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time staff employed by the law societies and the activities they undertake. In some jurisdictions, where the number of lawyers is quite small, extra challenges arise from the fact running a regulatory system requires a base commitment of resources regardless of the number of lawyers actually regulated. There is an inevitable duplication of effort between the law societies in various areas. These structural features — the reliance on volunteers and limited revenue base relative to the regulatory burden — mean Canada's law societies are necessarily limited in the resources they can employ to respond to new regulatory challenges. The law societies also have only qualified legitimacy. Unlike England, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, Canadian law societies are largely selfregulating. In Ontario there are eight lay benchers, while there are 40 lawyer benchers. Further, those lawyer benchers are elected by a relatively small percentage of their peers. In Ontario in 2007, 34.5 per cent of lawyers voted in the bencher election; in 2011, 37 per cent (15,592 lawyers) did so. While some of those elected benchers may have expertise on the challenges and opportunities in the legal services market they regulate, many will not. Elections are no guarantee of expertise. Rather, they produce accountability and responsiveness to an electorate. But given the benchers are legally required to be accountable and responsive to the public interest, rather than to the legal profession, it is not obvious that elections generate effective or appropriate governance. At the same time, the legal services market presents significantly greater regulatory challenges today than it did 50 years ago. Law firms, and the lawyers who work in them, practise across regulatory jurisdictions, both within Canada and internationally. Canadian law societies that have the power to regulate law firms may be trying to exercise jurisdiction over an organization that, in its international form, is bigger than they are. A law society has the legal power to regulate that law firm, but the practical exercise of regulatory power can be inhibited where the party regulated has de facto power comparable to that of the regulator. Other jurisdictions, such as England, allow lawyers to work within "firms" that are owned by non-lawyers. These business models may have the ability to address access to justice and other challenges to the legal services market. They may allow for greater flexibility in practice structures, and in the variety of legal services available to clients. At the same time, they present regulatory challenges — in ensuring, for example, individual lawyer accountability to clients or to the legal system — that will be difficult for law societies to address absent collective or national action. It is not obvious either what the opportunities or challenges of alternative business structures are within the scope of our current regulatory model. Technological advances have transformed legal practice, and will continue to do so. Indeed, it may one day be possible for Canadian clients to access legal advice and assistance completely online. Technology will improve the availability, variability, and quality of legal services, Access ssAG Guidelines on the Go SpouSal Support in Canada, 2nd Edition ANN WilTON, MacDONAlD AND PArTNerS, llP, AND NOel SeMPle Get quick access to Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG) when you are in court litigating a case, visiting clients or researching. Spousal Support in Canada, 2nd Edition provides you with a portable quick reference on how the courts presently determine spousal support. ordEr # 985482-65203 $104 Softcover approx. 840 pages July 2013 978-0-7798-5482-0 Shippingandhandlingareextra.Pricesubject tochangewithoutnoticeandsubjectto applicabletaxes. The second edition of Spousal Support in Canada reflects the case law developments across Canada over the past year, including discussion of the following decisions: • Brissonv.Brisson (2012, B.C. C.A.) • Droitdelafamille–091889 (2011, S.C.C.) • Edgarv.Edgar (2012, Ont. C.A.) • Hurleyv.Hurley (2012, N.S. C.A.) • L.(R.)v.L.(N.) (2012, N.B. Q.B.) • T.(C.J.)v.T.(G.A.) (2012, Alta. Q.B.) • Vamosv.Vamos (2012, Ont. C.A.) AvAilAble Risk-FRee FoR 30 dAys Order online: www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 42 august 2013 www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m

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