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 A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 21 her husband, a lawyer, joined the firm. This past summer saw the addition of another two lawyers. Mathers' efforts, and her success in developing a plan with which she is comfortable, is not necessarily the norm in a profession where very few people offi- cially retire. And that can be a huge risk to the families of lawyers if something happens to them, says Diana Miles, execu- tive director, organizational strategy and professional competence for the Law Soci- ety of Upper Canada. "Right now, we're seeing a significant greying of the bar. . . . And we're seeing a lot of our members pushing the 60- to 65-year age group. The baby boomers are getting up there, of course," she says. "They're not leaving, they're sticking around, but they really don't have plans." About 52 per cent of Ontario's lawyers work in solo or small firms, so the absence of a plan would likely mean there isn't nec- essarily much, if anything at all, in place in the event of the lawyer's demise. In an aver- age year, the LSUC's trustee services deals with between 60 and 70 situations involving practices where there are incomplete, unclear or no plans. And the clients are left scampering. The Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador points out that when a custodian is appointed to take possession, its focus is the protection of clients' interest, not on maximizing value for the lawyer's estate. Daren Baxter, president of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society, says a notable trend, combined with a shift appearing in the province's bar, warrants some attention. Just before Christmas last year, a task force was assembled to focus on succession plan- ning and what the law society can do to encourage more lawyers to put some sort of a plan in place. The concern stems from statistics generated from questions Nova Scotia lawyers answer in their annual reporting to the law society. "We've done it for enough years that we can start to see trends," says Baxter. "So we can get a pulse of what the profession looks like." And what it looks like, as in much of the rest of the country, is older, particularly the small firms and solo practices. And lawyers are working longer. That is complicated by the fact that many of the smaller communities are serviced by these small firms and sole practitioners. Combine that with another trend — younger and new lawyers coming on stream tend to establish their practices in larger communities — and a real access to justice issue clearly begins to emerge if something were to sud- denly happen to the lawyer practising on her own. "That would really impede access to services if the lawyer leaves," says Baxter. "When you're dealing with a small firm or a solo in a small com- munity, that could be catastrophic." That annual questionnaire revealed that 20 per cent of those practising on their own or in small firms have no succession plan. That means if something happens to those who are practising in one of Nova Scotia's many small communities, the people who live there suddenly have no one to represent them. That has happened, leaving the law society to deal with all the files, some going back 50 years. "We're also trying to get our heads around what are the issues and how do we help," says Baxter. The goal of the task force is to determine the issues, examine the demographics and decide how to deal with them and what initiatives the law society can implement. One of the options is to match a lawyer or small firm with another, at least to cover for unexpected occurrences. Perhaps law- yers could use supports to transition into retirement, Baxter suggests. There is also some concern about how some medium-sized and larger firms are dealing with the issue of succession. Legal analyst Jordan Furlong, principal at Law21 in Ottawa, sees the issue of succession breaking down into two parts: planning and management. The plan is put into place prior to the departure of a partner or change in the structure. In managing for that change, Furlong says it's important to include the client. A lawyer's departure can be abrupt. If one is appointed as Starting an exit strategy • Choose a replacement lawyer and an alternate replacement lawyer; • Discuss your plans with them; • Ensure the designate can access your trust/general accounts; • Grant a power of attorney for the replacement to take control of your law practice; • Name the estate trustee for the law practice in your will; • Ensure that there are sufficient funds available to designate to office overhead and expenses. From the LSUC Contingency Planning Guide www.lsuc.on.ca/ContingencyPlanningGuideLawyer © 2016 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00239YV-A73145-NK Order # 987099-65203 $180 2 volume softcover + CD-ROM approx. 2000 pages (Volume 1) approx. 540 pages (Volume 2) August 2016 978-0-7798-7099-8 1 additional annotated supplement $20-$30 per supplement Annual volumes supplied on standing order subscription Practice Advisor available upon request on standing order subscription Multiple copy discounts available Shipping and handling are extra. Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. New in this edition • Amendments to Alberta Rules of Court, A. R. • 390/68, and to Surrogate Rules, A. R. 130/95 • Updated Civil Rules Concordance, Practice Notes, Notices to the Profession, Practice Directions and Practice Directives • Updated commentary and case law, including: Lymer v. Jonsson • Simbajon v. Leduc • Klein v. Wolbeck • Stringer v. Empire Life Insurance Co. • G.(D.) v. Canada (Correctional Service) • RVB Managements Ltd. v. Rocky Mountain House (Town) • Scott v. Glazebrook • Anand v. Anand • Shulte v. Alberta (Appeals Commission for Workers' Compensation Board); Attila Dogan Construction and Installation Co. v. AMEC Americas Ltd. • Clark v. Institute of Chartered Accounts of Alberta • R. v. Vallentgoed New Edition Alberta Rules of Court Annotated 2017 The Honourable Judge Allan A. Fradsham Available Risk-Free for 30 Days Order online: www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800

• Cover