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 9 O N T A R I O LSO REMOVING PRIVILEGES FROM SOME LIFETIME BENCHERS T he Law Society of Ontario's recent decision to further cull the number of benchers at Convocation means that several longtime members will lose the rights either to speak or vote in the next few months. Former LSO treasurer Vern Krishna, counsel at TaxChambers LLP in Toronto and law professor at the University of Ottawa, says the law society may risk los- ing more than it gains from the changes, which take effect after the upcoming bencher elections on April 30, 2019. "Institutional memory comes into play when something is on the table. You can't just create a binder labelled 'institutional memory' and hand it off — it is a more fluid concept," says Krishna. "The loss of corporate memory is unfortunate because it shifts the balance of power. In a demo- cratic body, you have to balance many interests. An election is only one of those interests." The law society board of benchers is currently composed of several groups: eight provincial government-appointed or "lay" benchers, 20 Toronto lawyers elected by members of the profession, 20 elected law- yers from the rest of Ontario, five elected paralegal benchers and a group of ex-offi- cio and honorary benchers. Changes approved by the law society on Nov. 30 affect ex-officio and honorary benchers. The group of ex-officio and honorary OSGOODE'S PART-TIME PROFESSIONAL LLM DON'T JUST PRACTICE LAW. MASTER IT. For the lawyer who wants to dig deeper and truly excel in what they do, the commitment goes beyond billable hours. Immerse yourself in a rich learning environment that puts you with highly engaged and inspiring peers who are as passionate about what they do as you are. Choose from 6 specializations: · Administrative Law · Business Law · Constitutional Law · Dispute Resolution · Energy & Infrastructure Law · Tax Law Canada's leading Professional LLM for lawyers, executives and experienced professionals Learn more about your options at osgoodepd.ca/cdnlawyer Outside Toronto? Most specializations can be completed remotely. Melanie Toolsie, LLB, LLM Legal Counsel, Department of Justice, Canada ntitled-3 1 2018-12-12 2:40 PM R E G I O N A L W R A P sam. "Police officers are there to apply the laws; it's their job. Our job is to find justice and proper punishment that fits the infrac- tion and the person's situation." In addition to providing legal services to help people fight traffic tickets, Rassam is also working on several public service initiatives aimed at helping people avoid driving infractions in the first place. Those actions include a road safety blog on the SOS Ticket website and a new Face- book page — dubbed "SOS Ticket Spot- ted" — where the public can post photos of people driving imprudently. Rassam is also putting together a teach- ing module on Quebec road safety laws and infractions that his company's lawyers can present pro bono to universities, colleges or any other organization that is interested in raising public awareness, especially among young adults, about the risks and punish- ments of dangerous driving and the benefits and rewards of safe driving. "As lawyers, we're professionals who are trained and experienced in this field," says Rassam. "Sharing that knowledge publicly is what we're supposed to do. It's no differ- ent than doctors transmitting messages on public health." — Mark Cardwell Continued on page 10

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