Canadian Lawyer

November/December 2019

The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers

Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/1183528

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 2 of 71

www.canadianlawyermag.com 3 EDITOR'S DESK UPFRONT www.canadianlawyermag.com EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Tim Wilbur Senior Editor Elizabeth Raymer Associate Editor Aidan Macnab Copy Editor Patricia Cancilla Writers Anita Balakrishnan, Libby Macdonald CONTRIBUTORS Neill May, Steve Szentesi, Philip Slayton ART & PRODUCTION Designer Marla Morelos Lead, Media Production Coordinator Catherine Giles Global Production Manager Alicia Chin Cover Design: Brianna Freitag SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Head of Sales Paul Burton Consultant, Strategy and Business Development Ivan Ivanovitch Account Executive Steffanie Munroe Senior Advertising Consultant Ritu Harjai CORPORATE President Tim Duce Events and Conference Manager Chris Davis Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil Global CEO Mike Shipley Global COO George Walmsley EDITORIAL INQUIRIES tim.wilbur@keymedia.com SUBSCRIPTIONS Keith Fulford tel: 416 649-9585 • fax: 416 649-7870 keith.fulford@keymedia.com ADVERTISING INQUIRIES legaladvertise@keymedia.com Rempel's reaction, like most of the general public I suspect, is to wonder if the lawyers engaged in this debate are truly fulfilling their regulatory purpose. T his was an eventful year for self-regulation. In Ontario, the statement of principles debate captured headlines, starting with the StopSOP campaign leading up to the April bencher elections and concluding in the revocation of the SOP requirement after the entire StopSOP slate of bencher candidates had been elected. Whatever your view is about a mandatory statement of principles, the way the debate unfolded seemed to me to highlight a more fundamental problem with self-regulation. For the cynical observer, especially among the general public, it all seemed like an endless semantic debate, a sideshow that demonstrated the disfunc- tion of lawyers governing themselves. In our cover story this month (p. 32), we decided to take a step back and look at the role of law societies more broadly and alternative models to self-regulation in other jurisdictions. There is no shortage of critics of self-regulation, and many of these critics are highly informed. One of those critics that we spoke with was Anne Rempel, who is not a lawyer but who experienced what she described as the "black box" system of lawyer discipline after she filed complaints regarding her elder abuse case. We asked Rempel what she thought of the statement of principles debate and her answer was telling. "If I was asked to write a statement saying that I wasn't going to kick dogs and beat cats, I might find it an imposition — since I don't do that anyway, and I don't know why they would be asking that. But I wouldn't choose that one to have the fight on." This is not exactly a glowing endorsement of either side of the SOP debate. Rempel's reaction, like most of the general public I suspect, is to wonder if the lawyers engaged in this debate are truly fulfilling their regulatory purpose. If self-regulation is going to remain in Canada, I would urge regulators in Canada to listen to critics like Rempel. The future of self-regulation is at stake. Tim Wilbur, Editor-in-Chief StopSOP and the future of self-regulation ISSUE 43.10 In our October issue article "Innovations in estates law: How legal tech is revolutionizing death," two services created by Patrick Hartford — NoticeConnect and Canada Will Registry — were described as one product, when they are two distinct products. Canadian Lawyer apologizes for the error. Canadian Lawyer is published 10 times a year by HAB Press Limited. KEY MEDIA and the KEY MEDIA logo are trademarks of Key Media IP Limited, and used under license by HAB Press Limited. CANADIAN LAWYER is a trademark of HAB Press Limited. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Canadian Lawyer disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement #41261516 ISSN 0703-2129 ©2019 GST/HST Registration #703184911RT001 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESS TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 20 Duncan St., 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, M5H 3G8 RETOURNER TOUTE CORRESPONDANCE NE POUVANT ÉTRE LIVREÉ AU CANADA AU SERVICE DES PUBLICATIONS 20 Duncan St., 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, M5H 3G8 HAB Press Limited 20 Duncan St., 3rd Floor Toronto, Ontario M5H 3G8 tel: +1 416 644 8740 www.keymedia.com

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Canadian Lawyer - November/December 2019