Canadian Lawyer

w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 9 13 A L B E R T A INDIGENOUS BENCHER HOPES TO OFFER NEW PERSPECTIVE C orie Flett is a Fort McMurray lawyer and one of 20 lawyers who serve as benchers on the board of directors of the Law Society of Alberta. Flett was elected in 2017 by members of the LSA to represent the north of the province. She is one of nine women on the board and the only Indigenous member. Flett says neither she nor the LSA can say if she is the first fully Indigenous person to serve as an Alberta bencher, but, at the very least, she must be among the first. She is a young lawyer, a wife and the mother of three children. At 33, Flett is already a partner with the Fort McMurray firm of Coo- per & Company. She says she sought a place as a bencher because she believes she offers a per- spective "that really needed to be included . . . if we are going to seriously attempt to follow the calls to action from the Truth and Reconcilia- tion Commission." Flett is of Cree and Dene descent and a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. She is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta. She started in sci- ence, but she says she "decided law would be my path forward. I liked the thought of making a difference." She graduated in law in 2010. Like all benchers, Flett is cautious about revealing anything that goes on behind closed doors. "I just want to do a good job [and] instill confidence," she says, "and provide a unique perspective." One of her major commitments is "bringing the 'north' perspective to the table and ensuring it is a voice considered in the conversation." Flett is already serving on more than a half- dozen bencher committees including the inno- vative regulation committee and the education and credentials committee. She calls the LSA "an important part of that puzzle to ensure Aboriginal people have pro- tection and justice." — Geoff Ellwand B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A LSBC REGULATION WORRIES SMALL FIRMS MORE THAN LARGER FIRMS A s the Law Society of British Columbia moves deeper into law firm regulation and registration in 2019, managing partners see a varied impact on their firms and roles. Partners in larger firms are unfazed, while those in smaller and mid-sized firms worry about time and cost of imposing another layer of regulation. "Any form of regulation will have an effect on the smaller firms, that is clear," says Kamloops' Ken Walker of Wozniak & Walker, a former LSBC president. "The question to be asked is whether it will make any significant difference to the administration of the law firm or the way it delivers legal services publicly." More than 3,000 B.C. legal firms registered online in mid-2018 with the LSBC. Of those, 350 firms, plus bencher's firms, were randomly chosen to participate in a pilot project using a self-assessment tool, a questionnaire that looked at their in-house policies and procedures. It was returned to the LSBC for evaluation in October. The LSBC is now examining the results of the pilot before launching the entire program. Law firms are expected to have policies and procedures in place that would flag problems before they affect clients or lead to complaints. Walker, who spent more than a day filling out the LSBC questionnaire and firming up policies at the time, says smaller firms like his — which is comprised of four lawyers — are also concerned about the financial impact and what future demands registration and regulations might bring. A large portion of firms in B.C. are small firms or sole practitioners that do not have the staff resources or the established systems that ease the transition for larger firms. Bill Westeringh, B.C. region managing partner for Fasken Martineau DuMou- lin LLP, says he also participated in the pilot. The self-assessment tool prompted the firm to revisit its policies and procedures. "On many of the topics, not surpris- ingly, we are already focused on these areas," he says. But the self-assessment process underlying regulation and registration is a positive one that Westeringh supports. "It is a tool in the managing partner's tool kit," he says. Bill Maclagan, managing partner at Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP, also partici- pated in the pilot. "It really just caused us to look at our policies and the way we do things. We were already doing most — if not all — of it," he says. Blakes does not write down every policy and procedure, Maclagan says, but "the major ones are written down." The process builds consensus on preventive measures. Miller Thomson LLP managing partner Michael Walker didn't participate in the pilot, but he says, "None of this new to us." Walker says there are policies and procedures plus in-house resources that lawyers can turn to when in doubt. Some policies and procedures are written down and internal groups handle potential flash-points such as client conflicts. James Paterson, managing partner of Pushor Mitchell LLP in Kelowna, wasn't chosen to participate in the pilot and says it is still early days in how the whole process will work. "But a firm like ours has a robust policy sys- tem," he says, with policies ranging from conflict of interest to inclusion. "We see ourselves as proactive." Paterson's main worry is financial. "My concern is that it will raise the cost of the administration of the firm," he says. Dale Perry of Perry & Co. in the northern town of Smithers sees regula- tion and registration impacting his management role. "It is going to make it busier. We have five lawyers and 10 staff. It is another layer of responsibility." — Jean Sorensen R E G I O N A L W R A P Corie Flett

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