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REGIONAL WRAP-UP ATLANTIC Multiple choice or essay? N.s. lawyers' ethics to be tested Scotia Barristers' Society replaced its old Legal Ethics Handbook and ush- ered in a new Code of Professional Conduct. The legal community is well aware L of the transition. Indeed, it's been more than two years in the making. Now that the new code is reality, law- yers will be expected to demonstrate their comfort level with its contents and its layout. NSBS members across the province are required to complete a mandatory test online by April 30. The test reflects the importance of the topic, says NSBS President Dan Campbell. "The bar society does have an obligation to make sure its mem- bers are competent. When there is a new working tool, we want to be con- fident lawyers are familiar with this." That obligation was not entrenched in the model code developed by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, on which the NSBS based its code. In fact, the Nova Scotia society is the only one in the country to date that requires such testing. It's a move the federation applauds. "It certainly seems like a good idea. The Nova Scotia Barristers' Society is saying this is fundamentally important," says Ronald MacDonald, past president of the FLSC and senior Crown counsel, policy planning and research, with the Nova Scotia Department of Justice. "I would think the public would be glad to hear that," he added. "Lawyers should be proud." There appears to be little need for awyers in Nova Scotia greeted 2012 with a new outlook on ethics. Effective Jan. 1, the Nova test anxiety. The self-assessment is not intended to be lengthy, and most of the content in the new model code should be second nature to lawyers. "This will not change the way lawyers do business," Campbell stresses. "The principles are eternal. The code is a working tool for lawyers; they should refer to it regularly." What is new to lawyers is the look and design as well as some of the language of the Code of Professional Conduct. The 24 chapters of the Legal Ethics Handbook have now been col- lapsed into six. "The new code is laid out differently. It's phrased differ- ently," notes Campbell. He points out that there are also some new requirements — such as how disbursement information is pre- sented on bills — that lawyers will have to be familiar with. Let the testing begin. — DONALEE MOULTON donalee@quantumcommunications.ca Rock 'n' roll and a review of legal services venue in Halifax rang a discordant note with the city's auditor general and made front-page headlines. The scandal, which nearly toppled Mayor Peter Kelly, reverberated throughout the local government. Now in response F inancial shortcuts taken in an effort to draw big-name per- formers to the premier outdoor to a report from the auditor general, the city's in-house legal department is looking for outside expertise to assess its workload and its capacity to review contracts. The latter is particularly significant, says Mary Ellen Donovan, director of legal services and risk management with the Halifax Regional Municipality. 8 JAN UARY 2012 www. CANADIAN Lawyermag.com "Contracts are an area of expertise. We want a contractor who will assess the percentage of time devoted to this." According to the RFP issued by the legal department, the municipality "has identified the need for improved busi- ness practices in the development and management control of contracts and legal work practices."