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 U N E 2 0 1 5 13 \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ P R A I R I E S \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP justice," says Salter. "We are bringing the existing justice system into people's living room and building it around the reality of their lives. Many people do not live close to a courthouse and most cannot afford costly legal fees." The role of lawyers has been downplayed in the process, but lawyers don't always play a role in such claims. "We know that 90 per cent of cases that go into small claims court don't have a lawyer," she says, while strata disputes often simmer over long periods and remain unresolved as strata councils cannot afford the $10,000-$15,000 daily cost of taking a case to court. "It is also levelling the playing field," she says, as corporations are often able to hire lawyers while individuals may not. Salter says the system does not preclude individuals from seek- ing the advice of a lawyer before undertaking an action and opens the door to unbundling opportunities for lawyers. Section 20 limits the role of lawyers before the tribunal to representing minors or individuals of impaired capacity, with prior approval of the tribunal. Limiting lawyers' role of lawyers does not sit well with orga- nizations such as the Canadian Bar Association's B.C. branch. President Alex Shorten in a March letter to Attorney General and Justice Minister Suzanne Anton said: "It is not the government's role to dictate whether people can access independent counsel and legal representation when they have a legal problem — that is a decision for individual citizens." Shorten said the CBA-BC wants s. 20 repealed and replaced with a representation subsection that permits a party to be represented by "counsel or an agent" who may make submissions to facts, law, and jurisdiction. Shorten told Canadian Lawyer the CBA-BC has had no success getting the section changed since it was passed in 2012. "The fact that they are bringing in an innovative dispute resolution system is something we are in favour with," he says, especially for strata disputes. "But, they could have done this through the small claims system without a separate tribunal." Salter says B.C. is not the first province to limit the role of law- yers. Quebec's Small Claims Court does not permit lawyers but relies upon self-represented litigants. She says the CRT makes B.C. a leader internationally, however. Other countries such as Great Britain are considering it. — JEAN SORENSEN jean_sorensen@telus.net A disciplinary panel of the Law Society of British Columbia has affirmed that lawyers are responsible for monitoring the practices of their legal staff and will have to pay the price for billing procedures outside accepted standard practices. The panel found Vancouver immigrations lawyer Catherine Sas had com- mitted professional misconduct for billing irregularities that were discovered in trust accounts. Sas, who told the disciplinary hearing billing errors were her staff's fault, has been found guilty of improperly billing clients and misap- propriating money. The funds total less than $5,000 and in some incidents the amount is less than $1. The panel's 52-page decision relates to events in 2011. Sas, who joined national firm Miller Thomson LLP in 2010, went through the process of closing out old accounts and transferring clients from her sole proprietorship Sas Law Corp. to the new firm. During the audit process, the irregularities were noted. The disciplinary panel found it was Sas' duty to put in place a system or procedures that would ensure only disbursements that had been incurred or charges that were authorized by clients were charged to them. "She did not check and confirm what was being billed to clients of the Sas Law Corp. and she serially signed many cheques paying Sas Law Corp. the amounts billed, including disbursements that were not incurred, without ever seeing the bills. This was not a situation involving a random or inadvertent error. Ms. Sas must accept responsibility for actions taken by those persons who were employed to assist her in the practice of law or to provide services ancillary to the practice of law," the panel decided. "Since the decision by the hearing panel in Law Society of BC v. Martin . . . the vast majority of panels have adopted as a test for professional misconduct whether the conduct of the member in question exhibited a 'marked departure' from the standard of conduct the Law Society expects of lawyers," the disciplin- ary decision reads. The disciplinary panel found that conduct that may be a "marked departure" from the conduct expected by the LSBC isn't just limited to the conduct of the lawyer. "It may also include conduct of persons for whom the lawyer is responsible. Similarly, persons who have fiduciary duty cannot avoid that duty by delegating it to an employee or other person," the decision found. No date has been set for a penalty hearing. — JS LAWYERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR BILLING PROCEDURES By combining comprehensive legal content with effi cient ways to search and organize results, WestlawNext Canada gives you confi dence you've found the most relevant documents. That leaves more time to fi nd new business, or better service the clients you already have. Discover more at westlawnextcanada.com 00227MO-A48603 IT'S THE CONFIDENCE YOU NEED TO STOP SEARCHING AND START DOING WHAT'S NEXT.

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