Canadian Lawyer

12 M A Y 2 0 1 8 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m S ome important things are chang- ing in Saskatchewan's provincial courts. The Saskatchewan government has appointed two new judges to the pro- vincial bench, Natasha Crooks and Mary McAuley. Both are Métis and McAuley is a fluent Cree speaker. Crooks will sit in Saskatoon, while McAuley will join two other judges in Saskatchewan's most northerly permanent court at La Ronge. Their appointments come just a few months after the acquittal of Saskatch- ewan farmer Gerald Stanley in the shoot- ing of a Cree man, Colten Boushie. At the time, there was widespread criticism that the court, the judge and the jury in Stanley's trial lacked any significant Indig- enous presence. Shortly after Stanley's not-guilty verdict was announced, University of Saskatchewan law professor Glen Luther told the media he hoped "we can use this case as a flashpoint for change." However, Luther does not think the latest appoint- ments are linked directly to the Stanley trial. "It has been clear to the Saskatche- wan government for some time that there has to be more diversity on the Provincial Court," he says. Traditionally, governments do not comment directly on judicial appoint- ments, other than releasing short, lauda- tory news releases. Saskatchewan's justice minister, Don Morgan, seems to be stick- ing to that tight-lipped playbook. Justice spokeswoman Jennifer Graham would only say the normal selection procedure was followed. "Provincial Court of Sas- katchewan appointments are made by the lieutenant governor in council. Applicants for appointment are screened and rated by the Saskatchewan Provincial Judicial Council." As for the courts themselves, they issued a brief release about the appoint- ments. "Judicial applicants are only invit- ed to self-identify, not required to. The court does not believe these are the first Métis appointments, although they may be the first female Métis appointments. The court cannot say for certain." Luther says the appointment of Indig- enous judges "doesn't come as a surprise." He sees it as part of an ongoing develop- ment rather than as "a direct reaction to the Boushie trial." He points out that the province has been encouraging lawyers with diverse backgrounds to apply for judgeships for some time. McAuley grew up in northeast Sas- katchewan. Her first language is Cree and she is one of the few Cree-speaking law- yers in Saskatchewan. During her career, she has been a Crown prosecutor, a Legal Aid lawyer and she later ran her own practice in Prince Albert. Crooks spent most of her legal career working in government. Until her appointment, she was involved with the Parole Board of Canada doing work on Indigenous offenders. — GEOFF ELLWAND W E S T \ 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 B .C. law firms will begin registering with the Law Society of B.C. in May as the LSBC begins regulating law firms as well as lawyers. But the president of the B.C. Legal Management Association says the task of implementing much of the new regulations will fall to BCLMA member man- agers as they work together to find ways to meet the new requirements. "There's no point in every law firm re- inventing the wheel," said BCLMA president Leslie Green. Green, who also works as people and inno- vations manager at DuMoulin Black LLP, said the last LSBC rules her association dealt with were those relating to client identification and verification and her members conducted many meetings to determine how to best comply with those requirements. (Law Society Rules 3-98 to 3-109 require lawyers to follow client identifica- tion and verification procedures when retained by a client to provide legal services.) The BCLMA represents law firms of all sizes, including small firms and sole practitioners, who share management strategies on challenges ranging from technology to regulations affecting law firms. She said the BCLMA met the LSBC in 2017 for an information session. "Mostly, our concern was that firms of different sizes have sufficient time to transition into this," she said, adding it is especially important because smaller firms have limited resources. "The LSBC was cognizant of that concern, though." Green said she has had no feedback from the LSBC since the meeting, but her members were aware that the new changes impacting law firms were com- ing. "Most [members] are supportive of this," she said, adding that administra- tive professionals or lawyers have little control over how a firm operates and think establishing practice guidelines are long overdue. While the bulk of the BCLMA's membership is in the Lower Mainland, it also LSBC BEGINS REGULATING LAW FIRMS Leslie Green Indigenous judges appointed in Sask.

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