Malcolm Mercer
Anne Rempel
There has been a lot of recent discussion about the complaints process at the Law Society of Ontario (and other law societies). How should law societies regulate and discipline lawyers, and how do they treat complaints from the public or self-reps, compared to complaints brought by other lawyers or the regulator itself? Are lawyers the best placed to discipline other lawyers? In today’s podcast, LSO President Malcolm Mercer debates these and other issues with Anne Rempel, who has written a series of posts on the complaints process for our Access Revolution Blog.
Randi Druzin
Rob Harvie
Next, Rob Harvie, the chair of the NSRLP Board, and Randi Druzin, a former SRL, an A2J advocate, and a member of our Blog steering group, reflect on Malcolm and Anne’s conversation, and explore the fault lines between lawyers and the general public on this issue.
Related links:
Malcolm’s previous Ivory Tower episode, “Is ‘Our Society Your Society’?”
Anne’s Access Revolution blogs:
Is Law Society Self-Regulation Balanced? A Complainant’s Analysis
The Law Society of Ontario Complaints Process and the “Public Interest”
Self-Regulation: Who Watches the Watchers?
Rob and Randi’s SRL-Lawyer Dialogues:
Are SRLs Crazy or Just Fed Up?
In Other News
In other news: the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice has released a new report, “Investing in Justice: A Literature Review in Support of the Case for Improved Access”; the Canadian government has given a one-time grant of $5 million to the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin Access to Justice Fund, which continues to grow through the support of many donors, including the Federation of Law Societies, and some major law firms; the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law has opened the first ever Class Action Clinic, which is meant to help individual class members and members of the public understand their rights and navigate legal proceedings; and finally, in case you missed it, NSRLP recently published our intake report for 2018 and 2019, our ongoing effort to track the trends around self-representation in Canada.
“When Spending $1 Saves $9: Why Spending on Justice Makes Sense” (Canadian Lawyer)
The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin Access to Justice Fund (Vancouver Foundation)
“UWindsor launching first non-profit clinic for class action advice” (Windsor Star)
“Ontario would take a step backward with proposed class action changes, critics say” (Law Times)
“Reporting on SRLs and their Experiences: NSRLP’s Intake Report 2018-2019” (NSRLP)
Jumping Off the Ivory Tower is produced and hosted by Julie Macfarlane and Dayna Cornwall; production and editing by Brauntë Petric; Other News produced and hosted by Ali Tejani; promotion by Moya McAlister and Ali Tejani.
Thank you for this post. I am living proof that “ethically-challenged” is a massive understatement when it comes to describing many of those involved with the legal community in Ontario. (See pfi.rocks/careers)