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 N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6 7 L awyers, their assistants and para- legals across Nova Scotia will soon be able to access the prov- ince's estate management system (known as EMA) from the conven- ience of their office or home computer. The online access is the latest step in the Department of Justice's plans to introduce e-filing. "A full electronic probate registry is the goal," says Bill Clancey, director of court services with the justice depart- ment in Halifax. This latest advance in online access offers the legal community the oppor- tunity to conduct estate searches — for inquiry purposes only at this time — via remote access to the government's estate management system. In addition, notes Clancey, lawyers will be able to view many actual estate documents, including wills, which have been uploaded to the system. At this point, access to the database is restricted to the members of the legal community, who must pay a $100 annual fee to connect. The intent is eventually to allow self-represented litigants and other members of the public to use the data- base. In fact, access to justice is one of the driving forces behind the new online offering, says Clancey. Nova Scotia is one of the few juris- dictions in the country to offer inquiry access, he adds. "We're one of the lead- ing provinces." Others are likely to follow suit. Con- nectivity and remote access are quickly moving from value-added services to must-have features. "That's the way the world is going," says David Fraser, a privacy lawyer with McInnes Cooper in Halifax. At present, the world is only going that way for legal professionals in Nova Scotia who wish to access the gov- ernment's estate management system, and that can be a problem, says Fraser. "People should be able to interact with the government and the legal commun- ity [more] than they can already. I am concerned with closing the door and making it more difficult for lay people to access information." The justice department's EMA sys- tem was developed following a 2011 pilot that involved 11 lawyers and spanned several years. — DONALEE MOULTON REGIONAL WRAP-UP AT L A N T I C \ 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 NS to provide online access to estates system HALIFAX LAWYER IN PITTED BATTLE WITH BARRISTERS' SOCIETY T he ongoing legal drama that is pitting Halifax lawyer Lyle Howe against the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society in particular and the legal system in general continues to unfold. Now, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has declined to step in and quash a disciplinary hearing panel's decision to allow mem- bers of the province's Public Prosecution Service to be subpoenaed to testify. "[T]he court is loathe to intervene at this stage in this interlocutory challenge to the hearing panel's authority," Supreme Court of Nova Scotia Justice James Chipman said in his 12-page decision. The Public Prosecution Service had argued before the NSBS hearing panel that Howe's efforts to subpoena seven of its lawyers constituted nothing more than a fishing expedition, and that for the most part the lawyers had nothing specific to offer by way of evidence. It was a contention neither the hearing panel nor the Supreme Court found had merit. "In all of the circumstances, it is apparent that the PPS application is premature," Justice Chipman found. Most recently, Howe, who is currently suspended from practising law, came forward before the disciplinary hearing with medical testimony that he is suffering from "acute adjustment reaction," a group of psychological symptoms, such as feeling sad or hopeless, and physical symptoms that can occur after a person experiences trauma. Stress is a key factor in the lawyer's condition, his doctor said, and Howe requested an indefinite adjournment. That request was denied. "The panel heard evidence . . . from Mr. Howe and his doctor, as well as the Society, and determined after a balancing of interests that the hearing will proceed as scheduled," said NSBS executive director Darrel Pink. "Mr. Howe and his coun- sel are free to bring back further medical evidence should circumstances change." The hearing investigating Howe — who is charged with professional miscon- duct and professional incompetence — is expected to continue meeting until mid-December. As of the end of the summer, it was estimated that the transcript of proceedings before the hearing panel comprised 5,000 pages. — DM

• Cover