ARCTIC OBITER

4 | ARCTIC OBITER
THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR
by Linda G. Whitford
Preparing for the New Year
It's April, and that means CLIA meetings, where Insurance
Directors and the Advisory Board meet to discuss all things
“insurance”. I confess a certain amount of trepidation at the
400+ pages of board materials, but a 4-hour flight serves me,
and it, well. It is a good thing there were no movies of
interest to sidetrack my good intentions.
Two things ruminate in my mind from the meeting. First,
how many insured members actually read their policy and
know what is and isn't covered; and second, lawyers are still
falling victim to scams no matter how many times we push
warnings and information about them.
Counterfeit certified cheques are the latest pitfall, and lawyers
in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec have had the misfortune of
falling victim. Debt collection files are all the rage and the
perpetrators are getting savy, using names of real companies
as well as real people. One recently received at our office used
BHP as the company wanting to secure the services of a
lawyer. The first mistake was sending the email to the Law
Society, the second was a mistake in the e-mail address - albeit
minor, it was there.
I cannot stress enough the threat that various forms of fraud
represent. I will not take up space listing all the various
scenarios here, but would urge you to exercise caution and
some due diligence by checking out the following links. You
should also subscribe to the RSS feeds from LawPro and to
CLIA's Law Prevention eBytes.
www.practicepro.ca/practice/fraud.asp
www.avoidaclaim.com
www.CLIA.ca (Loss Prevention eBytes)
There is an 11% increase in the premium rate for insured
members this year, but the local levy has yet to be set by the
Executive. Insured members can expect to receive those
invoices on or about the middle of May with the option to pay
in two installments or in full.
Things at the Law Society are proceeding though the annual
cycle. Renewals are done for another year; the audit is
complete; committees are up and running and we played host
to the Federation of Law Societies Semi-Annual Meeting. It
was a perfect mix of business and pleasure as we examined
Alternative Business Structures and provided our guests with
a unique northern experience at Aurora Village. The northern
lights cooperated and those who took a trip out the Dettah Ice
Road had the best view. Cheers to Dyane for braving a very
cold morning to do a Ragged Ass Road Run with me. She can
now boast that she walked on water as we also ventured out
on the ice road. Hosting an at-home dinner was a highlight;
my thanks to Sheila MacPherson, Cayley Thomas and Paul
Smith for doing likewise.
The special Court Library Review Committee mandated at the
AGM is working overtime, and one of the tools they are using
to determine what resources members require is a
survey. The first version was very thorough, but some felt it
too long. It has been revised, and all are encouraged to
complete it.
Committee Chairs have met with the President and reviewed
the work plan created by the Executive to complete their
various goals and objectives, and a further meeting will be
held the end of May to report progress by the Committees on
the progress of their projects. Insofar as Committee support
and input is required for my end of things, you can expect to
hear from me if you have not done so already.
I made very good use of an almost three-hour flight between
Calgary and Las Vegas to fulfill my promise to Ben to have
this article by the end of the week, and I managed to finish it
poolside at the Bellagio! Considering it is a vacation week, it
has been a busy time, albeit with a little angst as my lifeline
with the office (aka, the Blackberry) remained behind with
Ben. But, so far, highlights include a fabulous Garth Brooks
show, a trip to the Grand Canyon and the Elvis Cirque du
Soleil show.
Until next time....