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REGIONAL WRAP-UP LEFT BY PREVIOUS CHANGES the shortfalls that have surfaced over the past several years and improve the protection of the public, according to the head of the Law Society of Manitoba. Allan Fineblit says the proposed P roposed legislative changes to Manitoba's Legal Profession Act are expected to address some of He says one addition to the proposed THE PRAIRIES amendments were required after a complete overhaul of the Legal Profession Amendment Act three years ago removed some much-needed detail. "In the course of making the massive changes, it became clear that some of the things that had been done weren't working as well as intended, or they had missed things that were in the old leg- islation that probably should have remained," he says. Proposed changes include amendments to clarify several matters relating to disciplinary proceedings. The legislation would define who has the authority to issue a subpoena, what evidence may be given under oath or by affirmation, and en- sure the names of members permitted to resign as part of a disciplinary process are struck from the rolls of law society. Other provisions would permit the law society or a member to appeal an order of costs, allow the appeal of decisions of a discipline committee, clarify the society's rule-making pow- ers in relation to general bank accounts, and change some of organization's election processes. "If somebody's conduct is found to be un- professional, the provision allowing the member to ap- peal was left in. But if the committee said the member was not guilty of profession- al misconduct, the law soci- ety's ability to appeal was taken out when the act was amended. The law society couldn't appeal a disciplin- ary decision if it felt that was appropriate," says Fineblit. Law Society of Manitoba CEO Allan Fineblit. MOVES AND SHAKES HAS MOVED ONLINE. If you or anyone in your firm has made a move, won recent accolades, or done anything else noteworthy that should be shared with your colleagues across the country, let us know. E-mail your moves and shakes to moves@clbmedia.ca. We'll be updating the website daily, so keep your eyes on www.canadianlawyermag.com to see what your friends and colleagues are up to. www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com JULY 2008 9 ntitled-1 1 6/13/08 9:12:03 AM legislation will help avoid a recent prob- lem in Saskatchewan where the vice president of its law society wasn't re- elected to its board and was therefore prevented from becoming its president. "They had to scramble. They didn't have the person who went through the year of preparation as president. It's a big-time commitment and people have busy lives. It's way better to be able to plan ahead, rather than finding out you've got to be in Toronto next week for some im- portant meetings and you've got a trial scheduled," he says. Fineblit says the proposed change spells out that the vice president of the law society is automatically elected to the board. Saskatchewan has already amended its legislation. — GEOFF KIRBYSON gmkirbyson@shaw.ca PRO BONO: SPANNING THE NATION 2ND NATIONAL PRO BONO CONFERENCE & AWARDS DINNER September 18 & 19, 2008, Vancouver, BC Wosk Centre for Dialogue THE 2ND NATIONAL PRO BONO CONFERENCE will bring together legal practitioners, the judiciary, the voluntary sector, and academia from Canada, the United States, and abroad to share ideas and best practices in pro bono legal services, to forge new partnerships, and to explore challenging issues that still lie ahead for pro bono in Canada. Conference opening speaker: The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C. Chief Justice of Canada For more information and online registration visit: www.probonoconference.ca Early Bird registration prices are available until August 5, 2008 Conference Sponsors Conference Funders NEW LAW TO FILL GAPS