to identifyall the uses of the Society’s website. That information was thencompiled and shared with the Society’s team.Through the early fall, work began on the site map for the website.The site map is the foundation on which a website is built.In late October the Society signed off on the site map for the newwebsite.As of this writing, staff are updating various content pages and finalizingthe look and feel of the final product. We trust you will find thenew website informative, intuitive, and a useful tool in your work.A special note of thanks goes to the team who’ve helped makethis new site a reality: Barbara Campbell, Susan Jones, Pam Sullivan,Lisa Neily, Pierre Benoit, and Dan Davis (and his predecessor,Shawn Ward).14 The Society Record