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REGIONAL WRAP-UP ATLANTIC More Money, greater transparency, less tolerance for sMokers A n embarrassment of legisla- tive riches is in store for two provinces in Atlantic Canada. Nova Scotia is putting its money where its lawyers are in an effort to ensure businesses and homeowners can have their assessment appeals heard in a timely manner. Effective April 1, the province increased the per diem rate for lawyers who sit on the Regional Assess- ment Appeal Court to $300 per half- day session. The previous rate was only $165. The appeal court, which hears from owners who feel their property has been improperly assessed, requires more lawyers to make the system work. Quite simply, says John MacDonell, letters to the editor Mayor, council not behind court closure In regards to the above article, the Town of Banff and the mayor were not in support of the courthouse closing in Banff; in fact, former mayor John Stutz, council, and I are on record in the media and in correspon- dence with the ministry as strongly opposed to the closure. We believe closing the courthouse in Banff has increased costs to both the provincial and municipal taxpayer. The local detachment of the RCMP devote approximately 550 person hours to court in a year. When a member has to be out of town in court, they are not on the ground, policing. Banff is an international tourism destination, with more than 3 million annual visitors; we need a full complement of RCMP officers in Banff to maintain our high level of public safety. With the move of the courthouse, there could be overtime hours and there certainly is an increase in travel costs for both RCMP and citizens involved. To add to the difficulty, Banff currently does not have regional transit service to Canmore. We have expressed our dismay to Alberta Justice in regards to this will follow up to correct this article, and I hope that misrepresentation. It's important that the Canadian legal community understand the ramifications of courthouse closures to small towns. KAREN SORENSEN Mayor, Town of Banff, Alberta welcomes letters to the editor but reserves the right to edit for space, taste, and libel considerations. Please include your full contact information in your correspondence. Send your letters to: gail.cohen@thomsonreuters.com www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com M AY 2011 7 Just saying 'no' to retirement Firms are facing pushbacks from those who are not ready to pack in their practices at age 65. BY KEVIN MARRON D CL_April_11.indd 23 on't ever tell Ned Levitt it's time for him to retire. The 63-year-old partner at Aird & Berlis LLP intends to carry on practising law "until the hearse pulls up to the door." He's one of many healthy and highly motivated baby boomers who believe they will remain active and productive for many years to come. "My practice is still expanding so why put an arbitrary time frame on that," he says. "I work out at a gym three mornings a week. I'm a shortboard windsurfer. So are you going to tell me to go lie on a couch?" But this determination to break the old retirement age barrier can present huge problems for law firms — espe- cially when it is accompanied with a reluctance on the part of the aging partner to make any moves to wind down his or her practice by passing on work and client contacts to younger colleagues. "Firms are struggling with this," says law firm consultant Karen MacKay, president of Phoenix Legal Inc. She maintains that many firms do a poor job in managing retirement and succession planning. And it's an issue that has become even more wor- risome for law firm managers in light of a recent British Columbia Human w w w . C A N A D I A N Lawye rma g . com A P R I L 2 0 1 1 23 3/21/11 12:34:21 PM Comments from canadianlawyermag.com LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT Self-serving This is the most self-serving piece of baby boomer garbage I have ever read. The greedy protagonist spends the entire article justifying his own pay cheque at the expense of the greater profession. Sad. — online comment from JAY minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, "if we don't have people to hear these cases, Nova Sco- tians won't be able to appeal their prop- erty assessments and have their cases heard as quickly as they should." The raise is the first in 15 years, a fact that "made it harder to attract lawyers to hear appeals," according to a release from the justice department. There are cur- rently 13 lawyers who hear assessment appeals. In 2009, the court heard 380 appeals across the province. The raise adds $35,000 to the total cost of offering assessment appeals, and the Regional Assessment Appeal Court will now cost the province $110,000 a year to operate. N.S. Justice Minister Ross Landry has released a public disclosure policy. In the wake of inadvertent prisoner releases and escapes that transformed the minister of justice and Nova Scotia's correctional services into headline news C ontinued on pa g e 8 R e: ch Mar Just 2011 sa yin g 'no' t o r etir ement R e: ch Mar Banff c ourthouse 2011 shutt er ed, R egional W r ap-Up C anadian L a wy er C anadian L a wy er JASON SCHNEIDER