council meeting agenda via videoconference · scott campbell, court of appeal liaison committee...

COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE

Date Friday, May 22, 2020

Time 9:00 a.m.

Chair Carrie Ricker, President

ITEM TOPIC TIME ALLOTTED

SPEAKER MATERIALS (Pg #)

ACTION

1. INTRODUCTORY MATTERS/CALL TO ORDER

1.1 Introductory Remarks 10 C. Ricker 2. DISCUSSION OF BIG ISSUE

2.1

Review of Activity Plan and Strategic Goals and Objectives

Council will review progress on the past year’s activity plan

60 C. Ricker 3 Discussion

3. POLICIES/PROCESSES

3.1

Council Task Force Update

Council will recieve an update on the formation of a task force to review options for members experiencing hardship due to COVID-19

30 M. Petrunia, J. Rossiter

25 Update

3.2

Format of AGM and June Council meeting

Council receives a brief update on the status of the annual meetings normally held in June at the Schulich School of Law

5 T. Pillay Update

3.3

Annual Lawyer Report

Council will review and approve changes to this year’s Annual Lawyer Report Questionnaire

20 K. Shewan 27 Discussion and approval

3.4

Subsidy of articled clerks enrolled in PREP without articles

Council will review a memo from the Credentials Committee describing a decision regarding this subsidy

20 C. Ricker 51 Discussion

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https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84164617305

2 Version 1 Updated August 28, 2019

4. IN CAMERA

5. APPROVALS

5.1 PREP-related regulations for approval 15 T. Pillay J. Mullenger

55 Approval

6. CONSENT AGENDA The Consent Agenda matters are proposed to be dealt with by unanimous consent and without debate. Council members may seek clarification or ask questions without removing a matter from the consent agenda. Any Member may request that a consent agenda item be moved to the regular agenda by notifying the President or the Governance Officer (Jane Willwerth) prior to the meeting.

6.1 Minutes of April 24, 2020 Meeting 77 Approval

6.2 Public Representative Appointment 81 Approval

6.3 Revised Council Policies 86 Approval

6.4 Council Policy 19 128 Approval

6.5 Governance Committee Workplan 133 Approval

6.6

Appointments: Scott Campbell, Court of Appeal Liaison Committee

Approval

6.7

Resignations: Paula Margaret Anderson, Vikaas Bansal, Mr. Terrence Raeburn Owen Robert Cooper, QC, Balraj Kaur Dosanjh, Amanda Lee Fricker, Raymond Glennie, Michael Patrick Keliher, Erinn Gerard Moore; Mary Lynn Carmichael

Approval

7. FOR INFORMATION

7.1 2019-2020 Council Calendar 136 Information

7.2 2019-2020 Engagement Calendar 138 Information

7.3 Executive Director’s Report 139 Information

7.4 President’s Report 141 Information

7.5 Education & Credentials Monitoring Report

143 Information

8. WRAP UP

9. The 2 Minute Evaluation Council members are asked to complete the evaluation

10. MEETINGS

June 13, 2020 (Annual Meeting), at 8:30 a.m.

July 24, 2020, at 9:00 a.m.

September 25, 2020, at 9:00 a.m.

November 27, 2020, at 9:00 a.m.

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MEMORANDUM

From: Carrie Ricker, President

To: Council

Date: May 15, 2020

Subject: 2019-2020 Activity Plan review

For: Approval Introduction Information X

Introduction

This memo is provided to assist Council members as they consider two specific questions during the May meeting:

In light of Covid-19, how should any future/outstanding outcomes, indicators or tasks be modified?

What are three (3) priority outcomes/tasks that should be addressed by Council during the 2020-2021 Council year?

This memo presents an overview of key strategic activity groupings undertaken by Council this year in response to the Strategic Goals and Objectives. Abbreviated and ongoing work is identified for a number of the listed activity groupings, including some anticipated activities that did not occur or were modified due to COVID-19 priorities and restrictions.

This is not exhaustive list of the activities undertaken by Council in relation to the Activity Plan this year. Council members are advised to review the Activity Plan in greater detail to consider the specific planned outcomes, indicators and tasks in relation to each of the Strategic Goals and Objectives planned for 2019-2020.

This memo does not address foundational activities undertaken by Council this year in relation to its key organization oversight functions. These include financial management, evaluation of the Executive Director, governance, lawyer credentialing, regulatory updates and organizational risk management. It also does not address the Society’s staff and management activities, except to the extent that those activities directly supported Council’s own strategic activities.

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As has been noted previously, there is overlap between the activities as they support multiple goals and objectives. In this memo, activities may be discussed under a different goal than they appear in the Activity Plan.

Strategic Goal #1 – The Society regulates the legal profession in the public interest in a proactive, principled and proportionate manner

1. MSELP and Legal Services Support

Council Activities – Council received updates from the Legal Services Support team as it continued its MSELP rollout. Members of Council provided the LSS team with feedback they have received from members about the new approach. Impact – The LSS team is on track to complete its goal of administering the assessment to 1/3 of all firms by year-end. A much more detailed update about the impact of this work is provided in the Education and Credentials Monitoring Report included in today’s meeting package. Abbreviated and ongoing work – As noted in the E&C Monitoring Report, COVID-19 has shifted much of the LSS team’s focus to supporting members through the pandemic’s wide-ranging impacts while continuing their regular work regarding MSELP, new firm registration, succession planning and practice advice.

2. Multidisciplinary Practices (MDPs)

Council Activities – Council received updates from the Code of Professional Conduct Committee about their research and member consultation regarding a possible regulatory change to allow MDPs in Nova Scotia. Members of Executive have raised the issue of MDPs with law firms at their meetings. The CPCC provided Council with a recommendation to approve regulation of MDPs Abbreviated and ongoing work – Emergency decisions required of Council at its March meeting caused this matter to be deferred to a future meeting.

3. PREP

Council Activities – Council received regular updates from the Credentials Committee and Society staff about the research and firm consultation work regarding a proposed shift from the current bar admission program to the new PREP course. Council approved a recommendation from the Credentials Committee to adopt the PREP course and approved a funding strategy. Dr. Kara Mitchelmore, CEO of CPLED, met with Council to provide more details about the PREP course and answer questions. In light of COVID-19, Council is amending regulations to allow students to begin the course without having begun articles.

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Impact – The approval of the PREP course has taken on new relevance in light of COVID-19. Our shift to an online mode of education delivery, and the elimination of the Bar Examination, saves staff and clerks alike the struggle of trying to move the old skills course and exam to a format consistent with current health directives. Allowing clerks to begin the course before having articles will help ensure the time they may have to spend “in limbo” during the pandemic is not spent idle. Abbreviated and ongoing work – The in-person portion of the PREP course will have to be re-worked in light of COVID-19, and Council will continue to receive updates regarding the status of the PREP subsidy discussion at the Credentials Committee.

4. Member Engagement

Council Activities – Council reviewed and approved a strategy for member and community engagement. The Executive, along with members of Society staff, had several meetings with CBA-NS Executive, County Bars and law firms. Council received updates on the new website and was given opportunities to provide feedback. Impact – The engagement work done with the membership over the past year has helped demonstrate to members and firms that the Society is available to them for questions or advice, regularly seeks feedback, and is putting its “Triple-P” approach into practice. Abbreviated and ongoing work – Council will have to consider what member engagement looks like during COVID-19. A review of the engagement strategy is likely required. Many of the plans we made during our original strategic planning session may have to be revised as large in-person meetings, receptions, workshops and other events are unlikely to resume in the next year.

5. Use of technology

Council Activities – Council reviewed and approved the Federation of Law Societies of Canada’s technology standard. Council discussed with the Law Office Management Standards Committee Chair that Committee’s planned work for updating the Society’s technology standards generally. Impact – The standard will hopefully provide lawyers and firms with valuable guidance as they transition to practicing virtually during COVID-19. The Society staff continues to provide education and support to members in the use of technology. Abbreviated and ongoing work – This work has accelerated rather than abbreviated, though its focus has shifted from the FLSC technology standard to seeing Society staff providing direct assistance to members as they move to practice virtually. We anticipate that this work will continue apace throughout the next year.

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Strategic Goal #2 – More Nova Scotians will have access to ethical and competent legal services.

1. Succession Planning and Business Continuity

Council Activities – Council reviewed the Success Planning Toolkit. It was rolled out to the membership and addressed by Executive and Society staff in discussions with county bars, solo and small firms, and in individual law firm meetings. An updated Law Office Management Standard in relation to Succession Planning is being sent to the membership for consultation. Council will consider amendments to the Annual Lawyer Report addressing succession planning and business continuity at the May meeting. Impact – LSS continues to support firms in the development of succession and business continuity plans. A focus of the Society and LSS response in light of Covid-19 has been to provide advice to members and firms on best practices in regards to business continuity. Abbreviated and ongoing work – Consideration of business continuity and succession planning in light of the pandemic may be a consideration going forward, as well as supporting the use of technology (see also Strategic Goal #1).

2. Support for Solo and Small Rural Firms and Opportunities

Council Activities – Council agreed to create a Solo and Small Firm Committee. Jillian Barrington has agreed to chair the Committee and David Hirtle to sit as a member. A general call was sent to the membership for interest in the Committee. The President, along with staff from LSS and the Equity and Access office, attended multiple county bar meetings and feedback from those meetings was shared with Council through the President’s Reports as well as the reports from LSS and the Equity and Access Office. Impact – The roll-out and education on the succession planning and equity lens toolkits continued. Through county bar meetings, the Society website, the LIANS/NSBS solo and small firm conference, and other methods including the MSELP roll-out, solo and small firms received information about services and practice resources available from NSBS. Abbreviated and ongoing work – Follow-up messaging for the County Bar chairs about Council activities was scheduled to be sent at the end of March, but was delayed to prioritize COVID-19 related communications. Recruitment to the Committee was interrupted by the pandemic. One outstanding county bar meeting has been postponed due to travel and social distancing restrictions (Cape Breton). Once appointed, the Committee would prepare a work plan for presentation to Council.

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3. Review and Information Gathering re: Access to Legal Services Issues

Council Activities – Council conducted one meeting in the community in November in collaboration with reachAbility. Council received a report at its January meeting from the Equity and Access Office which included memos of the information and feedback collected at the previous three Council-in-the-Community meetings. Executive members participated in discussions with various stakeholders (i.e. the Minister of Justice, Legal Aid, communities and Society members) in relation to legal services access issues including Mi’kmaq children’s welfare, Legal Aid resourcing, and court access. Concerns regarding court access during Covid-19 have been addressed to the courts and shared with the Court Liaison Committees. Impact - Information obtained from community meetings and discussions has been shared with Council and used to inform Society activities. Abbreviated and ongoing work – A discussion with the Deputy Minister of the Department of Justice was scheduled for the March Council meeting and was delayed due to COVID-19. Planned meetings with Executive and representatives of the judiciary were also delayed. A plan for further activities by Council to assist with identified access to legal services issues, including consideration of socio-economic barriers and barriers faced by equity-seeking communities, as well as identification of key areas which are underserviced, remains to be developed. Consideration of these issues in light of COVID-19 may also be required.

Strategic Goal #3 – Nova Scotians will be served by a legal profession that is diverse, inclusive and culturally proficient.

1. Implementation of Equity Lens Toolkit

Council Activities – Council reviewed the Equity Lens Toolkit. The Toolkit was rolled out to the membership and addressed by Executive and Society staff in discussions with county bars, solo and small firms, and in individual law firm meetings. An education session was held in December and was attended by several Council members and committee members. Impact – The toolkit is available to all members and provides a foundation for applying an equity lens throughout the work of the Society and the larger profession. The Equity and Access Office continues to provide education and support to the Society and its members in implementing the Equity Lens Toolkit as detailed in the Equity and Access Office monitoring reports presented at Council meetings throughout the year. Society officers met with REC and GEC in March to discuss changes to the draft equity consultation policy and recommendations to revise the policy to include references to the equity lens toolkit are being incorporated and sent back to REC and GEC for consideration. Abbreviated and ongoing work – A planned additional education session designed specifically for Council and Committee members was postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis. Additional county bar and law firm meetings are postponed until post-pandemic. Adoption of the new equity consultation policy is still pending once an updated draft is reviewed by REC and GEC. As part of the draft policy updates discussed with REC and GEC, consideration is being given as well to amendments to Council Policy 16 to include committee expectations to understand and apply an equity lens to all Society work.

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2. Support the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Working Group in responding to the TRC Calls to Action and MMIWG Inquiry Calls to Justice

Council Activities – Council continued to support and receive regular updates from the Truth and Reconciliation Working Group (“TRCWG”) throughout the Council year. A work plan and continuing budget for the TRCWG were approved. Two education sessions, one in relation to treaty education and the other with respect to the history of residential schools, were held with a number of council members and committee volunteers attending. Society officers participated in several Indigenous community meetings and the 2nd Vice-President helped to facilitate the re-establishment of the Eastern Door Indigenous lawyers group. Impact – TRCWG conducted a survey of the membership to obtain baseline information regarding the knowledge and educational needs of members in relation to the TRC Calls to Action and Indigenous law and issues. Based on the survey information, TRCWG continues to establish plans for member education, deliver educational sessions and complete the tasks on its work plan. Abbreviated and ongoing work – A third planned education session was postponed due to COVID-19 crisis as was an anticipated Council-in-the-Community meeting facilitated by the TRCWG.

3. Engagement with Equity-Seeking Communities and Organizations

Council Activities – Council conducted one meeting in the community in November in collaboration with reachAbility. Council adopted an engagement strategy. Executive and Council members attended community engagement activities including the Indigenous Black & Mi’kmaq Initiative Reception, the Society and CBA’s joint Pride Reception and Pride Parade participation activities, as well as the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers Annual Conference and Gala dinner. Council received a report at its January meeting from the Equity and Access Office regarding its ongoing engagement efforts with equity-seeking communities and partner organizations. The report included the memos of information and feedback collected at the previous three Council-in-the-Community meetings. Impact – The Society has continued to engage with equity-seeking communities, primarily through the Equity and Access Office. Information obtained from community meetings and engagement activities has been shared with Council and continues to inform Equity and Access Office activities. Abbreviated and ongoing work – The GEC and REC receptions and events planned for April and June are delayed due to COVID-19. A discussion of the purpose, structure and resourcing of future council meetings in communities was to be held at the March Council meeting. A memo outlining the background and questions for consideration by Council was provided with the March meeting materials, but no discussion occurred as the meeting was done via teleconference. Council’s overall engagement strategy has been significantly impact by COVID-19 and a re-launch of the strategy with innovations in light of the current pandemic will likely be required.

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4. Establishing requirements and accountabilities for members to deliver culturally proficient legal services

Council Activities – This work has been initiated by the Equity and Access Office, who will be consulting with the TRCWG, REC and GEC moving forward on a process to make recommendations to Council for achieving this strategic objective. The process being followed by the Equity and Access Office includes researching cultural competence in legal practice, doing a jurisdictional scan, examining the Society’s legislative authorities, and presenting options to Council as well as recommendations for required resources and further consultations. Following Council’s future directions and based on additional consultations, the Equity and Access Office will then make a final report to Council for its consideration. Changes to the ALR to collect information regarding cultural proficiency will be before Council at its May meeting. Council received reports and approved workplans, including plans with respect to review and updates in relation to cultural competency, from the Standards Committees at its January meeting. Review of the current Code of Conduct in regards to cultural competency was also referred to the Code of Professional Conduct Committee. Council was provided an education session with Robert Wright regarding cultural humility, competency and proficiency, including the always ongoing nature of the need for education and development in areas of cultural understanding. Impact – This work is anticipated to have significant impact moving forward, but was in the early stages for this Council year. Abbreviated and Ongoing work – An in-person discussion of the Equity and Access Office’s current development plans was to be held at the March Council meeting, but the meeting was held via teleconference so only the memo was presented in the materials. Despite COVID-19, work by the Equity and Access Office on these objectives continues.

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NOVA SCOTIA BARRISTERS’ SOCIETY

2019-2020 ACTIVITY PLAN

STRATEGIC GOAL #1: The Society regulates the legal profession in the public interest in a proactive, principled and proportionate manner

OBJECTIVE: Support members at every stage of their careers

2019-2020 outcomes Indicators Important dates Council tasks

Complete MSELP rollout to full implementation of the 3-year cycle

All firms are on a three-year cycle 1st “batch” firms have a “Confidential Planner” MSELP regularly updated to reflect user feedback MSELP workbook and links to resources are available to all members

January 2020: Update to Council July 2019: First “batch” of firms complete process

Monitor progress through Executive Director’s updates Ensure regular receipt of reports

Council uses data, stories and insights from LSS work in its decision-making

Membership has access to and is using LSS team Process for measuring usage is established

January 2020: LSS update for Council

Monitor progress through Executive Director’s updates Review LSS data and anecdotes and apply to decisions at Council

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Council reviews and considers data and anecdotes from LSS team in relation to its activities Council regularly shares data and anecdotes with the membership and the public, and promotes use of LSS resources

Clarify measurement tools to be used for success of LSS work Council begins to implement engagement strategy

Explore ways to support members in their use of technology

Technology competency standard created following approval to changes in the FLSC Model Code

January 2020: LOMC attending council; Report from CPCC re: technology competence standard

Getting updates from LOMSC and ED Consider and approve after applying various lenses

OBJECTIVE: Identify and remove regulatory barriers to support innovation in the delivery of legal services


Empower Council to make decisions about regulatory risk

Report describing risk work delivered to council Council demonstrates comfort with incorporating risk into its discussions

March 2020: Report delivered

Have conversations about risk at Council Use a risk lens in Council decisions Discuss how to promote the incorporation of risk into committee decisions next year

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Explore, and where appropriate, support the viability of innovative models of legal services delivery, including multidisciplinary practices (MDPs)

Code of Professional Conduct Committee and Professional Responsibility Polices & Procedures Committee deliver recommendations to Council Council decides whether to adopt rules permitting MDPs and if so, adopts regulatory changes

September 2019: Report on additional research and consultation with stakeholders March 2020: Recommendations to Council from CPCC; decision

Ensure CPCC and PRPPC deliver recommendations Decide whether to adopt recommendations following discussion using triple-P, risk and equity lenses

Assess the feasibility of an “innovation sandbox” model for use in Nova Scotia

Council gives staff and relevant committees clear direction on this issue for next year’s work plans.

TBD: education session

Discuss feasibility of “innovation sandboxes” using triple-P, risk, and equity lenses

OBJECTIVE: Review and replace the Bar admission course


Determine future role of CPLED at the Society

Council adopts a policy about CPLED’s role in the provision of the Skills Course

September 2019: Policy decision discussion

Adopt policy following triple-P, risk, and equity lens analysis.

Council determines future funding model for Skills Course

Council adopts funding model following recommendation from the CPLED Subcommittee

January 2020: Funding model decision

Create CPLED Subcommittee

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Adopt funding model following triple-P, risk, and equity lens analysis

OBJECTIVE: Investigate and implement, if appropriate, differential membership fee models


Council assesses the feasibility of a differential fee model for use in Nova Scotia

Council receives a report from the Finance Committee that provides a risk assessment regarding options

September 2020: decision

Ensure Finance Committee delivers report Determine next steps following application of triple-P, risk, and equity lenses

OBJECTIVE: Communicate and engage with members


Council and the Society establish ongoing presence in Nova Scotia’s various legal communities

Society launches new website Council meetings in community expand the Society’s contacts among lawyers in those communities

December 2019: website launch

Council members attend legal community and public events, in their capacity as Council members Council members report on activities done in between meetings

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Council members learn about concerns among their constituents through meetings or events When appropriate, Council members use key messaging to provide information about Council priorities and Triple-P approach including its use in practice

January 2020 presented to

Council for review

Council adopts and acts on engagement strategy; Council identifies key information and training it requires to execute engagement plan

Assess current mentorship programs supported by the Society, and explore new models

Council and staff can identify what a “triple-P” mentorship model would look like

TBD TBD

Research and develop a new mentorship approach that is “Triple-P”

Council understands spectrum of mentorship “options” and has ideas for how the Society can support existing systems that are working

TBD Council assigns this task to relevant committee(s)

See also:

Provide guidance and advice on having appropriate succession planning in place (Strategic goal #2)

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STRATEGIC GOAL #2: More Nova Scotians will have access to ethical and competent legal services

OBJECTIVE: Promote access to legal services


Council improves their understanding of how to support sole practitioners and small firms

Council establishes a committee that is dedicated to the support of sole practitioners and small firms in rural communities

January 2020: decision; direction to committee

Establish committee and define its scope of work Approve committee work plan Look for opportunities to support articling activities in rural and small communities

Identify and provide supports to address the challenges and needs of rural members

TBD

Provide guidance and advice on having appropriate succession planning in place

Relevant resources, templates and education are in place to assist lawyers in creating and implanting succession plans Law Office Management Standards Committee creates Checklists and guidelines for file retention and destruction and distributes to the membership

May 2020: Updates from LSS, LOMSC November 2019

Ensure deliverables by ED and LOMSC are received by Council Council receives education and key messaging on succession planning tools to share and promote with members

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Updates made to Annual Lawyer Report to identify and confirm successor lawyers

Review information related to socio-economic barriers to access to legal services

Council will review information related to socio-economic barriers to accessing legal services collected during strategic planning consultations and council in community sessions, as well as other relevant materials, to consider next steps in addressing barriers for Council year 2020-2021

May 2020

Review materials and consider next steps Identify and define “underserviced areas” requiring focused action

Review information provided by equity seeking groups on their struggles to access competent legal services

Council will review the information gathered at the Council in the community sessions and develop a plan to address the issues raised, especially as it relates to ensuring equity seeking groups are able to access lawyers properly trained and aware of the issues facing such equity groups

May 2020

Review information and develop work plan to address points raised by community members

Review the Nova Scotia

Code of Professional

Conduct

Review code of conduct requirements in

relation to competence to determine if

changes are recommended in relation to

lawyer’s obligation to be culturally competent

January 2020

Council to ask CPCC to add

this work to its work plan for

2020 with an update to Council

in the next council year

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See also:

Provide guidance and advice on having appropriate succession planning in place (Strategic goal #1)

Assess current mentorship programs supported by the Society, and explore new models (Strategic goal

#1)

STRATEGIC GOAL #3: Nova Scotians will be served by a legal profession that is diverse, inclusive and culturally proficient

OBJECTIVE: Promotion of Substantive Equality and Freedom from Discrimination in Delivery of Legal Services and the Justice System


All Council members and Committee Chairs are educated on equity issues

Equity lens tool, when complete, is in regular use by Council members Equity lens tool kit training is undertaken by all Council Members and Committee chairs Council committee training includes consideration of equity issues

Ongoing June 2020

Council should determine what additional training and/or education is required for Council and Committee Chairs

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Standards reviewed for appropriate references to lawyer cultural competence in the delivery of legal services

Council receives updates from all relevant standards committees on this matter

Ongoing

Flag issues for standards committees as they arise Ensure standards committees deliver reviews Adopt new equity consultation policy Council approves a current definition of “Equity Seeking Communities”

OBJECTIVE: Promotion of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession


Council continues to develop and leverage its education, experiences and networks to promote equity, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession

Council members regularly share successes and challenges they have had in this area Council members share news about educational opportunities Council meetings in community expand the Society’s contacts among attendees from in those communities

Ongoing

Take opportunities to speak with the membership about the discussions happening at Council, and the tools and supports the Society provides Come to meetings prepared to report on these discussions Bring to Council’s attention issues or concerns raised by the membership during these discussions

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OBJECTIVE: Implementing meaningful responses to the TRC Calls to Action and MMIWG inquiry call to justice 10


Council supports the TRC Working Group

Council and committees demonstrate familiarity with the work of the TRC working group, and what Council’s role is in supporting and promoting its work

September 2019: TRC Working Group update Ongoing

Determine the types of support the working group needs from Council, and provide as needed Promote the work of the working group among the membership and encourage qualified members to get involved

Council enhances its knowledge of Indigenous issues and the legal system

Council members demonstrate familiarity with the history of colonization, the legacy of residential schools, and Nova Scotia’s treaty environment Improved Council attendance at education sessions

October 24: TRC Working Group education session February: education session April: education session

Every Council member makes effort to attend education sessions Apply knowledge to discussions at Council as appropriate

Ensuring provision of education plan as recommended by TRCWG

Multiple sessions available to council/committees/membership Education sessions add to knowledge/understanding of cultural humility

TBD Attend and promote education sessions among the membership

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and justice issues as identified in calls to action/justice

OBJECTIVE: Develop mechanisms to hold members accountable for the delivery of culturally proficient legal services


Develop a plan to establish practice guidance and minimum requirements for cultural competence

Council will establish a plan to obtain necessary research and recommendations to move forward with decision making to establish guidance and requirements for the cultural competence of lawyers

March 2020 Council to consider the establishment of a sub-committee or other process for developing recommendations regarding cultural competency requirements Council to consult with REC and TRC

Society collects and reviews information about current cultural competency training for lawyers

Council considers amending the Annual Lawyer Report to ask lawyers if they have included cultural competency training as part of their required CPD plan. Council reviews available information about current cultural competency training awareness, attendance and needs.

May 2020 Council will review recommendations for amendment to ALR questions.

Council will review information related to attendance at Society cultural competency training sessions

Council will review information from TRCWG survey relating to cultural competency training.

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OBJECTIVE: Addressing barriers to entry to the legal profession


Facilitate and encouraging partnerships between equity seeking groups and community organizations to educate and encourage entry into the legal profession

Community Organizations are engaged in this initiative

June 2020

Council will identify community organizations that could be leveraged to promote this initiative

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NOVA SCOTIA BARRISTERS’ SOCIETY

STRATEGIC GOALS and OBJECTIVES

2019 - 2022

August 12, 2019

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PURPOSE

The purpose of the Society is to uphold and protect the public interest in the practise of law. MISSION Our mission is to regulate the legal profession in the public interest in a manner that is proactive, inclusive and supportive so our members deliver competent and ethical legal services. VALUES The core values that guide how we approach our purpose and our work are:

• Excellence • Fairness • Respect • Integrity • Diversity and Inclusion • Accountability • Visionary leadership • Transparency

VISION Acting in the public interest, the Society is the trusted and respected regulator of the legal profession. We provide leadership, value and support to a competent, ethical, diverse and engaged legal profession. We work with the legal profession to enhance access to legal services and to uphold the rule of law. STRATEGIC GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Goal #1: The Society regulates the legal profession in the public interest in a proactive, principled and proportionate manner. We will:

• Support members at every stage of their careers; • Communicate and engage with members; • Develop and maintain a mentorship initiative; • Support members in delivering competent and ethical legal services; • Facilitate education and provide resources and support to members to be

culturally competent in the delivery of legal services; • Facilitate education and provide resources and support to members in becoming

more proficient in using technology; • Investigate and implement, if appropriate, differential membership fee models; • Review and assess the viability of paralegal regulation in Nova Scotia;

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• Identify and remove regulatory barriers to support innovation in the delivery of legal services;

• Explore, and where appropriate, support the viability of innovative models of legal services delivery (e.g. MDPs, “sand boxes”);

• Review and replace the current Bar Admission course.

Goal #2: More Nova Scotians will have access to ethical and competent legal services. We will:

• Identify and provide supports to address the challenges and needs of rural members;

• Provide guidance and advice on having appropriate succession planning in place; • Facilitate the placement of articling and summer students in underserviced areas

of the Province • Establish a Council committee that is dedicated to the support of sole practitioners

and small firms; • Facilitate and support the provision of pro bono services by addressing regulatory

barriers; • Advocate, where appropriate, for funding or services that will address gaps in

access to legal services;

Goal #3: Nova Scotians will be served by a legal profession that is diverse, inclusive and culturally competent. We will:

• Continue to develop cultural humility, awareness and understanding of issues and barriers in the justice system affecting equity-seeking groups;

• Develop mechanisms to hold members accountable for the delivery of culturally competent legal services

• Continue to implement meaningful responses to the TRC Calls for Action and MMWIG Calls to Justice;

• Honouring the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall Jr. Prosecution, the Society will pay particular attention to the needs of Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotians throughout all of its work;

• Facilitate and encourage entry into the legal profession of members from diverse and equity-seeking groups by partnering with community organizations to educate community members about the role of the lawyer and the role of the regulator;

• Identify and address barriers that affect the retention and advancement of members from diverse and equity-seeking groups in the profession;

• Continue the integration of the equity and inclusion lens through all Society, Council and committee decision making and policies.

* “Equity-seeking groups” include women, Aboriginal peoples, racialized peoples, persons with disabilities and persons seeking equality on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. [Council Policy #2]

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MEMORANDUM

FROM: Council Task Force on COVID-19

Melanie Petrunia (Chair), Jim Rossiter, Josie McKinney, Michelle Kelly, Rod

Wilson and Andy Nicholson

TO: Council

DATE: May 19, 2020

RE: Update

Background

Following the Council meeting of April 24, 2020, a small Task Force was struck to review what

options are available to the NSBS to assist members experiencing hardship due to COVID-19.

The Task Force is comprised of members of council and includes representation from the two

equity committees, the finance committee, executive and a public representative.

Summary of Discussion

The task force met on May 14, 2020. We had received feedback from members of the Racial

Equity Committee, summarized in a memo by Josie McKinney and a memo from Tilly Pillay

reviewing the relevant legislation and regulations as well as the options for reduced fees

available in other jurisdictions.

It was felt by all members of the task force that further information and data was needed in order

to determine which members are being most affected by COVID-19 and how the Society can

best respond. We discussed that many members are likely experiencing financial hardship and

identified that certain members may be more vulnerable.

It was discussed that women, Indigenous, African Nova Scotian and other racialized members of

the bar will likely be disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Looking at the data from the

most recent Annual Lawyer Report, most of the equity-seeking lawyers are in the 0-7 or 8-16

years since call categories. There are likely greater concerns for more junior lawyers with respect

to fewer work opportunities and a greater likelihood of still carrying student debt. These

members are also more likely to be caring for younger children. Members in primary care-giving

roles may be facing a limited ability to practice during this time.

We also identified and discussed the potential for disproportionate impact on sole practitioners

and small firms, considering factors such as less access to financing, practice areas and clientele

that may be more adversely impacted. It was identified that a significant portion of equity-

seeking lawyers are employed in small firms or as sole practitioners. The data from the Annual

25

Lawyer Report also indicated that these members provide a significant amount of pro-bono and

unbundled legal services which suggest a potential impact on access to justice.

Recommendation

The Task Force suggests that both a short term and long term response is needed to the current

crisis. It is recommended, in the short term, that the Society clearly communicate to members the

options that are currently available, including fee deferrals and changing to non-practising status.

It is also recommended that the Society communicate that a Task Force has been struck to review

longer term options for assistance. We wish to invite feedback from the membership and provide

various contacts for people to reach out (the task force chair, Executive Director, or chairs of the

equity committees). It was felt that providing various options for contact might alleviate any

potential concerns about raising personal hardship directly with the Executive Director of the

Society. We welcome any feedback, whether fee-related or highlighting other impacts on the

membership.

With respect to the response to longer term issues, the Task Force as currently constituted

intends to meet again to prepare recommendations for the July council meeting.

26

- 1 -

MEMORANDUM TO COUNCIL

From: Kate Shewan. Director, Finance and Administration

Date: May 14, 2020

Subject: Annual Lawyers Report Update

For: Approval X Introduction Information

Introduction:

The Annual Lawyer Report is a tool through which the Society gathers information on lawyers that is required to fulfil its mandate of regulating the profession in the public interest. Staff have reviewed the Annual Lawyer Report and are presenting the revised version for approval.

Two copies of the proposed 2020 ALR are attached. The first is a clean copy for approval. The second highlights the areas of change from the 2019 ALR.

Regulatory Framework.

The ALR content is set out in Regulation:

Annual Lawyer Report Contents

4.3.6 The Annual Lawyer Report will be in the prescribed form and contain:

(a) the lawyer’s mailing and civic address;

(b) the lawyer’s telephone number;

(c) the lawyer’s email address;

(d) a lawyer’s language proficiencies for the practice of law and delivery of legal services;

(e) a lawyer’s areas of practice and the approximate percentage associated with each area;

(f) whether a lawyer has handled trust money or property;

(g) whether a lawyer has held trust money or property in a representative capacity as defined in subregulation 10.1.2;

(h) whether a lawyer has borrowed from or loaned money to clients;

(i) information about the planning for continuing professional development and continuing legal education undertaken by the lawyer in accordance with Regulation 8.3; and

(j) such other information as Council may prescribe.

27

- 2 -

Previous Reports/updates to Council: A verbal update on the proposed major areas of change was presented at the April 2020 Council Meeting. Related to Council Strategic Goal/Objective: The ALR is an important tool for both the regulation of the profession and for the tracking of the trends and the status of initiatives in the strategic plan. Related to Council Activity Plan item: The most significant changes in the ALR involve moving from the yes/no compliance questions to the educational focused questions with links to information and resources, and an ability to request additional information. This change relates to the following activity plan item:

Support members in delivering competent and ethical legal services; Analysis: Change Methodology and Rational The Staff Group discussed the ALR from the perspective of education and risk and have made recommendations based on four general principles:

1. Why are we asking the question: Is it required under regulation? Does the member understand purpose of the question? Is the question better suited for the AFR?

2. What are we doing with the information – if nothing or no value, do we need the question in the first place?

3. Using the ALR as an educational tool as opposed to something that looks like a compliance audit.

4. Recognition that some data is tracked and trends reported over multiple years. Substantial change on items that are compared year over year is not desirable.

Below is a summary of the proposed changes and the rational: Work Address Information Changes are suggested to clarify what information must be provided under regulatory requirements, and to simplify the process for a lawyer to specify what information will be made public. Employment Types In relation to firm registration, education, and risk management, the group feels that this question needs to be revised to more clearly capture two types of private practice that may not currently be captured in the report:

1. In house and government lawyers who provide legal services outside their regular employment – both for fee and pro bono;

2. In house lawyers who as part of the service to their employer provide legal services to the public (e.g. OEA, Eco Justice, Elizabeth Fry).

Note that we require both of these categories to register as a law firm, pursuant to regulation 4.8. Revising our question here is an opportunity to identify existing practices that need to be contacted and brought into compliance via the New Firm Registration process.

28

- 3 -

Based on Council feedback last year, a category of firm has been included for Independent lawyers practising in association with another lawyer(s). Demographics In order to incent lawyers to complete the demographic information, the Equity Office suggested that a better explanation be provided as to why the information is being requested and how it may be used. This has been incorporated into the report. Retention of Files This question is designed to provide information required when members of the public contact the Society when attempting to locate files for closed law firms. The question has historically caused confusion and triggered questions. The wording has been amended to clarify the information requested and the reason for asking for this information. The group is also proposing to ask if the files contain original wills since this is the most frequent and most important question that we get from the public. With regard to destruction, this information allows us to respond to public requests for files by simply telling them that their file is no longer available. Compliance with Obligations The staff group feels that the current format does not promote education or decrease risk. The yes, no, n/a format promotes just ticking the box without promoting thought. For the questions that are not required under the regulations, the group believes that this should be used as an opportunity to educate about changes to regulations and standards over the past year. The suggested methodology incorporated in the revised version is:

provide a high level 2 to 4 bullet form of the new reg/standard;

provide links to resources;

Ask three questions: (1) I understand; (2) I would like more information; (3) this is not applicable to my practice

Proposed Action/Recommendation: The ALR is scheduled to be distributed at the beginning of June for the June 30th due date. It is proposed that the revised ALR is approved at the May Council meeting, either as presented or with appropriate amendments decided by Council. Committee Consultation The ALR was reviewed by the Equity Office and suggestions around the wording of the Equity Group questions was incorporated. This was then submitted to the Racial Equity Committee and the Gender Equity Committee for review. No further consultation is proposed prior to approval. Any costs [financial, human resource] not already budgeted or accounted for? No.

29

- 4 -

Decision Lens review: Public Interest: The ALR is a means by which the Society gathers information related to lawyers that is essential for the Society to fulfil its mandate of regulating the profession in the public interest. Changes are reviewed with a view as to how to improve the ALR for this purpose. On occasion the data collected is specifically used to assist the public. A recent example is a call from a member of the public asking if there was a Korean speaking lawyer who practised Real Estate Law. The ALR data allowed the Society to provide the names of two lawyers who met this criteria. Triple P:

i. Is the proposal/recommendation proactive? The changes to the questions related to compliance are now focusing on areas where regulations have changed to ensure that members are aware of the changes and have access to resources to educate themselves.

ii. Is the proposal/recommendation principled? The changes proposed reflect the Society’s desire to assist lawyers in understanding current issues and encourage learning.

iii. Is the proposal/recommendation proportionate? Removal of questions that are not used for any purpose and focus on questions that provide information to help the Society achieve is strategic goals.

Equity & Diversity: The ALR is used to track diversity measures within the profession. The Equity office, GEC and REC are involved in reviewing the relevant sections of the ALR.

Risk: Are there any risks associated with this matter/proposal?

The staff team do not view the proposed changes to the ALR as creating additional risk. It is not felt that the yes/no compliance questions being removed contributed to risk management in any meaningful way.

Member: Is there member interest in this matter/proposal?

There is some member feedback expressing concern that they are required to complete a large number of reports. Staff believe that the changes made, with an increased focus on informing and educating members, highlighting areas of regulation changes and providing resources, will help make some lawyers feel that they are gaining a benefit from the reporting process.

If approved by Council, what are the next steps? The ALR will be circulated to members by June 1st with a due date of June 30th. Results will be analyzed and presented to Council in the fall. A statistical snapshot will be publicly available via the website.

30

2020 Annual Lawyer Report Regulation 4.3.1

Please note: The deadline for submission of this report is June 30, 2020 (Regulation 4.3.1). We thank you for taking

the time to complete this report. The Annual Lawyer Report is the means by which the Society gathers information related to lawyers that is essential for the Society to fulfill its mandate. The information we have on file is shown here and need not be changed if it is correct. MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

First name

Middle name

Last name

Designation(s)

WORK ADDRESS INFORMATION (The Society makes this information public via the online Lawyer Directory) If the Work Address provided is the same as your home address, please tick here 󠆿󠆿 [Then a pop up message for those that ticked the box]

If you do not want your home address published please tick the box below and provide instead another civic or P.O. Box address that can be made available publicly as a means to contact you. 󠆿

Firm/company name

Civic address

P.O. Box #

City

Province

Postal code

Country

Phone

Cell Phone

Fax

Email

HOME ADDRESS INFORMATION (for Society use only) This information is only used by Society staff. This information is necessary so the Society has a means of contacting a lawyer if, for example, they are transitioning between employment. It will not be made available to the public.

Civic address

Address 2

City

Province

Postal code

31

Country

Phone

Cell Phone

Email

NOTARY PUBLIC To ensure the Society has up-to-date information in our records, please confirm whether you are a notary public.

Yes No

As a Practising Lawyer or Law Corporation, please choose one of the following employment types to best describe your status: Note: ‘Employment type’ relates to the nature of the organization with which the lawyer works, not to the work undertaken by the employed lawyer.

For example, a lawyer who operates as a sole practitioner, but provides contractual legal services to the Crown, would be designated as Private Practice / Sole Practitioner rather than Provincial Government.

A lawyer employed as a civil servant would be designated as Federal (or Provincial) government, regardless of whether they deliver legal services to the public or otherwise in their role.

PRIVATE PRACTICE: Sole practitioner firm Multi-lawyer firm (A)

NS Legal Aid Dalhousie Legal Aid Service

IN-HOUSE: Municipal ABCs (Agencies, Boards, Commissions) Corporate Bodies NFPs (Not-for-profits) Regulators (i.e., professional regulators) Unions Band Council International (i.e., in-house lawyers employed outside of Canada)

As part of my in-house role I provide legal services to the public

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

I hold a practising certificate, but I am not currently practising law (boards, educators, administrators, etc.)

I also provide legal services to the public outside of my primary employment identified above.

Other (please explain)

(A) For those who identified as working in a firm, please choose your status:

Partner / principal / owner of law firm Otherwise associated with a law firm (including counsel)

Associate in law firm Independent lawyer practising in association with another lawyer(s)

32

The following question allows the Society to understand the demographics of the profession and how they change over time. We are asking these questions because one of our strategic goals is to have Nova Scotians served by a diverse, inclusive, and culturally competent legal profession. We use this information to track the demographics of our membership year over year, to recruit for committees, and to promote educational opportunities, social events, and mentorship programs. We do not disclose or publish your personal information, but do publish statistical information in aggregate form. I identify with the following communities (check all that apply):

Indigenous Mi’kmaq Black African Nova Scotian

Racialized Acadian/Acadien Person with a

disability 2SLGBTQ+

Other ____________________________ None of the above Choose not to answer

I identify my gender as:

Male Female

An identity outside of the male/female binary

(please specify)_______________________ I choose not to answer this question

I speak, read and write in these languages and I am able to provide legal services in the following languages:

French German Mi’kmaq Arabic EnglishOther (please specify)

Declaration regarding trust funds 2020 Please choose from one of the following, which best describes your situation (at June 30, 2020): I hold the Practising Lawyer membership category in Nova Scotia and do not hold any money or property in trust in

Nova Scotia. I hold the Practising Lawyer membership category in Nova Scotia and because I hold money in trust in Nova Scotia, I

(my firm) will need to file a Trust Account Report (for December 31, 2020) in accordance with the Regulations. I hold the Practising Lawyer membership category in Nova Scotia and I hold money or property in trust, but only in a

representative capacity as defined by Regulation 10.1.2. Declaration regarding borrowing from or lending to clients 2020 I have borrowed money from or loaned money to a client: (1) yes or (2) no

[if yes, drop down box] I am familiar with rules 3.4-28 through 3.4-33 of the Code re Transactions, Borrowing and Lending I understand that I must not enter into a transaction with a client unless the transaction is fair and reasonable to the client. I am aware of my duties to ensure that clients with whom I am engaged in a transaction or am borrowing from or lending to are aware of any conflicting interest or how a conflict might develop. I am aware that the client must consent to the transaction, including the borrowing from and lending to, and may require independent legal advice or independent legal representation. Questions: (1) I understand my obligations (2) I would like more information to better understand my obligations

33

Retention of files of former lawyers: From time to time, a lawyer takes possession of files of another lawyer that is not associated with their firm. We like to track this information so we have it when a former client is looking for files information. Please let us know if you have ever at any time in the past taken responsibility and/or possession of the files of a former lawyer.

Yes If yes, original wills.

No

If “yes” please provide the names of practitioners who files you have/had:

________________________ Destroyed? ________________________ Destroyed? ________________________ Destroyed? ________________________ Destroyed? ________________________ Destroyed? If destroyed is ticked, survey requests date)

Additional information to share regarding retention of files of former lawyers.

34

Please define your areas of practice as below and include the approximate percentage of your practice time (not billings) associated with each area. The Society is considering adding areas of practice information for lawyers in private practice to the Member Directory in order to assist the public in choosing their legal services provider. For that reason, we have expanded some of the areas of law below.

AREA OF LAW APPROXIMATE PERCENTAGE

NSBS USE ONLY (LAST YEAR’S ANSWER)

Aboriginal

Administrative

Bankruptcy and insolvency (debtor and creditor)

Civil litigation – Corporate and Commercial

Civil Litigation – Personal Injury – Plaintiff

Civil Litigation – Personal Injury – Defence

Civil Litigation – real estate / residential tenancy

Constitutional / human rights

Corporate / commercial / banking

Criminal – Defence

Criminal – Prosecution

Elder

Employment / labour – Employee side

Employment / labour – Employer side

Environmental / natural resource / energy

Family – Child protection

Family – Other (not Child protection)

Government / Crown / Legislative

Health

Immigration and refugee

Indigenous

Intellectual property / franchises / patents

Marine / shipping / fisheries

Military / aviation

Mediation and arbitration / alternative dispute resolution

Municipal

Real estate

Privacy

Securities

Tax

Wills, estates and trusts

Other(s) (please specify)

35

The following questions relate to membership in other jurisdictions / regulatory bodies (optional). Please list any current memberships in other legal regulatory bodies:

______________________________________________________________________________________________ Please list any current memberships in other non-legal regulatory bodies (e.g., CPA-NS, College of Physicians, etc.) _____________________________________________________________________________________________ The following questions relate to continuing professional development regulations 8.3.5 - 8.3.10. I am familiar with and to the best of my knowledge am in compliance with my obligations regarding continuing professional development, including that I implemented a written plan for continuing professional development and made a record of my plan for the period of June 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020 (i.e., last year).

Yes No

If “No” please explain:

Last year, I took the following steps to become culturally competent:

Comment Box

I have prepared and made a record of my professional development plan for the period of June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021 (i.e., next year).

Yes No


Amendments to Commentary to rule 3.1-2 regarding Competence Technological Competence - Commentary [4A] and [5A] The new Commentaries remind me that I am obligated

1) To be technologically competent; and 2) To remain technologically competent;

while understanding that the required level of competence is contextual and depends upon circumstances, such as: (a) my practice areas; (b) my geographic location; and (c) the requirements of my clients.

Questions: (1) I have reviewed the new Commentary and have adopted into my practice the level of technological competence required for my circumstances

36

(2) I would like more information to understand my obligation Duty to Report – Regulation 4.4.1 I am aware that I must report to the Executive Director:

a petition in bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada);

an assignment of property for the benefit of creditors;

a proposal in bankruptcy to creditors;

a judgment that has been entered against me;

an order for costs against me personally;

if I am charged with, plead guilty to or am found guilty of any offence under: o Criminal Code (Canada) o Controlled Drug and Substances Act (Canada) o Income Tax Act (Canada) o Customs and Excise Act (Canada); or o Securities Act of any province of Canada;

my suspension by the governing body of the legal profession in another jurisdiction;

charges against me regarding a discipline offence in another jurisdiction; or

a guilty finding against me regarding a discipline offence in another jurisdiction. Questions: (1) I understand what and when I need to report to the Society (2) I would like more information to understand my obligation New Client Identification, Client Verification, and “no 󠆿cash” 󠆿rules 󠆿 On January 1, 2020, significant amendments to the rules regarding client identification and verification, and the rules regarding the acceptance of cash from clients took effect. All lawyers and firms must review and revise their processes to ensure they comply with the new rules. In summary, some key changes are: CASH TRANSACTIONS

I must not receive or accept an aggregate amount of cash greater than $7,500 Canadian with respect to any one client matter, rather than a single transaction

I have new record keeping requirements that apply to the receipt of cash. If I accept cash for my employer, this rule now applies to me. I can no longer accept cash over $7,500 “pursuant to a court order” If I accept more than $7,500 cash for professional fees, expenses, and disbursements, any refunds must also

be in cash CLIENT IDENTIFICATION AND VERIFICATION

I have a general and ongoing duty to know my client and to know and understand the client’s financial dealings I now need to obtain and record information about the source of the client’s funds I am required to monitor my professional business relationship with my client and withdraw from representation

in appropriate circumstances I now have to verify client identity when funds are being received and paid pursuant to a court order or a

settlement of any legal proceeding I have new requirements to verify children I have new obligations for the identification and verification of organizations and their officers, directors, and

shareholders The types of verification documents have been revised The timing for verification has reduced from 60 days to 30 days. If I use an agent to verify identity, I need an agreement even when the agent is located in Canada.

I can learn more from the Society’s Client Identification Resources.

Questions: (1) I reviewed and adopted into my practice the Client Identification, Client Verification, and “no cash” rules (2) I would like more information to understand my obligation

37

https://nsbs.org/legal-profession/your-practice/responsibilities-requirements/client-id/

Modifications to the Trust Account Regulations [link to page 106 of Regs]:

I can only receive or pay out of my trust account money that is directly related to legal services that I am or my law firm is providing to the client.

Upon completion of the legal services, I need to pay out money in a trust account as soon as practicable.

Before I accept trust funds, I need to confirm that o the client has engaged with me to provide legal services. o the retainer provided is proportionate to the specific services requested. o the funds are received at the appropriate time and not sooner than expected.

I can learn more from case studies [link to page 3 of https://flsc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CasestudiesENv5.pdf] and from FLS Guidance link to page 21-22 of https://flsc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/LawyerGuidance2019.pdf]

In order to pay out money as soon as practical after legal services are provided, I need to ensure that the conditions for holding the funds are clear and directly relate to the legal transaction for which I was retained. [link to stale balances guidance if we have it ready]

Questions: (1) I have reviewed and adopted the new modifications related to accepting and paying out Trust Funds (2) I would like more information to understand my obligation (3) This is not applicable to my practice New Criminal Law Standards Do you practise criminal law (as any part of your practice)? 󠆿 Yes *Directed to questions below 󠆿 No I have reviewed and adopted into practice the following Criminal Practice Standards, approved during 2019-2020: Standard #2 – Lawyers’ Competence (February 15, 2019) 󠆿 Yes 󠆿 No, I would like more information about how to adopt this practice / comment ________________________________________ Standard #3 – Defence Obligations Regarding Disclosure (February 15, 2019) 󠆿 Yes 󠆿 No, I would like more information about how to adopt this practice / comment ________________________________________ Standard #4 – Withdrawal of Guilty Plea (November 22, 2019) 󠆿 Yes 󠆿 No, I would like more information about how to adopt this practice

/ comment ________________________________________

The following question deals with “unbundled” legal services in support of self-represented litigants or other clients. This type of service includes situations where a person only pays for specific services or receives coaching from a lawyer while still remaining in charge of their case as a self-represented litigant. I do or plan to provide this type of unbundled legal services to my clients.

Yes No Choose not to answer

38

https://flsc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CasestudiesENv5.pdf


https://flsc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/LawyerGuidance2019.pdf


https://www.lians.ca/standards/criminal-law-standards

Example(s) of the service(s) I provide:

GENERAL COMMENTS:

39

2020 Annual Lawyer Report Regulation 4.3.1

Please note: The deadline for submission of this report is June 30, 2020 (Regulation 4.3.1). We thank you for taking

the time to complete this report. The Annual Lawyer Report is the means by which the Society gathers information related to lawyers that is essential for the Society to fulfill its mandate. The information we have on file is shown here and need not be changed if it is correct. MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

First name

Middle name

Last name

Designation(s)

WORK ADDRESS INFORMATION (The Society makes this information public via the online Lawyer Directory)

If the Work Address provided is the same as your home address, please tick here 󠆿󠆿 [Then a pop up message for those that ticked the box]

If you do not want your home address published please tick the box below and provide instead another civic or P.O. Box address that can be made available publicly as a means to contact you. 󠆿

Firm/company name

Civic address

P.O. Box #

City

Province

Postal code

Country

Phone

Cell Phone

Fax

Email

HOME ADDRESS INFORMATION (for Society use only) This information is only used by Society staff. This information is necessary so the Society has a means of contacting a lawyer if, for example, they are transitioning between employment. It will not be made available to the public.

Civic address

Address 2

City

Province

Postal code

Commented [KS1]: New sections/changes highlighted in green.

Removed sections are greyed out

Commented [KS2]: Clarification

Commented [KS3]: Clarification on usage

40

Country

Phone

Cell Phone

Email

NOTARY PUBLIC To ensure the Society has up-to-date information in our records, please confirm whether you are a notary public.

Yes No

As a Practising Lawyer or Law Corporation, please choose one of the following employment types to best describe your status: Note: ‘Employment type’ relates to the nature of the organization with which the lawyer works, not to the work undertaken by the employed lawyer.

For example, a lawyer who operates as a sole practitioner, but provides contractual legal services to the Crown, would be designated as Private Practice / Sole Practitioner rather than Provincial Government.

A lawyer employed as a civil servant would be designated as Federal (or Provincial) government, regardless of whether they deliver legal services to the public or otherwise in their role.

PRIVATE PRACTICE: Sole practitioner firm Multi-lawyer firm (A)

NS Legal Aid Dalhousie Legal Aid Service

IN-HOUSE: Municipal ABCs (Agencies, Boards, Commissions)

Corporate Bodies NFPs (Not-for-profits) Regulators (i.e., professional regulators) Unions Band Council International (i.e., in-house lawyers employed outside of Canada)

As part of my in-house role I provide legal services to the public

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

I hold a practising certificate, but I am not currently practising law (boards, educators, administrators, etc.)

I also provide legal services to the public outside of my primary employment identified above.

Other (please explain)

(A) For those who identified as working in a firm, please choose your status:

Partner / principal / owner of law firm Otherwise associated with a law firm (including counsel)

Associate in law firm Independent lawyer practising in association with another lawyer(s)

Commented [KS4]: Identify those providing services to the public

Commented [KS5]: Additional firm structure

41

The following question allows the Society to understand the demographics of the profession and how they change over time. We are asking these questions because one of our strategic goals is to have Nova Scotians served by a diverse, inclusive, and culturally competent legal profession. We use this information to track the demographics of our membership year over year, to recruit for committees, and to promote educational opportunities, social events, and mentorship programs. We do not disclose or publish your personal information, but do publish statistical information in aggregate form. I identify with the following communities (check all that apply):

Indigenous Mi’kmaq Black African Nova Scotian

Racialized Acadian/Acadien Person with a

disability 2SLGBTQ+

Other ____________________________ None of the above I Choose not to answer

I identify my gender as:

Male Female

An identity outside of the male/female binary

(please specify)_______________________ I choose not to answer this question

I speak, read and write in these languages and I am able to provide legal services in the following languages:

French German Mi’kmaq Arabic EnglishOther (please specify)

Declaration regarding trust funds 2020 Please choose from one of the following, which best describes your situation (at June 30, 2020): I hold the Practising Lawyer membership category in Nova Scotia and do not hold any money or property in trust in

Nova Scotia. I hold the Practising Lawyer membership category in Nova Scotia and because I hold money in trust in Nova Scotia, I

(my firm) will need to file a Trust Account Report (for December 31, 2020) in accordance with the Regulations. I hold the Practising Lawyer membership category in Nova Scotia and I hold money or property in trust, but only in a

representative capacity as defined by Regulation 10.1.2.

Declaration regarding borrowing from or lending to clients 2020 I have borrowed money from or loaned money to a client: (1) yes or (2) no

[if yes, drop down box] I am familiar with rules 3.4-28 through 3.4-33 of the Code re Transactions, Borrowing and Lending I understand that I must not enter into a transaction with a client unless the transaction is fair and reasonable to the client. I am aware of my duties to ensure that clients with whom I am engaged in a transaction or am borrowing from or lending to are aware of any conflicting interest or how a conflict might develop. I am aware that the client must consent to the transaction, including the borrowing from and lending to, and may require independent legal advice or independent legal representation. Questions: (1) I understand my obligations (2) I would like more information to better understand my obligations

Commented [KS6]: Clarifying purpose of question and possible uses of data.

Commented [KS7]: Embedding description along with question

42

Retention of files of former lawyers: From time to time, a lawyer takes possession of files of another lawyer that is not associated with their firm. We like to track this information so we have it when a former client is looking for files information. Please let us know if you have ever at any time in the past taken responsibility and/or possession of the files of a former lawyer.

Yes If yes, original wills.

No

If “yes” please provide the names of practitioners who files you have/had:

________________________ Destroyed? ________________________ Destroyed? ________________________ Destroyed? ________________________ Destroyed? ________________________ Destroyed? (If destroyed is ticked, survey requests date)

Additional information to share regarding retention of files of former lawyers.

Commented [KS8]: Clarifying wording

43

Please define your areas of practice as below and include the approximate percentage of your practice time (not billings) associated with each area. The Society is considering adding areas of practice information for lawyers in private practice to the Member Directory in order to assist the public in choosing their legal services provider. For that reason, we have expanded some of the areas of law below.

AREA OF LAW APPROXIMATE PERCENTAGE

NSBS USE ONLY (LAST YEAR’S ANSWER)

Aboriginal

Administrative

Bankruptcy and insolvency (debtor and creditor)

Civil litigation – Corporate and Commercial

Civil Litigation – Personal Injury – Plaintiff

Civil Litigation – Personal Injury – Defence

Civil Litigation – real estate / residential tenancy

Constitutional / human rights

Corporate / commercial / banking

Criminal – Defence

Criminal – Prosecution

Elder

Employment / labour – Employee side

Employment / labour – Employer side

Environmental / natural resource / energy

Family – Child protection

Family – Other (not Child protection)

Government / Crown / Legislative

Health

Immigration and refugee

Indigenous

Intellectual property / franchises / patents

Marine / shipping / fisheries

Military / aviation

Mediation and arbitration / alternative dispute resolution

Municipal

Real estate

Privacy

Securities

Tax

Wills, estates and trusts

Other(s) (please specify)

44

The following questions relate to membership in other jurisdictions / regulatory bodies (optional). Please list any current memberships in other legal regulatory bodies:

______________________________________________________________________________________________ Please list any current memberships in other non-legal regulatory bodies (e.g., CPA-NS, College of Physicians, etc.)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The following questions relate to continuing professional development regulations 8.3.5 - 8.3.10. I am familiar with and to the best of my knowledge am in compliance with my obligations regarding continuing professional development, including that I implemented a written plan for continuing professional development and made a record of my plan for the period of June 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020 (i.e., last year).

Yes No


Last year, I took the following steps to become culturally competent:

Comment Box

I have prepared and made a record of my professional development plan for the period of June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021 (i.e., next year).

Yes No


I am familiar with and to the best of my knowledge am in compliance with my obligations regarding: 1. The Society’s regulations 8.2.1 - 8.2.10 and Real Estate Professional Standards

Yes No I do not practise real estate law


2. The Code of Professional Conduct

Yes No

Commented [KS9]: Removing the Yes/No questions on whether

Lawyer complied with regulations. This is replaced with the section

below that highlights areas of change, provides information and

links on the changes and gives an option to request additional

information.

45


3. Rule 3.4-31 through -34 of the Code of Professional Conduct respecting borrowing from and lending to clients

Yes No


4. Section 38(1) of the Legal Profession Act and regulation 4.4.1 respecting the requirement to report charges and convictions

Yes No


5. Regulation 4.4.1 respecting the requirement to report bankruptcies, judgments, proposals to creditors, costs orders

against a lawyer, and disciplinary findings in another jurisdiction

Yes No


6. Regulation 4.13 respecting client identification

Yes No


7. Family Law Professional Standards

Yes No I do not practise family law


8. Criminal Law Professional Standards

Yes No I do not practise criminal law


9. Law Office Management Professional Standards

Yes No


I am in compliance with the following provisions of the Code of Professional Conduct regarding passwords (rules 6.1-5 and 6.1-6). A lawyer who has personalized encrypted electronic access to any system for the electronic submission or registration of documents must not

(a) permit others, including a non-lawyer employee, to use such access; or

46

(b) disclose their password or access phrase or number to others. I have met the requirements listed in (a) and (b) above.

Yes No N/A

If “No or N/A” please explain:

Access to my computer / network is restricted to only people associated with my law firm.

Yes No N/A


If 󠆿no, 󠆿I 󠆿have 󠆿a 󠆿signed 󠆿confidentiality 󠆿agreement 󠆿to 󠆿protect 󠆿my 󠆿clients’ 󠆿information.

Yes No N/A


As 󠆿part 󠆿of 󠆿the 󠆿Society’s 󠆿Strategic 󠆿Framework 󠆿and 󠆿continued 󠆿focus 󠆿on 󠆿equity 󠆿and 󠆿access 󠆿to 󠆿justice, 󠆿we 󠆿are 󠆿gathering the following information.

The following question deals with pro bono legal services in support of access to justice.

These types of services include providing legal services to clients at reduced fees / rates in order to provide services to clients who otherwise might not be able to afford to hire a lawyer at regular billing rates. I have or plan to provide this type of pro bono legal services to my clients.


Example(s) of the service(s) I provide: Amendments to Commentary to rule 3.1-2 regarding Competence Technological Competence - Commentary [4A] and [5A]

The new Commentaries remind me that I am obligated

1) To be technologically competent; and 2) To remain technologically competent;

while understanding that the required level of competence is contextual and depends upon circumstances, such as: (a) my practice areas; (b) my geographic location; and (c) the requirements of my clients.

Questions: (1) I have reviewed the new Commentary and have adopted into my practice the level of technological competence required for my circumstances (2) I would like more information to understand my obligation Duty to Report – Regulation 4.4.1 I am aware that I must report to the Executive Director:

a petition in bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada);

an assignment of property for the benefit of creditors;

a proposal in bankruptcy to creditors;

a judgment that has been entered against me;

an order for costs against me personally;

if I am charged with, plead guilty to or am found guilty of any offence under:

Commented [KS10]: New compliance section highlighting

areas of change, provides information and links on the changes and

gives an option to request additional information.

47

o Criminal Code (Canada) o Controlled Drug and Substances Act (Canada) o Income Tax Act (Canada) o Customs and Excise Act (Canada); or o Securities Act of any province of Canada;

my suspension by the governing body of the legal profession in another jurisdiction;

charges against me regarding a discipline offence in another jurisdiction; or

a guilty finding against me regarding a discipline offence in another jurisdiction. Questions: (1) I understand what and when I need to report to the Society (2) I would like more information to understand my obligation New Client Identification, Client Verification, and “no 󠆿cash” 󠆿rules 󠆿

On January 1, 2020, significant amendments to the rules regarding client identification and verification, and the rules regarding the acceptance of cash from clients took effect. All lawyers and firms must review and revise their processes to ensure they comply with the new rules. In summary, some key changes are: CASH TRANSACTIONS

I must not receive or accept an aggregate amount of cash greater than $7,500 Canadian with respect to any one client matter, rather than a single transaction

I have new record keeping requirements that apply to the receipt of cash. If I accept cash for my employer, this rule now applies to me. I can no longer accept cash over $7,500 “pursuant to a court order” If I accept more than $7,500 cash for professional fees, expenses, and disbursements, any refunds must also

be in cash CLIENT IDENTIFICATION AND VERIFICATION

I have a general and ongoing duty to know my client and to know and understand the client’s financial dealings I now need to obtain and record information about the source of the client’s funds I am required to monitor my professional business relationship with my client and withdraw from representation

in appropriate circumstances I now have to verify client identity when funds are being received and paid pursuant to a court order or a

settlement of any legal proceeding I have new requirements to verify children I have new obligations for the identification and verification of organizations and their officers, directors, and

shareholders The types of verification documents have been revised The timing for verification has reduced from 60 days to 30 days. If I use an agent to verify identity, I need an agreement even when the agent is located in Canada.

I can learn more from the Society’s Client Identification Resources.

Questions: (1) I reviewed and adopted into my practice the Client Identification, Client Verification, and “no cash” rules (2) I would like more information to understand my obligation

Modifications to the Trust Account Regulations [link to page 106 of Regs]:

I can only receive or pay out of my trust account money that is directly related to legal services that I am or my law firm is providing to the client.

Upon completion of the legal services, I need to pay out money in a trust account as soon as practicable.

Before I accept trust funds, I need to confirm that o the client has engaged with me to provide legal services. o the retainer provided is proportionate to the specific services requested. o the funds are received at the appropriate time and not sooner than expected.

48

https://nsbs.org/legal-profession/your-practice/responsibilities-requirements/client-id/

I can learn more from case studies [link to page 3 of https://flsc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CasestudiesENv5.pdf] and from FLS Guidance link to page 21-22 of https://flsc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/LawyerGuidance2019.pdf]

In order to pay out money as soon as practical after legal services are provided, I need to ensure that the conditions for holding the funds are clear and directly relate to the legal transaction for which I was retained. [link to stale balances guidance if we have it ready]

Questions: (1) I have reviewed and adopted the new modifications related to accepting and paying out Trust Funds (2) I would like more information to understand my obligation (3) This is not applicable to my practice New Criminal Law Standards Do you practise criminal law (as any part of your practice)? 󠆿 Yes *Directed to questions below 󠆿 No I have reviewed and adopted into practice the following Criminal Practice Standards, approved during 2019-2020: Standard #2 – Lawyers’ Competence (February 15, 2019) 󠆿 Yes 󠆿 No, I would like more information about how to adopt this practice / comment ________________________________________ Standard #3 – Defence Obligations Regarding Disclosure (February 15, 2019) 󠆿 Yes 󠆿 No, I would like more information about how to adopt this practice / comment ________________________________________ Standard #4 – Withdrawal of Guilty Plea (November 22, 2019) 󠆿 Yes 󠆿 No, I would like more information about how to adopt this practice

/ comment ________________________________________

The following question deals with “unbundled” legal services in support of self-represented litigants or other clients. This type of service includes situations where a person only pays for specific services or receives coaching from a lawyer while still remaining in charge of their case as a self-represented litigant. I do or plan to provide this type of unbundled legal services to my clients.


Example(s) of the service(s) I provide:

GENERAL COMMENTS:

49





https://www.lians.ca/standards/criminal-law-standards

- 1 -


From: Cheryl Canning QC

Date: May 20, 2020

Subject: Subsidy for PREP course for students who do not have articles

For: Approval x

Introduction

Information

Council asked the Credentials Committee to provide advice/offer a recommendation on whether students without articling positions should receive the NSBS subsidy for the PREP course tuition in light of the change of circumstances caused by Covid19. The Committee met today and had a lengthy discussion about this issue. It is important to note that the Committee considered the possibility of striking a task force to consider this issue and to involve other committees (REC and GEC, for example) in the discussion. We felt unable to do that however because of timing – registration for the PREP course must be done no later than June 26, 2020 and therefore we felt we needed to get our recommendation to Council for consideration and possibly approval at the May meeting. There was one member of REC involved in our discussion as a member of our committee (Melanie Petrunia). Background: As background, the current regulations provide that students who do not have articles may now take the PREP course. This is a change that was recently approved by Council at its April meeting. to keep Nova Scotia in line with the other CPLED provinces. Council had previously decided that the tuition for PREP would be subsidized by the Society for articled clerks. That is, the student would pay $3750 and the Society would subsidize by paying $2350 of the total tuition, which is $6100 plus tax per student.

51

- 2 -

The students are asked to pay ¼ of their share of the tuition at each stage of the course (i.e., ¼ of $3750 = $937.50). Those payments would be due in June, September, December and April. The Society would also pay their subsidy at each of those quarters. In addition, for this year, the Society has obtained funding from the Law Foundation of Nova Scotia to pay the full tuition for up to 10 students who need assistance. Preference is given to students from equity seeking groups. At present the Society has 73 articled clerks registered to begin their articles in the coming months. This number is in keeping with the number we generally have on a yearly basis. We have 7 students whose firms are not paying for the PREP course tuition. Of those 5 fall into equity seeking groups. To be clear, these 7 students will be getting the subsidy, but will have to pay their $3750 on their own. We have been told by Shawn Swallow (Director of Career Services & Employer Relations at the Schulich School of Law) that he is not aware of students who have not been able to find articles. We have been advised by some members of the faculty however that they have heard from students who are still looking for articles and have not found them. To date, the Society is only aware of one student whose articles were cancelled because of Covid19. The Society has not been contacted by any other students who have not been able to find articles. As we have received conflicting information from the law school and we don’t know the situation at other law schools, we have been unable to determine at this point how many potential Nova Scotia articled clerks are still looking for work. One of the reasons for permitting students to take the first part of the PREP course prior to securing articles was the notion that doing the course may assist them in obtaining articles. This has been the thinking in all CPLED provinces. Once the pandemic hit CPLED took the decision that they wanted students to take the entire program without securing articles so that they could at least complete that part of their admission requirements. Nova Scotia has agreed to permit students to do so. Currently, if a student is able to take the program without articles they would be required to pay for the tuition out of their own pockets. They are able to pay for it in installments but as it stands, they would be responsible for the total amount. It is important to note that once they secure an articling position, whichever province they are articling in will reimburse them for that province’s share of their tuition. We have canvassed all the other CPLED provinces and no province is subsidizing students who have not yet secured an articling position. Their thinking is that there is too much uncertainty about where the student might article and if and when they will

52

- 3 -

secure a position. As a result, all three of the other provinces have determined that they will only subsidize once the student secures a position. The Committee’s discussion on May 20, 2020: Prior to COVID-19 the committee had discussed the issue of whether a student who has not secured articles should be eligible for a subsidy. It applied a number of lenses when looking at this issue in the first instance. The first was an equity lens; Are we creating a barrier to students being able to take the course if they have not yet secured articles? We considered this from the point of view of racialized, gender, socio-economic and disability groups. We determined that we could not make assumptions about students and their financial needs. The committee also considered the fact that there were ways to help students who had financial hardship once they became Nova Scotia articled clerks. We can assist if and when we are asked for help by someone who would be our clerk if they were able to secure a position. When we looked at the situation we find ourselves in today, meaning the fact that there have been significant changes in circumstances for both lawyers and for students as a result of COVID-19, we used a triple P approach to apply the same lenses. The second lens we looked at was that of the Society’s finances and the interests of the members, two factors that are inextricably tied together. The committee discussed the fact that the subsidy is effectively paid from the pockets of current members and there is a justification in doing that which comes from our collective obligation to students who are on the path to becoming new members. The committee determined however that there was no obligation to help any and all students, bearing in mind that there is no guarantee that someone will secure an articling position just because they take PREP and no guarantee that they will article in Nova Scotia. If someone applies to take the PREP course and we subsidize them when they don’t have an articling position, then our members may be paying for someone to take the course who will never be admitted to the bar in Nova Scotia. The committee determined that it was not fair to ask members to pay for students who may never become articled clerks or lawyers in Nova Scotia. The Committee was also cognizant of the fact that the economic burden students are facing as a result of COVID-19 are also burdens being borne by many of Nova Scotia’s lawyers. While there may be students who are experiencing financial hardships, there are also many members who are also experiencing worse than usual financial difficulty. If we extend the subsidy to people who may never become articled clerks or lawyers in Nova Scotia it is our already struggling lawyers who will bear that burden. The Committee also considered that the purpose of subsidizing was to ensure that our clerks who are going to join the Nova Scotia bar don’t experience hurdles in meeting their pre-call obligations. If we subsidize anyone who is a student, we are potentially taking money away from those who want to become lawyers in Nova Scotia.

53

- 4 -

The Committee considered whether we would be accepting risk if we are the only province who is willing to do this. Could that mean that students from the other three provinces will apply through Nova Scotia so they can receive the subsidy. We see it already with people who want to enter our credentialing process. We have already been experiencing inquiries from students who are shopping around the 4 provinces to see who has the easiest articling program, etc. We want to discourage this as much as possible. Some members of the committee felt this risk was minimal but some felt it was a genuine concern. Some members of the Committee were of the view that given the current situation for our members we should not ask them to subsidize those who may never practice in Nova Scotia while we are unable to provide relief to those already practicing here. After much discussion we determined, by a slim majority, that given the situation we should look for a way to assist potential students who plan on articling and practicing in Nova Scotia so as not to create barriers or inequities for those who do not have articling positions by requiring them to pay the full tuition. The Committee’s recommendation: Therefore, our recommendation to Council is that the Society subsidize those students who intend on articling and practicing in Nova Scotia on the following conditions: 1. The student proves that they are resident in Nova Scotia; and 2. They agree to a contractual obligation to repay the Society should they article

elsewhere. We had 5 Committee members who agreed with this recommendation. There were 2 Committee members who indicated they would agree with this recommendation only if the following was also added: 3. The Society attempt to sign an MOU with the other CPLED provinces such that

those provinces pay the Society that subsidy that student would have received if they article in one of those provinces.

There was one person who did not feel any subsidy should be allowed to students who did not have articles regardless of conditions attached. I will be happy to answer any questions. Cheryl Canning, QC Chair, Credentials Committee

54

- 1 -


From: Credentials Committee

Date: May 13, 2020

Subject: LPA Regulation Amendments for PREP course

For: Approval X

Introduction

Information

Recommendation/Motion: Be it resolved that attached regulations for the PREP course are approved and will become effective immediately. Analysis:

We are now moving forward to complete implementation of the PREP program I June. In order to complete the transition we need to amend regulations pertaining to articled clerks, the course and exam and foreign transfers. Some regulations were already passed by Council in April. For ease of reference we have included all the regulatory changes however the regulations that were already changed have been indicated on the document. The remaining regulations are new and need to be passed by Council. The drafted regulation is attached for your review as Appendix A.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

55

- 2 -

Jacqueline L. Mullenger Director, Admissions & Professional Development

56

REGULATION AMENDMENTS

1

Existing Regulation Proposed Regulation Rationale

PART 2

2.9.1…

(c) CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE, to oversee

the Regulations with respect to admission to

membership in the Society, the Bar Admission

Course, changes in category of membership in

the Society, and resumption of membership in

the Society;

PART 2

2.9.1 …




Program, changes in category of membership in


the Society;

A decision was made to leave the term “Bar

Admission Program” instead of changing to

PREP as this can then include PREP and any

other changes that may take place without the

need for major revisions to the Regulations.

PART 3

ADMISSIONS

3.1 Interpretation

3.1.1 In this Part

(a) “Committee” means the Credentials

Committee;

PART 3

ADMISSIONS

3.1 Interpretation

3.1.1 In this Part


Committee;

(b) “Capstone” means the final assessment in

the Practice Readiness Education Program

delivered by the Canadian Centre for

Professional Legal Education;

(c) “CPLED” means the Canadian Centre for


(d) “Foundation Modules” is the first

component of the Practice Readiness

Education Program that is delivered online;

(e) “Foundation Workshop” is the second


Education Program, delivered in person for

one week;

NOTE: This amendment was approved by

Council on April 24, 2020

Addition of the definitions for the components

of PREP as well as PREP itself and CPLED.

57

- 2 -


(b) “law degree” means

i) a Bachelor of Laws degree or a Juris Doctor

degree from a faculty of common law at a

Canadian university approved by the Federation

of Law Societies of Canada for the granting

of such degree;

ii) a degree in civil law, if the holder of the

degree has passed a comprehensive examination

in

common law or has successfully completed a

common law conversion course approved by the

Credentials Committee; or

iii) a Certificate of Qualification issued by the

National Committee on Accreditation of the

Federation of Law Societies of Canada;

…

(f) “law degree” means





of such degree;



in







(g) “PREP” means the Practice Readiness

Education Program;

(h) “Virtual Firm” is the third component of


which is delivered online;

…

3.2 Exceptional circumstances

3.2 The Executive Director may, in exceptional

circumstances and when it is in the public

interest to do so, waive one or more of the

requirements for admission.


3.2.1 The Executive Director may, in

exceptional circumstances and when it is in the

public interest to do so, waive one or more of the


NOTE: These amendments were approved by


Housekeeping amendment

3.3.1-3.3.6 3.3.1-3.3.6 No changes recommended

Commencement of articles

3.3.7 Unless the Executive Director otherwise

permits, persons shall be enrolled as articled



permits, persons will shall be enrolled as articled

clerks only on the 1st day of the month



58

- 3 -


clerks only on March 1, June 1, September 1, or

December 1. following the approval of their application

March 1, June 1, September 1, or December 1.

Clerks now commence articles at the beginning

of most months throughout the year. There is no

longer a need to restrict the start dates.

PREP without articles

3.3.8 An individual may commence the PREP

program without being approved as an

articled clerk with the permission of CPLED.



3.3.9 An individual who has received

permission to commence the PREP program

without being approved as an articled clerk

must comply with subegulation 3.3.1 if

applying for enrolment as an articled clerk.



3.4 Requirement of Articled Clerks

3.4.1 An articled clerk shall:

(a) unless credit has been given under

subregulation 3.4.2(c), work under an Articling

Agreement for a total of twelve months which

period shall include the period required for the

Bar Admission Course;

(b) successfully complete the Bar Admission

Course;

(c) not engage in any other employment which,

in the opinion of the Executive Director, would

interfere with the articled clerk’s completion of

the Articling Agreement or the Bar Admission

Course;

(d) not receive credit for any period of articles

that occurred more than three years prior to the

date of registration on the Register of Articled

Clerks;


3.4.1 An articled clerk must shall:





Bar Admission Course Program;


Course Program;





Course Program;




Clerks;

59

- 4 -


(e) not receive credit for any period of less than

one month worked under an articling agreement.



Options for Articled Clerks

3.4.2 An articled clerk may

(b) with the written consent of the principal and

approval of the Executive Director, fulfill the

articling requirements on a part-time basis,

provided the total time to complete the Articling

Agreement does not exceed three years from the

date of enrolment;

(c) notwithstanding the definition of principal,

serve under an Articling Agreement with a

Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, the

Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, the Federal Court,

the Federal Court of Appeal, the Tax Court of

Canada or the Supreme Court of Canada

provided the other requirements of this Part are

satisfied;

…



(a) with the written consent of the principal and





date of enrolment;

(b) notwithstanding the definition of principal,







satisfied;

…

Correction of list that began with (b)

3.4.3-3.4.8; 3.5

…

3.4.3-3.4.8; 3.5

…

No changes recommended

3.6 Society to offer Course

3.6.1 The Society shall offer a Bar Admission

Course which shall consist of the following

components:

(a) the Skills Course;

(b) the Bar Examination;

(c) such seminars as are prescribed by the

Committee.

3.6 Society to offer Course Program

3.6.1 The Society must shall offer a Bar

Admission Course Program which shall will

consist of the following components:

(a) PREP delivered by CPLED; and

(b) such seminars, workshops, testing or other

components as are prescribed by the

Committee.

The Committee recommends that a specific

listing of all the components should not be

included as they could change over time

requiring additional regulatory amendments.

60

- 5 -





Committee.

Purpose

3.6.2 The purpose of the Bar Admission Course

is to determine that those who successfully

complete each required component possess the

particular level of competence required of:

(a) an articled clerk being called to the Bar as a

lawyer;

(b) a lawyer being called to the Bar in the

province on transfer from a foreign jurisdiction;

(c) a member changing category of membership

to become a practising lawyer, or

(d) a person resuming membership as a

practising lawyer.

Purpose


Program is to determine that those who

successfully complete each required component

possess the particular level of competence

required of:


lawyer;






practising lawyer.

Level of Competence

3.6.3 The particular level of competence

required of a person to successfully complete the

Bar Admission Course shall be determined by

Council on recommendation of the Committee,

and the standard for successful completion of

each component of the Course shall be set by the

Committee.

Level of Competence



Bar Admission Course Program will shall be

determined by Council on recommendation of

the Committee, and the standard for

successful completion of each component of the

Course Program will shall be set by the

Committee.

Skills Course

3.6.4 The Skills Course must

(a) teach and assess legal practice skills as are

prescribed by and to a standard set by the

Committee;

PREP Skills Course

3.6.4 The PREP Skills Course must



Committee;

61

- 6 -


(b) be offered at such times as are set by the

Executive Director; and

(c) be offered in person or by such other means

as are approved by the Executive Director.





Attendance

3.6.5 A person attending the Skills Course must

(a) pass the required evaluations in each legal

practice skill;

(b) unless otherwise determined by the

Executive Director, be in full-time attendance at

the Bar Admission Course;

(c) not perform work for a principal or a

practising lawyer.

Attendance



practice skill;





practising lawyer.

Attendance

3.6.5 A principal or supervising lawyer of an

articled clerk attending the Bar Admission

Program must ensure the articled clerk

(a) is in full-time attendance at all in person

components of the Bar Admission Program,

unless otherwise permitted by the Executive

Director;

(b) does not perform work for the principal

or a practising lawyer while attending any in-

person portions of the Bar Admission

Program;

(c) has sufficient time allocated to complete

the online components of the Bar Admission

Program.

Failure of Course

3.6.6 A person who fails the required evaluation

in a legal practice skill may

(a) take a supplemental evaluation in that legal

practice skill at a time and place determined by

the Executive Director; and

Failure of Program

3.6.6 A person must pass the Capstone in PREP

to complete this component of the Bar

Admission Program.

A person who fails the required evaluation in a

legal practice skill may

62

- 7 -


(b) take only one supplemental evaluation in

each legal practice skill unless the Executive

Director otherwise permits.







3.6.8 - 3.6.15 Delete No longer needed after January 2021 exam

finished

The coming into force date for these Regulations

should be after the last Bar Exam.

Seminars

3.6.16 Seminars

(a) may be prescribed to provide more in depth

instruction in an area determined to be required

by the Committee;

(b) must be offered at such times as are set by


(c) must be offered in person or by such other

means as are approved by the Executive

Director.

Seminars/Workshops

3.6.16 Seminars and workshops



by the Committee;





Director.

Attendance at Seminars

3.6.17 A person attending a seminar must

complete any evaluation that is required to the

satisfaction of the instructor of the seminar.

Attendance at Seminars/Workshops

3.6.17 A person attending a seminar or

workshop must complete any evaluation that is

required to the satisfaction of the instructor of

the seminar or workshops.

63

- 8 -


Failure of Seminar

3.6.18 A person who fails the required

evaluation of a seminar may

(a) take a supplemental evaluation at a time and

place determined by the Executive Director; and

(b) take only one supplemental evaluation unless

the Executive Director otherwise permits.

Failure of Seminar/Workshop


evaluation of a seminar or workshop may





Consequences of Failure

3.6.19 A person who fails the Bar Admission

Course may apply to the Executive Director for

a determination of the requirements to be met to

complete the Bar Admission Course, and the

Executive Director may

(a) require the applicant to successfully complete

all or a portion of the Bar Admission Course;

(b) extend the applicant’s Articling Agreement

for not more than twelve months in order to

allow the applicant to complete the Bar

Admission Course;

(c) impose such other requirements as the

Executive Director deems appropriate; or

(d) deny the application.



Course Program may apply to the Executive

Director for a determination of the requirements

to be met to complete the Bar Admission Course

Program, and the Executive Director may


all or a portion of the Bar Admission Course

Program;




Admission Course Program;




3.6.20 The Executive Director must provide the

applicant with a written decision and reasons for

any decision made pursuant to this subregulation

and must inform the applicant of the internal

review process.



any decision

made pursuant to this subregulation and must

inform the applicant of the internal review

process.

Decision would come from appeal body

64

- 9 -


Notification to Principal

3.6.21 If a person

(a) fails any component of the Bar Admission

Course, or

(b) behaves in a manner during the course which

is inconsistent with the good character expected

of a member of the Society

the Executive Director may advise the principal

and provide such information as to allow the

principal to fulfill his or her responsibilities.


3.6.21 If a person


Course Program, or

(b) behaves in a manner during the Bar

Admission Program course which is

inconsistent with the good character expected of

a member of the Society




Regulation 3.7 re Dal Law School Regulation 3.7 re Dal Law School No changes recommended

Regulation 3.8 re Application for Admission Regulation 3.8 re Application for Admission Housekeeping amendments to follow

Regulation 3.9 re Call to the Bar Regulation 3.9 re Call to the Bar No changes recommended

Regulation 3.10 re Internal Review Regulation 3.10 re Internal Review Amendments remain under review

PART 4

…

4.2.5 Council may, by resolution, set fees for:

(a) articling clerks;

(b) Bar Admission Course;

(c) Bar Examination;

(d) admission to the Bar;

PART 4

…



(b) Bar Admission Course Program



The fee for the Bar Examination (reg 4.2.5(c))

can be deleted following the last sitting of the

Bar Examination in January 2021.

65

- 10 -


(e) Changes of Category Applications;

(f) reinstatements;

(g) temporary practice;

(h) transfer applicants;

(i) Foreign Legal Consultants; and

(j) Canadian Legal Advisors


(f) reinstatements;





66

REGULATION AMENDMENTS

1


PART 2

2.9.1…




Course, changes in category of membership in


the Society;

PART 2

2.9.1 …




Program, changes in category of membership in


the Society;

A decision was made to leave the term “Bar

Admission Program” instead of changing to

PREP as this can then include PREP and any

other changes that may take place without the

need for major revisions to the Regulations.

PART 3

ADMISSIONS

3.1 Interpretation

3.1.1 In this Part


Committee;

PART 3

ADMISSIONS

3.1 Interpretation

3.1.1 In this Part


Committee;

(b) “Capstone” means the final assessment in


delivered by the Canadian Centre for


(c) “CPLED” means the Canadian Centre for


(d) “Foundation Modules” is the first


Education Program that is delivered online;

(e) “Foundation Workshop” is the second


Education Program, delivered in person for

one week;



Addition of the definitions for the components

of PREP as well as PREP itself and CPLED.

67

- 2 -


(b) “law degree” means





of such degree;



in







…

(f) “law degree” means





of such degree;



in







(g) “PREP” means the Practice Readiness

Education Program;

(h) “Virtual Firm” is the third component of


which is delivered online;

…


3.2 The Executive Director may, in exceptional

circumstances and when it is in the public

interest to do so, waive one or more of the



3.2.1 The Executive Director may, in

exceptional circumstances and when it is in the

public interest to do so, waive one or more of the


NOTE: These amendments were approved by


Housekeeping amendment

3.3.1-3.3.6 3.3.1-3.3.6 No changes recommended



permits, persons shall be enrolled as articled



permits, persons will shall be enrolled as articled

clerks only on the 1st day of the month



68

- 3 -


clerks only on March 1, June 1, September 1, or

December 1. following the approval of their application

March 1, June 1, September 1, or December 1.

Clerks now commence articles at the beginning

of most months throughout the year. There is no

longer a need to restrict the start dates.

PREP without articles

3.3.8 An individual may commence the PREP

program without being approved as an

articled clerk with the permission of CPLED.



3.3.9 An individual who has received

permission to commence the PREP program

without being approved as an articled clerk

must comply with subegulation 3.3.1 if

applying for enrolment as an articled clerk.




3.4.1 An articled clerk shall:





Bar Admission Course;


Course;





Course;




Clerks;


3.4.1 An articled clerk must shall:





Bar Admission Course Program;


Course Program;





Course Program;




Clerks;

69

- 4 -








(b) with the written consent of the principal and





date of enrolment;

(c) notwithstanding the definition of principal,







satisfied;

…



(a) with the written consent of the principal and





date of enrolment;

(b) notwithstanding the definition of principal,







satisfied;

…

Correction of list that began with (b)

3.4.3-3.4.8; 3.5

…

3.4.3-3.4.8; 3.5

…

No changes recommended

3.6 Society to offer Course

3.6.1 The Society shall offer a Bar Admission

Course which shall consist of the following

components:




Committee.

3.6 Society to offer Course Program

3.6.1 The Society must shall offer a Bar

Admission Course Program which shall will

consist of the following components:

(a) PREP delivered by CPLED; and

(b) such seminars, workshops, testing or other

components as are prescribed by the

Committee.

The Committee recommends that a specific

listing of all the components should not be

included as they could change over time

requiring additional regulatory amendments.

70

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Committee.

Purpose


is to determine that those who successfully

complete each required component possess the

particular level of competence required of:


lawyer;






practising lawyer.

Purpose


Program is to determine that those who

successfully complete each required component

possess the particular level of competence

required of:


lawyer;






practising lawyer.

Level of Competence



Bar Admission Course shall be determined by

Council on recommendation of the Committee,

and the standard for successful completion of

each component of the Course shall be set by the

Committee.

Level of Competence



Bar Admission Course Program will shall be

determined by Council on recommendation of

the Committee, and the standard for

successful completion of each component of the

Course Program will shall be set by the

Committee.

Skills Course

3.6.4 The Skills Course must



Committee;

PREP Skills Course

3.6.4 The PREP Skills Course must



Committee;

71

- 6 -










Attendance



practice skill;





practising lawyer.

Attendance



practice skill;





practising lawyer.

Attendance

3.6.5 A principal or supervising lawyer of an

articled clerk attending the Bar Admission

Program must ensure the articled clerk

(a) is in full-time attendance at all in person

components of the Bar Admission Program,

unless otherwise permitted by the Executive

Director;

(b) does not perform work for the principal

or a practising lawyer while attending any in-

person portions of the Bar Admission

Program;

(c) has sufficient time allocated to complete

the online components of the Bar Admission

Program.

Failure of Course

3.6.6 A person who fails the required evaluation

in a legal practice skill may




Failure of Program

3.6.6 A person must pass the Capstone in PREP

to complete this component of the Bar

Admission Program.

A person who fails the required evaluation in a

legal practice skill may

72

- 7 -











3.6.8 - 3.6.15 Delete No longer needed after January 2021 exam

finished

The coming into force date for these Regulations

should be after the last Bar Exam.

Seminars

3.6.16 Seminars



by the Committee;





Director.

Seminars/Workshops

3.6.16 Seminars and workshops



by the Committee;





Director.

Attendance at Seminars

3.6.17 A person attending a seminar must

complete any evaluation that is required to the

satisfaction of the instructor of the seminar.

Attendance at Seminars/Workshops

3.6.17 A person attending a seminar or

workshop must complete any evaluation that is

required to the satisfaction of the instructor of

the seminar or workshops.

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- 8 -


Failure of Seminar


evaluation of a seminar may





Failure of Seminar/Workshop


evaluation of a seminar or workshop may







Course may apply to the Executive Director for

a determination of the requirements to be met to

complete the Bar Admission Course, and the

Executive Director may


all or a portion of the Bar Admission Course;




Admission Course;






Course Program may apply to the Executive

Director for a determination of the requirements

to be met to complete the Bar Admission Course

Program, and the Executive Director may


all or a portion of the Bar Admission Course

Program;




Admission Course Program;






any decision made pursuant to this subregulation

and must inform the applicant of the internal

review process.



any decision

made pursuant to this subregulation and must

inform the applicant of the internal review

process.

We no longer need these regulations because the

appeal of a failure goes directly to CPLED and

then to the Appeal group at CPLED. The ED of

NSBS no longer provides the decision

74

- 9 -



3.6.21 If a person


Course, or

(b) behaves in a manner during the course which

is inconsistent with the good character expected

of a member of the Society





3.6.21 If a person


Course Program, or

(b) behaves in a manner during the Bar

Admission Program course which is

inconsistent with the good character expected of

a member of the Society




Regulation 3.7 re Dal Law School Regulation 3.7 re Dal Law School No changes recommended

Regulation 3.8 re Application for Admission Regulation 3.8 re Application for Admission Housekeeping amendments to follow

Regulation 3.9 re Call to the Bar Regulation 3.9 re Call to the Bar No changes recommended

Regulation 3.10 re Internal Review Regulation 3.10 re Internal Review Amendments remain under review

PART 4

…



(b) Bar Admission Course;



PART 4

…



(b) Bar Admission Course Program



The fee for the Bar Examination (reg 4.2.5(c))

can be deleted following the last sitting of the

Bar Examination in January 2021.

75

- 10 -



(f) reinstatements;






(f) reinstatements;





76

COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE

Date April 24, 2020

Time 9:00 am

Present Carrie Ricker, President Jim Rossiter QC, First Vice-President Tuma Young QC, Second Vice-President Tilly Pillay QC Jillian Barrington Natalie Borden Ellen Burke Cheryl Canning QC Sheree Conlon QC Bryan Darrell Deanna Frappier QC Peggy Gates-Hammond David Hirtle Michelle Kelly Josie McKinney Andrew Nickerson QC Melanie Petrunia Jill Perry Shane Russell Jack Townsend Michelle Ward Dr. Rod Wilson Patrick Young

Regrets: Guests: Maurice Chiasson Gerald Walsh Staff: Lawrence Rubin Kate Shewan Andrew Taillon Jane Willwerth, recording

1. INTRODUCTORY MATTERS/CALL TO ORDER

1.1 Introductory Remarks

Carrie Ricker, President, welcomed Council members to the meeting, noting the extraordinary circumstances that require it to be held via Zoom videoconferencing. She acknowledged that even though the meeting was being held virtually, it was still being held in Mi’kma’ki and that the treaties of peace and friendship enshrine a relationship of sharing and mutual respect.

C. Ricker noted that the meeting was being held on a National Day of Mourning and offered condolences on behalf of the Society to all those affected by the tragic events of the past weekend.

C. Ricker welcomed Andrew Taillon, the Society’s new Director of Professional Responsibility.

77

2

2. DISCUSSION OF BIG ISSUE (BUDGET)

2.1 Budget and Levy

Kate Shewan, Director of Finance and Administration, described the budget revision process that occurred as a result of the pandemic. She reviewed how COVID-19 has impacted the assumptions that drove the design of the original budget, and explained how it had been amended to reduce the newly projected shortfall. She described how the Society’s cash reserves would be used to stabilize the budget over three years in the hopes of avoiding large fluctuations in fees.

Maurice Chiasson, chair of the Finance Committee, noted that the budget will likely have to be reviewed and adjusted on a regular basis as the global economic impact of the pandemic becomes more clear.

Following a lengthy discussion, Council agreed to have the Finance Committee regularly review the budget assumptions and to monitor the impact of the changes to the budget on lawyers and staff, especially through an equity lens, and to be prepared to make adjustments as necessary. Council also agreed on the need for transparent communication about the budget to Society members.

Lawrence Rubin, Director of LIANS, noted that the LIANS levy will increase this year due to the increased costs of running the insurance program.

UPON MOTION BY Andrew Nickerson QC and seconded by Tuma Young QC that the budget be approved. MOTION CARRIED.

UPON MOTION BY Cheryl Canning QC and seconded by Rod Wilson that the LIANS levy be approved. MOTION CARRIED.

3. POLICIES/PROCESSES

3.1 Annual Lawyer Report

C. Ricker explained the process for updating the Annual Lawyer Report (ALR) questionnaire

and presented examples of proposed changes. It was explained that staff are identifying

opportunities to educate members about regulatory changes and identify opportunities to

provide support. T. Pillay noted that the Racial Equity and Gender Equity Committees will

provide a review of the self-identification questions.

3.2 Succession Planning Standard

C. Ricker explained the purpose of bringing forward this draft standard, which is to ensure that Council is comfortable with the standard being distributed to the membership for comment. Council approved by consensus this approach.

3.3 Amendments to articling requirements

T. Pillay explained the purpose of these amendments, which is to allow clerks to start the PREP

course before they have secured articles. This would allow clerks who are unable to begin

articles due to COVID-19 to use that time to complete PREP. She also noted that CPLED has

78

3

confirmed through an evaluation process that students will still get the educational benefit from

completing PREP, even if it is completed outside of regular articling.

UPON MOTION BY Andrew Nickerson QC and seconded by Cheryl Canning QC that the

amendments be approved. MOTION CARRIED.

3.4 NSBS Response to COVID-19

T. Pillay provided an update to Council on the work that each staff department is doing in

response to COVID-19. In addition to the re-budgeting process discussed earlier, this has

included making adjustments to bar admissions, writing regulatory amendments; supporting

members who have a wide range of COVID-19-related questions; managing new complaints

and investigations; updating the website with information on a daily basis; and adjusting to

delivering services remotely. Despite all these changes, T. Pillay confirms that most Society

functions are continuing as normal.

T. Pillay has noted that through the Society’s engagement with stakeholders and the

membership she has been lobbied by various segments of the bar, and on their behalf she has

contacted the courts and the Department of Justice to identify ways to work together to solve

problems.

4. IN CAMERA

There was one item discussed in camera.

5. APPROVALS

There were no approvals.

6. CONSENT AGENDA

6.1 Minutes of March 27, 2020 meeting

6.2 Resignation of Liz Wozniak as chair of the Complaints Investigation Committee

6.3 Appointment of Mark Scott QC, as Chair, and Janice Beaton QC, as Vice-Chair, of the Complaints Investigation Committee

UPON MOTION BY Deanna Frappier QC and seconded by Tuma Young QC that the

consent agenda be approved. MOTION CARRIED

7. FOR INFORMATION

8. WRAP UP

Meeting adjourned with unanimous consent.

79

4

9. MEETINGS

May 22, 2020, at 9:00 a.m.

June 12, 2020 (Council Session), at 1:00 p.m.

June 13, 2020 (Annual Meeting), at 8:30 a.m.

July 24, 2020, at 9:00 a.m.

September 25, 2020, at 9:00 a.m.

November 27, 2020, at 9:00 a.m.

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MEMORANDUM

From: Tuma Young QC, Chair, Nominating Committee

To: Council

Date: May 15, 2020

Subject: Appointment of Public Representative to Council

For: Approval X Introduction Information

Recommendation/Motion

The Nominating committee has completed its interviewing and selection process for the vacant Public Representative position on Council. Our recommendation is that Carole Lee Reinhardt be appointed to this position. Her application package is appended to this email. Our process was as follows:

A call for expressions of interest was sent out in early April seeking a member of the public with a background in finance.

The Committee reviewed previous applications and invited qualified applicants to re-apply

The Committee reviewed the submitted applications: packages included covering letters, CVs and completed skills matrices. Three candidates were chosen to be interviewed. One candidate ultimately withdrew from the competition due to work commitments.

A panel of members of the Nominating Committee interviewed both candidates on May 14. This was followed by a deliberation period, where the panel came to a unanimous decision to recommend the appointment of Ms. Reinhardt.

Both interviewed candidates were very strong, and the panel would have felt comfortable appointing either one. The Nominating Committee is therefore gauging the other candidate’s interest in being appointed to a Council committee.

81

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From: Tilly Pillay QC, Executive Director Date: May 22, 2020 Subject: Slightly Revised Council Policies Included in these materials is a slightly revised and updated version of the current Council Policies. They have been updated to reflect the revised language we use in our new values and strategic goals and objectives. There have been no substantial changes.

A more complete review is going to be done by the Governance Committee this year to ensure the policies reflect best practises in governance. You will see that included in the work plan of the Governance Committee, which is in the materials under the Consent Agenda.

Council Policy 2 “Council’s Role” makes reference in a footnote at the end of the policy to “equity seeking groups.” We received feedback that this definition may not be broad enough to encompass all of these groups, so I have sent this to Angela to place before the Equity committees for their review and feedback to Council. Hopefully, we can approve an update of this definition, with the input of the Equity committees, by the time of our July meeting.

86

1

Council Governance

Policies

Amended to March 15, 2019

87

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 1 ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Council Policy 1 – Council’s Governance Responsibilities.............................................................................3

Council Policy 2 – Council’s Roles ....................................................................................................................4

Council Policy 3 – Council’s Values ...................................................................................................................6

Council Policy 4 – Council’s Manner of Governance .................................................................................... 87

Council Policy 5 – Code of Conduct ............................................................................................................... 98

Council Policy 6 – Openness, Transparency and Confidentiality ........................................................... 1110

Council Policy 7 – Council Evaluation and Performance ......................................................................... 1211

Council Policy 8 – Council Agenda and Planning Calendar ..................................................................... 1312

Council Policy 9 – Conflict of Interest ......................................................................................................... 1413

Council Policy 10 – This page is blank ......................................................................................................... 1514

Council Policy 11 – Elected Council Member Vacancies .......................................................................... 1615

PART II ................................................................................................................................................................. 1716

Council Policy 12 – The President ............................................................................................................... 1716

Council Policy 13 – The Vice-Presidents .................................................................................................... 1918

Council Policy 14 – The Executive Committee .......................................................................................... 2019

Council Policy 15 – Honorariums for Society Officers and Public Representatives ............................. 2120

Council Policy 16 – Role and Expectations for Committees and Chairs ................................................ 2322

Council Policy 17 – Executive Director ........................................................................................................... 25

Council Policy 18 – Executive Expectations of the Executive Director .................................................. 2726

Council Policy 19 – Executive Director Performance Evaluation ................................................................ 32

Council Policy 19 – Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................... 3635

Executive Director Performance Goals ...................................................................................................... 35

Council Policy 19 - Appendix 2 ........................................................................................................................ 36

Executive Director Performance Review .................................................................................................... 36

Part A: Organizational Responsibilities ...................................................................................................... 36

Council Policy 20 – Public Representatives on Council ............................................................................... 38

Council Policy 21 – Member of the Council of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada ..................... 39

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3

PART 1

Council Policy 1 – Council’s Governance Responsibilities

NAME OF POLICY Council’s Governance Responsibilities

APPLICABLE SECTIONS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION ACT AND REGULATIONS

LPA s.3(1), 4(1), 6(1)

Approved by Council January 25, 2008

Effective January 25, 2008

Reviewed July 21, 2017

Revised July 21, 2017

1.1 Council is the governing body of the Society and must ensure that the Society carries out its purpose to

uphold and protect the public interest in the practice of law through the LPA, the Regulations, the Regulatory Objectives and the Strategic Framework.1Goals and Objectives.

1.2 While Council members bring the perspectives of the districts in which they practise, their fiduciary duty as members of the governing body is to the Society as a whole.

1.3 Protection of the public interest in the practice of law is both a traditional concept for the regulation of the legal profession and the purpose of the Society under the Legal Profession Act.

1.4 Council ensures that the Society fulfils its purpose by striving for excellence in regulation of the profession, promoting the highest standards of competence and ethical conduct of lawyers and striving for equity, diversity and inclusion within the profession.

1.5 Council members owe a fiduciary duty to the Society similar to the duty owed by directors to a corporation. Accordingly, Council members, when exercising any role arising from being a member of Council, must be honest, faithful and loyal to the Society.

1.6 Council receives advice from the Executive Director and from committees of the Society to inform its decisions, but always retains the power and duty to exercise its discretion in its decision making in accordance with its own assessment of the purpose of the Society and the public interest in each decision.

1.7 Council members must make informed decisions, and should consider the views of members of the Society. However, they are not bound by these perspectives and must at all times exercise their judgment independently, in good faith, and consistent with the Society’s purpose of protection and promotion2 of the public interest in the practice of law. Council members must not make decisions in the interests of particular constituencies or advocates on behalf of the profession at the expense of the public interest.

1.8 Council members are expected to demonstrate leadership in their Council and committee activities, and in communication with lawyers.

1.9 Council acts collectively and when a decision is made by Council, Council members must communicate it and explain it to members of the Society.

1.10 Only the President and the Executive Director are authorized to communicate with the public on behalf of the Society concerning actions of Council.

1 This will be amended again on the passage of the legislative changes to include “promote the cause of justice and the rule of law.” 2 And promotion is to be added in the LPA package.

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4

Council Policy 2 – Council’s Roles

NAME OF POLICY Council’s Roles


LPA s. 4(1), 4(2), 6(1)





2.1 Council governs the Society and manages its affairs, and may take any action consistent with the Act, the

Regulations and the Regulatory Objectives that it considers necessary to fulfil its purpose.

2.2 Council provides effective stewardship and strategic leadership for the Society by:

2.2.1 ensuring that the legislated purpose and Regulatory Objectives of the Society are carried out;

2.2.2 ensuring the ongoing relevance of the Society’s purpose; and

2.2.3 interpreting the legislative purpose when defining the scope of the Society’s activities.

2.3 In accordance with Council Policy 5, Council exercises its authority only as a whole. No individual can act with the authority of Council unless specifically delegated to do so by Council.

2.4 To fulfil its role and its governance responsibilities, Council must:

2.4.1 set the Society’s strategic directions following periodic review;

2.4.2 approve the Society’s Annual Activity Plan;

2.4.3 approve the Society’s annual budget and a policy on reserve funds, and receive regular financial reports from the Executive Director;

2.4.4 ensure that the Society has in place appropriate risk management structures that address operational and regulatory risks;

2.4.5 promote and practise effective governance and evaluate its own effectiveness;

2.4.6 perform all functions assigned to it by the Legal Profession Act, the Regulations made under the Legal Profession Act and these policies;

2.4.7 oversee the development of standards that the Society is required to develop pursuant to Section 4 of the Act;

2.4.8 appoint and receive reports from committees, task forces and representatives to outside bodies as required;

2.4.9 ensure that the terms of reference for committees, task forces and working groups are current and advance the Society’s strategic directions, and that those involved in committees and otherwise are appropriately engaged in order to assist Council in carrying out its role;

2.4.10 hire and oversee the performance of the Executive Director;

2.4.11 be fully informed, through regular briefings and ongoing dialogue with equity-seeking groups, of the issues affecting the administration of justice and the legal profession and the risks facing the Society, and Council will use that information to develop initiatives and partnerships that have as an objective the improvement of the administration of justice where the Society can effectively use its resources to respond to identified issues and needs; and

2.4.12 approve a strategic engagement and communication planpolicy that addresses the Society’s relationships with the profession, justice sector stakeholders and the public.

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5

2.5 To seek to improve the administration of justice, Council must:

2.5.1 identify and seek to eliminate barriers to entry to the legal profession for members of equity-seeking groups;3

2.5.2 encourage and facilitate continuing membership in the Society of lawyers from equity-seeking groups;

2.5.3 encourage and facilitate access to leadership roles within the profession and the Society from members of equity-seeking groups; and

2.5.4 identify ways in which the Society can address needs of economically disadvantaged groups.

3 ‘Equity-seeking groups include women, IndigenousAboriginal peoples, racialized peoples, persons with disabilities and persons seeking equality on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

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6

Council Policy 3 – Council’s Values

NAME OF POLICY Council’s Values


LPA s. 6(1), 6(2)

Approved by Council November 21, 2008, amended January 23, 2009, amendments approved April 24, 2009, June 17, 2016

Effective November 21, 2008

Reviewed May 23, 2014, June 2016

Revised June 17, 2016

3.1 VISION

The Society is the independent, trusted and respected regulator of the legal profession. Acting in the public interest, we provide leadership, value and support to a competent, ethical, inclusive and engaged legal profession. We enable the legal profession to enhance access to justice and uphold the rule of law.

3.2 VALUES

3.2.1 Commitment to excellenceDiversity and Inclusion We promote substantive equality and encourage the profession to embrace the value of diversity and inclusion. We are inclusive and supportive of people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, practice environments and life experiences.We promote excellence in the profession and strive for excellence in all aspects of our work. We adopt appropriate and best policies, procedures and practices.

3.2.3 Excellence We promote excellence in the profession and strive for excellence in all aspects of our work. We adopt appropriate and best policies, procedures and practices. 3.2.2 Fairness We operate fairly and impartially. We are proactive, principled and proportionate.

3.2.3 Respect We treat all persons with dignity and respect. We listen, consider and seek to understand other points of view.

3.2.4 Integrity We approach our work in an ethical, honest and principled fashion.

3.2.5 Visionary leadership We actively seek out and assess what is happening provincially, nationally and globally that affects the regulation of the legal profession. We anticipate and respond to a rapidly changing environment and have the courage to initiate change. 3.2.6 Diversity We promote substantive equality and encourage the profession to embrace the value of diversity. We are inclusive and supportive of people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, practice environments and life experiences. 3.2.6 Transparency

We are transparent in our decision-making and processes.

3.2.7 Accountability

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7

We are open, transparent, objective and fiscally responsible in our independent governance and regulation of the profession.

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Council Policy 4 – Council’s Manner of Governance

NAME OF POLICY Council’s Manner of Governance


None





4.1 Council governs in a manner that emphasizes:

4.1.1 a proactive, forward, outward vision;

4.1.2 encouragement of diversity of viewpoints;

4.1.3 strategic leadership;

4.1.4 clear distinction of Council, committee and staff roles; and

4.1.5 collective decision making;

4.2 by

4.2.1 directing its energies toward the Society’s purpose;

4.2.2 guiding and inspiring Society thinking and behaviour through the provision of and adherence to clearly stated policies and a Strategic Framework; Goals and Objectives

4.2.3 fostering a sense of group responsibility toward excellence and self-discipline in matters including attendance, decision-making principles, and respect for identified roles;

4.2.4 encouraging members of the Society to become engaged in Society endeavours;

4.2.5 ensuring that the work of Council and the Society is communicated to the membership and to appropriate outside stakeholders; and

4.2.6 regularly assessing its process and performance.

4.3 Council’s proceedings are governed by Bourinot's Rules of Order.

4.4 When exercising adjudicative powers, Council members must behave in a judicial manner.

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9

Council Policy 5 – Code of Conduct

NAME OF POLICY Code of Conduct


Society Reg. 2.8.1, 2.8.2





5.1 Council members must always act in compliance with all Council Policies.

5.2 Council expects ethical and businesslike conduct of itself and its members. Council works to set the policies and strategic direction for the Society. Council members must exercise the degree of care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances.

5.3 Council members must be loyal to the purpose of the Society and adhere to the conflict of interest policy in Council Policy 9. This accountability supersedes any conflicting loyalty such as that to advocacy or interest groups, individual members, or membership in other organizations. It also supersedes the personal interests of any member.

5.4 Council members must respect the confidentiality that is applicable to Council’s deliberations or materials in accordance with Council Policy 6.

5.5 Individual Council members must not exercise authority over the Executive Director or employees of the Society.

5.6 Only the President and the Executive Director are authorized to communicate with the public on behalf of the Society. Generally, the President speaks concerning actions of Council and the Executive Director addresses matters relating to regulation of the profession and other activities of the Society, but between them they may agree on who is best to address a specific matter.

5.7 Council members are accountable to exercise their powers and discharge the duties of their office honestly and in good faith.

5.8 Council is committed to effective decision making. Once a decision has been made, it becomes the position of the Society.

5.8.1 Council endeavours to make decisions by consensus. A consensus decision is one that is acceptable to all, provided that a variety of points of view have been reasonably considered. Where this is not possible, decisions will be made by majority vote unless otherwise required.

5.8.2 Council encourages and provides an atmosphere conducive to the respectful expression of different viewpoints and perspectives, since a broad range of ideas increases the potential for more informed and effective decisions. Members must respect each member’s contribution to the discussion and encourage each other to present their views.

5.8.3 Council members have an obligation to ensure that their opinions and views are expressed appropriately.

5.8.4 Council members have an obligation not to undermine the decisions of Council. However, Council members may, in good faith, challenge or question a decision of Council by use of appropriate processes designed to have the decision reconsidered or challenged in an appropriate forum.

5.8.5 Council members must refrain from critically discussing in a public forum the actions or submissions of specific Council members.

5.9 Council members acknowledge and appreciate that all Council members are making a voluntary contribution to governance of the Society and, as such, time is at a premium. Members strive to manage time effectively and agree to come to meetings prepared and to be familiar with the pre-circulated Council meeting materials.

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10

5.10 Should a member of Council obtain employment with the Society, they must immediately resign from Council.

5.11 A member of Council who is not present for three meetings of Council in a Council year (between June – June) is deemed to have resigned from Council, unless Council otherwise determines.

5.12 A member of Council who is found guilty of professional misconduct, conduct unbecoming or professional incompetence or found to be incapacitated under Part 3 of the Act is deemed to have resigned from Council.

5.13 During an election for members of Council or Second Vice-President, Council members who endorse a particular candidate will not purport to do so on behalf of the Society or Council.

5.14 Council members bring diverse views on issues to Council debates. Constructive disagreements among Council members are encouraged in a well-functioning Council. They can be managed by following generally accepted rules of procedures and the encouragement of good listening and communication skills. Council members strive to avoid issues becoming personal in nature; however, should disagreements result in serious conflict that is not constructive, the President is responsible for managing such conflicts.

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Council Policy 6 – Openness, Transparency and Confidentiality

NAME OF POLICY Openness, Transparency and Confidentiality


None


Effective July 2008



6.1 Subject to 6.2, Council meetings are open to the public. Attendance at meetings does not create a right for non-Council members to participate. Persons who are not Council members may not address Council unless permitted to do so by the President.

6.2 The President recommends if matters are to be held in camera. Where, following a motion of Council, matters are held in camera or Council determines that information is to be kept confidential, attendees at Council meetings must abide by such determinations.4

6.3 Unless material is required to be kept confidential or is subject to solicitor/client privilege, Council agendas and materials will be posted on the Society’s website after they are provided to members of Council.

6.4 Minutes of Council meetings:

6.4.1 will capture the nature of discussions at Council meetings;

6.4.2 except for the names of the mover and seconder of motions and the name of the person introducing the matter to Council, will not attribute comments to individual members unless it is necessary to do so in order that a reader can clearly understand the nature of the debate;

6.4.3 will reflect the results of votes, but names will not be attributable to votes unless a member requests that an individual vote be recorded or Council approves a recorded vote on a resolution; and

6.4.4 will be posted on the Society’s website after they have been approved.

4 The GNC will develop a policy on how minutes of matters decided in camera are maintained. President recommends and it is up to Council to agree, by majority vote? Policy on what is in camera? Staffing, contracts, legal advice, other?

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Council Policy 7 – Council Evaluation and Performance NAME OF POLICY Council Evaluation and Performance


None





7.1 Council must regularly evaluate its own performance and effectiveness in its various areas of responsibility by agreed-upon performance criteria.

7.2 Council evaluation is focused on Council performance as a whole and its compliance with policies.

7.3 Council recognizes that continual updating of skills and awareness of new issues are vital to a member’s contribution to Council. Therefore, it is expected that:

7.3.1 candidates for Council membership will be provided with information that clearly outlines the role of Council and the necessary qualifications and expectations of Council members; and

7.3.2 new Council members must receive an orientation to ensure familiarity with the Society’s purpose, structure, strategic priorities and process of governance;

7.3.3 there will be an ongoing mentoring program for new members of Council; and

7.3.4 there will be ongoing opportunities for training and education to enhance their governance capabilities.

7.4 Evaluation of Council members, such as self-evaluation or peer evaluation, may be implemented but results relating to individual members will not be shared beyond the individual member of Council, the person responsible for the evaluation and the Officers.

7.5 Retiring Council members will participate in an exit interview with the President and First Vice-President at the time their term on Council ends. The purpose of the exit interview is to learn about the Council member’s experience on Council for purposes of enhancing the quality of Council’s future work.

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Council Policy 8 – Council Agenda and Planning Calendar

NAME OF POLICY Council Agenda and Planning Calendar


LPA s. 6(2)





8.1 Council maintains control of its own agenda.

8.2 Agenda items must always relate to Council’s role.

8.3 Subject to 8.2, members of Council may have a matter added to a Council agenda.

8.3 The agenda is prepared jointly by the President and the Executive Director. Council delegates to the President the authority to fill in the details of meeting content.

8.4 The Executive Director must prepare for Council approval, a 12-month planning calendar that includes but is not limited to scheduled times for:

8.4.1 orientation for new Council members;

8.4.2 development of an annual activity plan and a budget to support the approved activity plan and the Society’s Regulatory Objectives;

8.4.3 education related to the Society’s purpose and Regulatory Objectives;

8.4.4 review of and reporting on Council’s Governance policies by the Governance and Nominating Committee;

8.4.5 monitoring of Council Policy 18 (Expectations of Executive Director) and compliance by the Executive Director;

8.4.6 receipt of operational monitoring reports;

8.4.7 receipt of work plans and reports from committees that accord with their terms of reference and the approved strategic priorities, as appropriate;

8.4.8 Council evaluation; and

8.4.9 in years during which there will be an election, a schedule for the election process that will include dates for notifying members of the election, dates for posting of information that persons considering running for Council should have, and the posting of election dates.

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Council Policy 9 – Conflict of Interest

NAME OF POLICY Conflict of Interest


None





9.1 Council conducts all of its affairs to the highest standards of ethical and lawful behaviour.

9.2 Council members must not use their positions with the Society for any improper purpose.

9.3 Council members avoid all situations in which their personal interests or duties to their clients’ conflict or might conflict with their duties to the Society.

9.4 Council members who are in an actual or potential conflict of interest must so declare and absent themselves from both the discussion and vote on the matter before Council.

9.5 Council members who declare their actual or potential conflict of interest are included in determining a quorum.

9.6 Council members who declare an actual or potential conflict of interest will be noted in the minutes by name.

9.7 Council members must not represent a lawyer or law firm in a matter where the lawyer’s or law firm’s conduct is subject to a complaint, investigation or other proceedings under Part 3 of the Legal Profession Act.

9.8 The following people will not represent a party adverse in interest to the Society or a member of the Society in a civil action, if the matter is defended by the Lawyers’ Insurance Association of Nova Scotia:

9.8.1 a member of the Executive Committee;

9.8.2 lawyers in their firms the member of has any actual knowledge of the matter from the Society, unless the parties to the action consent to the firm's representation; and

9.8.3 a member of Council who has actual knowledge of the matter that is the subject of the civil action from his or her involvement in the Society, unless the parties to the action consent to the firm's representation.

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Council Policy 10 – This page is blank

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Council Policy 11 – Elected Council Member Vacancies

NAME OF POLICY Elected Council Member Vacancies


Society Reg. 2.5.6



Reviewed

Revised

11.1 In the event of a vacancy in any District or At Large Council position, or if the number of candidates

nominated in any District or At Large election is less than the number of lawyers to be elected to Council, following receipt of advice from the Governance and Nominating Committee, Council may

(a) call a byelection to fill the vacancy,

(b) appoint a practising lawyer from the District in the event of a District vacancy, or

(c) if lasting no longer than six months, leave the vacancy.

Byelection

11.2 Unless otherwise determined by Council, a byelection should be held to fill a Council vacancy where the Council seat would otherwise remain vacant for a period exceeding 12 months.

11.3 Where a byelection is called, Council must establish and publicize the dates for the call for nominations for the byelection, and for the election date. Council must allow a minimum of two weeks for nominations to be received and a minimum of two weeks for the electoral campaign following the close of nominations. Balloting for a byelection must remain open for a minimum of 72 hours.

11.4 The newly elected lawyer becomes a member of Council immediately upon election, or together with a newly elected Council, as applicable.

11.5 In conducting the election, all of the applicable election regulations should be applied with whatever modification may be necessary in the circumstances.

Appointment

11.6 Where Council makes an appointment, that lawyer should take office upon appointment or together with a newly elected Council, as applicable, and Council must decide the effective date of the appointment at the time of the appointment.

Orientation

11.7 A newly appointed or elected Council member should participate in an orientation to the governance policies and work of Council within two weeks of being elected or appointed, unless Council orientation is scheduled otherwise to coincide with the commencement of a new Council term. The President is responsible to ensure the orientation is scheduled and delivered, with the support of the other Officers and Executive Director.

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PART II

Council Policy 12 – The President

NAME OF POLICY The President


LPA s. 8





12.1 The President provides leadership to the Society by:

12.1.1 upholding the purpose of the Society;

12.1.2 ensuring the integrity of Council’s processes and policies;

12.1.3 representing the Society at meetings with organizations and leaders having an interest in the practice of law and administration of justice in the province, such as County Bar Associations, AJEFNE, CBA, senior provincial and federal justice officials, the courts, the Public Prosecution Service, Nova Scotia Legal Aid and other organizations as may be identified by the President, the Executive Director or Council;

12.1.4 overseeing the Society’s relationship with its committee Chairs and members;

12.1.5 ensuring that the Society properly plans for the future in accordance with policies for planning established by Council; and

12.1.6 monitoring Council’s activities respecting the Strategic Framework Goals and Objectives and the Annual Activity Plan.

12.2 The President works closely and consults with the Executive Director on matters of Council business but has no authority to supervise or direct the Executive Director.

12.3 The President works closely with the Vice-Presidents to achieve the Society’s purpose and Council’s objectives.

12.4 The President will ensure that there is an appropriate orientation for the Second Vice-President.

12.5 The President represents the Society to the membership and outside bodies and stakeholders and serves as a member of the Judicial Council of Nova Scotia, when required to do so. The President is the only member of Council, other than the Executive Director, authorized to speak on behalf of the Society, unless other persons are authorized by the Act, the Regulations, the President or the Executive Director.

12.6 The President ensures Council’s business and behavior (both as a whole and with respect to individual members) is consistent with its own policies and rules and those properly imposed upon it. In particular, the President must ensure:

12.6.1 Council agendas will only include appropriate items; and

12.6.2 deliberations will be fair, open and thorough but also efficient, timely, orderly, kept to the point and guided by Council Policies.

12.7 The President must reasonably interpret Council Policies when exercising authority and making decisions.

12.8 The President, assisted by the Vice-Presidents, oversees the Society’s relationship with all volunteers to ensure that their efforts are directed and effective to enhance the tasks they have undertaken.5

5 See Council Policy 16.22

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12.9 The President may attend meetings of any committee, except the Hearing Committee, and fully participate in the discussions of the committee but does not have a vote.

12.10 The President is the Chair of Council and the Executive Committee and:

12.10.1 sets the agenda for meetings with the assistance of the Executive Director and input from members of Council;

12.10.2 chairs meetings in accordance with commonly accepted practices of a Chair and any rules of procedure adopted by Council;6

12.10.3 ensures an appropriate orientation process is in place for those individuals elected or appointed to Council;

12.10.4 ensures Council evaluates its work and the work of committees through a regular evaluation process; and

12.10.5 regularly reports to Council and to the profession on matters that are relevant to Council’s governance of the Society.

6 See Council Policy 4

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Council Policy 13 – The Vice-Presidents

NAME OF POLICY The Vice-Presidents


LPA s. 8(2), 8(4), 8(5).





13.1 The Vice-Presidents act in the place of the President as prescribed by the Act and the Regulations, and

when requested to do so by the President.

13.2 The Vice-Presidents assist the President by assuming a progressive degree of leadership in the Society commensurate with their time in office and the issues delegated to them by the President or Council.

13.3 The Vice-Presidents consult and work closely with the President to achieve the Society’s purpose and Council’s objectives.

13.4 The Vice-Presidents assist the President in overseeing the management of volunteers and ensure that their efforts are well directed and effective to achieve the tasks they have undertaken.

13.5 The Vice-Presidents may be appointed as full members of any Society committee, other than the Hearing Committee and may attend meetings of any committee, even though not an appointed member, in which case they may fully participate in the discussions of the committee but do not have a vote.

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Council Policy 14 – The Executive Committee

NAME OF POLICY The Executive Committee


Society Reg. 2.9.1(e)





14.1 The Executive Committee is composed of the Officers, the Executive Director and such other members

as approved by Council.

14.2 The Executive Committee assists Council in carrying out the work of the Society. In addition, the Executive takes on work assigned or delegated by Council.

14.4 Under the leadership of the President, the Executive Committee generally assists the President and Vice-Presidents by:

14.4.1 assessing issues to be presented to Council;

14.4.2 ensuring matters are ready and appropriate for Council consideration;

14.4.3 providing guidance to the Executive Director and Council;

14.4.4 monitoring the Strategic Framework Goals and Objectives and the Annual Activity Plan;

14.4.5 ensuring that Council evaluates its work and the work of committees through a regular evaluation process;

14.4.6 assisting in overseeing the management of volunteers; and

14.4.7 assisting Council in overseeing the work within the authority of the Executive Director, in order to promote the accountability of the Executive Director to Council.

14.4 Minutes of Executive Committee meetings are to be provided to Council after Executive Committee approval.

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Council Policy 15 – Honorariums for Society Officers and Public Representatives

NAME OF POLICY Honorariums for Society Officers and Public Representatives


LPA s. 8, 7(e) Society Reg. 2.8.7

Approved by Council March 15, 2019

Effective March 15, 2019

Reviewed Revised

15.1 Officers of the Society

The role of the Officers of the Society is spelled out in the Council policies. They take on increasing responsibility as they move through the offices and they assume greater degrees of leadership, culminating in the office of the President. The time commitment for both attendance at Society and related functions is significant. The time commitment for the Officers is significant including preparation time and travel with the latter being particularly onerous for those living outside of HRM. The extent of this time commitment takes away from the individual Officer’s practice or personal time. Regardless of which area it affects, the costs are significant.

15.2 Remuneration of the Officers

In October 2012, Council approved a motion to amend the Honorarium paid to the Officers in the amount and to which Officers would receive remuneration.

15.3 Officers Honorariums

The Officers are entitled to receive honoraria annually in the amounts of:

15.3.1 President - $60,000;

15.3.2 Vice-President - $30,000;

15.3.3 Second Vice-President - $15,000

15.4 Honorarium - Travel Stipends

Officers who live and work outside of Halifax (HRM) or live and work more than 50 km from the Society Office, are entitled to receive an additional amount of remuneration of honorarium to recognize the additional travel time required to attend at meetings and other Society related functions. This additional honorarium will be treated the same as Officer honorariums for payment and tax purposes noted in this policy. The travel stipend is paid to the Officer in the amounts of:

15.4.1 President - $5,000;

15.4.2 Vice-President - $2,500;

15.4.3 Second Vice-President - $1,250

15.5 Depending on the nature of their practice and/or employment contract, Officers may be required to have the honorarium paid to their employer.

15.6 Honorarium payments are pro-rated and calculated based on the number of months completed by the Officer in each position. Payments will be made in quarterly instalments, unless alternate arrangements have been requested. Officers leaving their position during the Council year will only receive a pro-rated portion of their Honorarium.

15.7 The Officers’ Honorarium payments have been deemed to be subject to Canada Pension Plan (CPP) deductions. As such, the Society will withhold and remit both the Employer (The Society) and Employee (Officer) portions to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

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15.8 The Society will provide a Statement of Remuneration Paid (T4) to the Officers in accordance with CRA’s requirements. It is the Officer’s responsibility to ensure that income tax requirements be met in relation to Honorarium payments.

15.9 Public Representatives Honorarium

Public Representatives are entitled to a $200 honorarium per day for attendance at Council and/or committee meetings either in person or via teleconference.

15.10 If a committee and Council meet on the same day, a public representative receives an honorarium for only one meeting. The same applies if a Public Representative attends two or more Society meetings on the same day.

15.11 Public representatives are required to submit an expense claim to the Society in order to be remunerated for meetings attended. It may be appropriate for the Honorarium to be paid to the Public Representative’s employer if requested.

15.12 The Society will provide a Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity and Other Income (T4A) to the Officers in accordance with CRA’s requirements. It is the Officer’s responsibility to ensure that income tax requirements be met in relation to Honorarium payments.

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Council Policy 16 – Role and Expectations for Committees and Chairs

NAME OF POLICY7 Role and Expectations for Committees and Chairs


LPA s. 4(1), 4(2)





16.1 The role of committees is not to establish policy but to assist Council in doing so. Policy consists of the

written principles and rules established by Council in the furtherance of the objectives of the Society, the governance of the Society, the regulation of the legal profession or to carry out the role of Council. Only policies approved and adopted by Council have the weight of the authority of Council.

16.2 Committee members are appointed for two-year terms8 by Council. Terms may be amended or renewed by Council, bearing in mind the need to balance experience levels of committee members with the ongoing need for new members, and other factors. Unless extraordinary circumstances exist, no committee member may be appointed for a term longer than six consecutive years.

16.3 Each committee will have approved terms of reference to govern the work of the committee.

16.3.1 The terms of reference must be reviewed with all committee members at the outset of each committee term, and also periodically assessed as to their relevance to the work of the committee.

16.4 Each committee must have a work plan that outlines the issues the committee is undertaking during the current term, whether assigned by its terms of reference or Council or undertaken by the committee on its own initiative.

16.4.1 Committee work plans should relate to the Regulatory Objectives and the current Strategic Framework. Goals and Objectives

16.4.2 Work plans are to be submitted to Council for its approval in January.

16.4.3 Committees should report to Council on matters required to be addressed by the committee’s terms of reference and the progress of its work plan in June.

16.5 If advising Council, committees should identify reasonable policy options and implications, to assist Council in making policy decisions.

16.6 Committees should annually provide input into the Society’s activity plan.

16.7 Committees should assist Council in achieving the objectives and outcomes of the Strategic Framework Goals and Objectives and Annual Activity Plans. Council and committees should communicate regularly, as set out in the Committee Terms of Reference, about this shared contribution to the Society’s purpose.

16.8 Council may explicitly delegate to a committee any task or responsibility of Council, including the ability to develop policies or procedures that may not require Council’s express approval, but the content of which will be reported to Council.

16.9 Committees should, when appropriate, provide input into the Society’s strategic priorities and objectives. Committees should assist Council in achieving the objectives and outcomes of the Strategic Framework Goals and Objectives and Annual Activity Plans. Council and committees should communicate regularly, as set out in the Committee Terms of Reference, about this shared contribution to the Society’s purpose.

16.10 A committee that serves a liaison function should have mechanisms to obtain input from the profession and to share the results of its work with the profession.

16.11 Role of Chair

8 Commencing in January 2019

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16.11.1 Chairs should reflect on the work of their committees and meet as required with the senior staff person responsible for the work of the committee.

16.11.2 Chairs should measure the progress of the work of the committee and ensure members are clear as to what is expected of them. Meeting times should be regularly scheduled and attendance kept.

16.11.3 At the end of each term, committee Chairs should thank members of committees for their participation. If it is the end of the committee term, such letters should note if the member’s term is ending or if another is to be served.

Committee member/staff relations

16.12 Committee members should understand appropriate involvement with staff, and inappropriate contact or requests. Committee members should be aware that staff do not work for the Chair or committee members.

Committee member/Council relations

16.13 Committees should be aware of the relationship with Council in its work – what responsibility exists for reporting and when. Committee members should understand the context for the work of the committee within the 12-month calendar, Annual Activity Plan and Strategic FrameworkGoals and Objectives.

Committee agendas

16.14 Committee chairs and assigned staff share responsibility for setting meeting agendas. Committee members should understand how work comes onto committee agendas, how work moves forward and the respective responsibility associated with completion of the work of the committee, by both committee members and staff.

16.14.1 Committee agendas should advance the Society’s Regulatory Objectives, the Strategic FrameworkGoals and Objectives, the committee’s Terms of Reference and its work plan.

Code of Conduct for committee members

16.15 The Chair of each committee expects ethical and businesslike conduct of its members. Committee members exercise the degree of care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances.

16.16 Individual committee members must not exercise authority over the Executive Director or other individual

employees of the Society. 16.17 Committee members are accountable to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of their position

honestly and in good faith. 16.18 Committees are committed to effective decision making. Once a decision or recommendation has been

made, it becomes the position of the committee. 16.19 Committees will endeavour to make decisions by consensus. A consensus decision is one that is

acceptable to all, provided that a variety of points of view have been reasonably considered. Where this is not possible, decisions will be made by majority vote.

16.20 Committees will encourage and provide an atmosphere conducive to the respectful expression of different

viewpoints and perspectives, since a broad range of ideas increases the potential for more informed and effective decisions. Members must respect each member’s contribution to the discussion and encourage members to present their respective views.

16.21 Committee members have an obligation to ensure that their opinions and views are expressed

appropriately. 16.22 In order that the ability of a committee to work effectively is not undermined, committee members will

refrain from discussing the actions of specific committee members outside of meetings.

16.23 Committee members acknowledge and appreciate that all members are volunteers and, as such, their time is valuable. As much as possible, meeting dates shall be scheduled as part of the 12-month calendar

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but other matters may necessitate additional meetings. Members strive to manage time effectively and agree to come prepared for meetings. Committee members will be familiar with the pre-circulated committee meeting materials.

16.24 Should a member obtain employment with the Society, he or she is deemed to have resigned from all committees prior to commencing work.

16.25 A member of a committee who does not participate in three consecutive committee meetings is deemed to have resigned from that committee, unless the Chair otherwise determines.

16.26 A member of a committee who is convicted of professional misconduct, conduct unbecoming or incompetence under Part 3 of the Act is deemed to have resigned from a committee.

16.27 Committee work will vary as to when it is appropriate to seek non-committee member input and the Chair will be responsible, together with staff, to ensure the distinction is made clear to all committee members.

16.28 Members of a committee will not purport to speak on behalf of the committee or the Society if they endorse a candidate in a Society election.

Confidentiality

16.29 Absent an invitation, Committee meetings are not open to members of the Society.

16.30 Committee agendas, deliberations, materials and minutes are confidential and members of committees must not disclose the subject matter or nature of committee discussions or committee materials or notes, unless specifically authorized to do so by the committee.

16.31 Despite 16.23, unless they are required to be kept confidential or subject to solicitor/client privilege, upon request, the Executive Director may release committee materials and minutes to members of Council.

Communication with President – managing committee issues

16.32 It is appropriate for any committee member to discuss any concerns with regard to committee work with the President or the Executive Director. The President will periodically discuss committee work with each committee Chair, and with the Executive Director to identify how the committee work can be further supported or improved. The President will assist where possible in ensuring the needs of the committees are appropriately addressed.

1 This should be read in conjunction with Council Policy 15.2.6

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Council Policy 17 – Executive Director

NAME OF POLICY Executive Director


LPA s. 9(1), 7(2), 10(2), 14(1), 20(2), 40(2) Society Regs 1.2, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1.5, 2.2.2, 2.5



Reviewed May 23, 2014

Revised

17.1 The Executive Director is the Chief Executive Officer of the Society.

17.2 The Executive Director is the sole employee of Council, which is the only body that can employ, direct, terminate, discipline or change the conditions of employment of the Executive Director. Only decisions of Council are binding upon the Executive Director.

17.3 The Executive Director works closely and consults with the President on matters of Council business.

17.4 Council will give direction to limit the latitude the Executive Director may exercise in the scope of her or his employment through establishment of executive expectations as set out in Council Policy 18.

17.5 The Executive Director must reasonably interpret the Act, Regulations and Council Policies when exercising authority and making decisions.

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Council Policy 18 – Executive Expectations of the Executive Director

NAME OF POLICY Executive Expectations of the Executive Director


LPA s. 9(1), 7(2), 10(2), 14(1), 20(2), 40(2) Society Regs 1.2, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1.5, 2.2.2, 2.5




Revised May 23, 2014

Introduction

18.1 Executive expectations are a mechanism that allows Council to exercise appropriate staff control, promote accountability and foster flexibility, innovation and creativity to benefit the Society’s purpose. They protect the well-being of the Society from risk while encouraging staff to improve processes and identify new responses to needs of the Society in a controlled manner.

General requirements

18.2 The Executive Director is the chief executive officer of the Society and under the direction of Council shall be responsible for the management and coordination of all phases of the operation, administration, finances, organization, supervision and maintenance of all activities of the Society.

18.3 The Executive Director shall perform all the functions and duties normally associated with the office of chief executive officer, including:

(a) putting into effect all policies and procedures established by Council or a committee acting under its authority;

(b) counselling and assisting Council and any committee in the development, adoption, implementation and advancement of the various activities of the Society;

(c) engaging employees of the Society and directing such personnel in the ongoing administration of the approved policies and programs;

(d) executing documents on behalf of the Society; and (e) performing such other functions and duties as may be assigned by Council.

18.4 ??

18.4.1 The Executive Director shall not cause or allow any practice, activity, decision or organizational circumstance that is imprudent or violates the Act, Regulations, other applicable legislation, Society policies, professional ethics or commonly accepted business and management practices.

18.4.2 The Executive Director must participate in the annual performance review that is prescribed by CP 19.

18.5 The Executive Director shall ensure that all policies necessary for the operation and management of the Society are created, kept current, documented and followed. Such policies shall be in compliance with applicable legislation, professional ethics and best business and management practices.

18.6 The Executive Director shall ensure consistency within the Legal Profession Act and Regulations, and shall ensure that subsequent amendments do not create conflicts.

Treatment of employees

18.7 The Executive Director shall ensure that working conditions for employees of the Society are fair, dignified and safe, and in compliance with applicable legislation, employment contracts, professional ethics and best business and management practices.

18.8 The Executive Director shall ensure that regular performance reviews are conducted for all employees in accordance with the Society’s performance review policies and procedures.

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Strategic Plan

18.9 The Executive Director shall facilitate Council’s development and approval of a current Strategic Plan that sets the strategic direction for Council and the Society.

Annual Activity Plan

18.10 The Executive Director shall ensure that Council considers and approves the Annual Activity Plan for the successive Council year, which plan shall be consistent with the Strategic Plan and developed with the input of the Officers, Council members, the Executive Committee, committee chairs and senior staff.

Planning calendar

18.11 The Executive Director shall develop and regularly update a 12-month planning calendar that shall, at each meeting, be submitted to Council for its review in conjunction with an update on the Annual Activity Plan.

Finances

18.12 In March of each year, the Executive Director must present an annual budget to Council for approval, together with three-year projections, which budget shall:

18.12.1 allocate resources that do not deviate substantially from broadly stated organizational goals and priorities;

18.12.2 correspond with the priorities and objectives of the Annual Activity Plan and Strategic FrameworkGoals and Objectives;

18.12.3 contain credible projections of revenues and expenses;

18.12.4 separate capital and operational items;

18.12.5 disclose planning assumptions, risk factors and cash flow projections; and

18.12.6 contain expenditures that do not exceed forecasted revenues.

18.13 The Executive Director shall provide regular written reports to the Finance Committee on the Society’s financial situation that specifically advise of any material change in assumptions or expected deviation in projected revenue or expenditures (material means variances from budget that are greater than five per cent or $10,000.00). Current reports shall be provided to Council at each meeting.

Litigation policies

18.14 The Executive Director shall instruct counsel on behalf of the Society in all matters in which the Society is a party to litigation or to judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings and is not represented by its insurer.

18.14.1 In hearings conducted under Part 3 of the Legal Profession Act, the Executive Director shall instruct counsel for the Society in accordance with the approved Professional Responsibility Policies. The Executive Director’s authority to do so may be delegated to the Director of Professional Responsibility.

18.14.2 Any participation by the Society in litigation or in judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings in which it is an applicant, appellant, intervener or plaintiff must be authorized by the Executive Committee, which shall also set out the scope of the Society’s role in the matter.

18.14.3 In matters where the Society, its employees, Council or committee members are named as a defendant or a responding party in litigation or in judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings, the Executive Director must:

(a) advise the Executive Committee as soon as practicable;

(b) report to the matter to LIANS as soon as practicable for a determination of whether the matter is covered by the terms of the insurance policy, and report the results to the Executive Committee;

(c) if the matter is not covered by LIANS, retain and instruct counsel for the Society, its employees, Council or committee members, and provide direction with respect to the nature and scope of the Society’s role in the matter, in consultation with the Executive Committee as practicable; and

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(d) report to the Executive Committee on the status of the matter from time to time.

18.14.5 The Executive Director shall advise Council of litigation matters at the next meeting of Council following commencement of the Society’s involvement.

18.15 The Executive Director shall ensure that:

18.15.1 expenditures are made in compliance with the budget but the Executive Director may reallocate between items in the budget within guidelines provided by the Finance Committee;

18.15.2 appropriate signing authorities and banking resolutions are kept current;

18.15.3 tax payments and other government-required remittances and other deductions are current at all times and shall so certify to the Finance Committee as part of each monthly written report;

18.15.4 sufficient funds are always available to meet current obligations in a timely manner;

18.15.5 receivables, including discipline repayments, are addressed in a timely manner; and

18.15.6 cash and funds are handled in accordance with applicable standards.

Asset protection and risk management

18.16 The Executive Director shall ensure that both the tangible and intangible assets of the Society are adequately protected and maintained and are not subject to unnecessary risk.

18.17 In particular, the Executive Director shall ensure that:

18.17.1 property and equipment are properly maintained and not subject to improper wear and tear or to unauthorized access;

18.17.2 proper plans are in place to replace depreciated assets;

18.17.3 intellectual property, information and files are properly protected from loss, theft or significant damage;

18.16.4 the Society has adequate insurance protection against theft, fire and casualty losses;

18.17.5 the Society has adequate liability insurance protection for the Society, its employees and volunteers working on behalf of the Society;

18.17.6 the Society has a current technology plan, together with current information technology policies;

18.17.7 information systems are properly maintained and appropriate backups exist for all electronically stored information; and

18.17.8 the Society meets legislative requirements for records retention, confidentiality, privacy and freedom of information.

Support and communication

18.18 The Executive Director shall support Council, the Officers and all volunteers in their work, through both leadership and administrative support.


18.19.1 there is full communication with the Executive Committee and Council on all relevant matters, either at the Executive Committee or Council meetings or between Executive Committee or Council meetings, which communication shall contain appropriate information to allow members to be adequately informed of the issues;

18.19.2 written monitoring reports, required by Council, shall be provided in a timely, accurate and understandable fashion;

18.19.3 Council is informed of relevant trends, significant issues, adverse media coverage, significant internal or external changes and any other information that might reasonably impact Council policy or the reputation of the Society;

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18.19.4 Council is informed if, in the Executive Director’s opinion, Council fails to comply with its own policies, or if there has been conduct that is detrimental to the relationship between the Executive Director and Council;

18.19.5 official Council communications such as minutes and Council packages are distributed in a timely manner, with the goal of distribution no later than one week prior to Council meetings;

18.19.6 Council deliberations are informed by appropriate staff, volunteer and external points of view on issues and options;

18.19.7 appropriate briefing information and support are provided to the Officers to assist them in carrying out their duties, including their presentations to the public or members;

18.19.8 Council and the Officers are assisted in overseeing the engagement of volunteers; and

18.19.9 within available resources, volunteers have appropriate staff support.

Membership and public relations

18.20 Together with the President, the Executive Director is the person primarily responsible for the public image of the Society and shall present that image in a credible way so as to advance the Society’s purpose, strategic direction and values.


18. 21.1 accurate and effective communications strategies and practices are in place, both with members of the Society and with the public;

18. 21.2 an effective public relations strategy is in place;

18. 21.3 information regarding Council decisions is readily available to members of the Society and the public; and

18.21.4 employees or volunteers, unless specifically authorized, do not make public presentations on matters of Council policy.

Compensation and benefits

18.22 Employment, compensation and benefits of employees, consultants and contract workers shall accord with approved budgets and shall not jeopardize the public image or the fiscal integrity of the Society.

18.23 In particular, the Executive Director shall:

18.23.1 not change his/her own compensation and benefits, or receive benefits outside of the approved compensation plan;

18.23.2 ensure that compensation and benefits included in the budget do not substantially deviate from the mean salary for similar positions in the Halifax market; and

18.23.3 ensure that employees use their vacation entitlement without carrying over vacation time from one year to the next, other than what is allowed by the Society’s human resources management policies.

Backup and cross-training

18.24 The Executive Director shall ensure that:

18.24.1 appropriate succession planning is in place for the Executive Director and senior staff;

18.24.2 all senior staff have designated employee backups; and

18.24.3 appropriate cross-training exists within the organization so that in the event of the absence of a critical employee, the work of that person can be carried on by others at least on an interim basis.

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Strategic alliances

18.25 Because the Society’s relationships with individuals and organizations involved in the administration of justice and the governance of the legal profession are critical to achievement of its strategic goals, and because the Executive Director plays a vital role in developing, nurturing and enhancing the quality and extent of these various relationships for the benefit of the Society, the Executive Director shall ensure that:

18.25.1 external relationships are developed and maintained with maximum effectiveness with organizations having an interest in the practice of law and administration of justice in the province, such as County Bar Associations, AJEFNE, CBA, LIANS, provincial and federal justice departments, the courts, the Public Prosecution Service, Nova Scotia Legal Aid and other organizations as may be identified by the President, the Executive Director or Council;

18.25.2 opportunities for the development of new external relationships and partnerships are identified; and

18.25.3 there are meetings between the Society and the organizations noted in article 18.24.2, and Council is advised how this work benefits the Society.

Appointments of liaison committees and members of outside bodies

18.26 Upon request for the Society to appoint liaison committees, representatives and board members to external bodies, the Executive Director, in consultation with the Governance and Nominating Committee, will assess whether such representation is appropriate within the Society’s purposes and current priorities.

18.26.1 If the Executive Director is to make the appointment, Council shall be advised in writing of the names of the intended appointees before the appointments are made.

18.26.2 The Executive Director will appoint the required representatives.

18.26.3 The Executive Director will ensure Council makes the appointments if it is required to do so.

18.26.4 The Society’s appointee shall provide information reports as appropriate, to be determined by the Executive Director at the time of appointment.

18.26.5 These liaison committees and outside bodies include:

Canadian Lawyers’ Insurance Association Advisory Board** Advisory Committee on Judicial Appointments – Federal.

Federation of Law Societies of Canada Council**

Law Foundation of Nova Scotia**

Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia**

Lawyers’ Insurance Association of Nova Scotia** Board of Directors

Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia (LISNS)

Nova Scotia Legal Aid Commission**

Provincial Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee

QC Appointments Advisory Committee

Small Claims Court Adjudicators Advisory Committee

Statutory Costs and Fees Committee

The Indigenous Blacks and Mi’kmaq Initiative Advisory Council

The Judicial Council of Nova Scotia

Government Liaison Committees (and their subcommittees)

The Nova Scotia Civil Procedure Rules Committee

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Court Liaison Committee 18.27 Court Liaison Committees support effective liaison between the Society, members of the Society and the

courts by, among other things, identifying policy and other issues relating to the administration of justice, and recommending means for addressing these issues.

18.27.1 Appointments by the Society to Court Liaison Committees must be made by the Executive Director, in consultation with the Governance and Nominating Committee.

18.27.2 The Executive Director shall ask the Court Liaison Committees to provide periodic reports to Council, through the Executive Director, with respect to their work.

18.27.3 The Executive Director may ask the Court Liaison Committees to consider issues that would assist with furthering the purpose, the regulatory objectives and strategic Strategic plan Goals and Objectives of the Society.

Administration of justice

18.28 The Executive Director shall ensure that Society regulations are regularly reviewed to identify any that impact access to legal services, and that Council is informed of the result of each such review, with options as appropriate to address any identified regulation or gap in regulation.

**Appointment required to be made by Council

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Council Policy 19 – Executive Director Performance Evaluation

NAME OF POLICY Executive Director Performance Evaluation


None

Approved by Council May 2013

Effective May 2013


Revised

19.1 This policy governs the annual performance evaluation process for the Executive Director of the

Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (“Society”). It should be read in conjunction with Council Policy 18, Executive Expectations for the Executive Director.

19.2 The Executive Director is the chief executive officer of the Society and also functions as the Society’s chief operating officer. The Executive Director functions under the direction of Council. With Council’s express permission and delegation, components of the Executive Director’s annual performance evaluation process as set out in this Policy will be exercised by the Society’s Officers.

19.2.1 The Executive Director is required to participate in an annual performance evaluation process as outlined in this policy;

19.2.2 Reporting back by the Executive Director to Council at each Council meeting on progress being made on the achievement of the goals referred to in paragraph 1;

19.2.3 Quarterly meetings between the President and First Vice-President and the Executive Director to review progress being made on the achievement of the goals referred to in paragraph 2.1;

19.2.4 An annual assessment by Council (and others, as may be deemed necessary by Council) of the Executive Director’s performance (see Council’s Executive Director Performance Review Tool attached as Appendix 2);

19.2.5 A self-assessment by the Executive Director of his own performance (see Executive Director Evaluation Tool attached as Appendix 1); and

19.2.6 A final meeting at the end of the performance year (May) between the President and First Vice-President to provide feedback to the Executive Director based on the annual evaluations submitted by members of Council (and others, if solicited) and to provide the Executive Director with Council’s conclusions surrounding the achievement of the goals referred to in paragraph 1.

19.3 The President and First Vice-President shall meet with the Executive Director in June of each year, shortly after the Society’s Annual General Meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to establish performance goals for the Executive Director to achieve in the course of the Society’s pending calendar year.

19.3.1 Council will have input into the goals to be achieved by the Executive Director in the course of the Society’s pending calendar year. It is the responsibility of the President and First Vice-President to obtain Council’s input with respect to goals to be achieved by the Executive Director and it will be the President’s and First Vice-President’s duty to communicate Council’s input to the Executive Director;

19.3.2 The goals must follow the template in Appendix 1;

19.3.3 All goals must be agreed upon by Council and the Executive Director. In the event of any disagreement by the Executive Director with respect to any specific goal, the President and First Vice-President will bring the issue back to Council for discussion. It is expected that Council will act reasonably when determining whether any specific goal should be achieved by the Executive Director in any given year;

19.3.4 The goals must be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely);

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19.3.5 Once the goals have been agreed upon, the President, First Vice-President and Executive Director shall sign and date the Executive Director Performance Goals document; and

19.3.6 A copy of the signed Executive Director Performance Goals document will be provided to Council.

19.4 The President, First Vice-President and Executive Director must meet quarterly to review the Executive Director’s progress on the achievement of the performance goals.

19.4.1 It will be incumbent upon the Executive Director to advise the President and First Vice-President if any difficulties or obstacles are being encountered in the achievement of any specific goal. The President and First Vice-President, on the advice of Council, retain the discretion to make changes to the goals throughout the performance year if any change is deemed necessary.

19.4.2 The President and First Vice-President shall provide informal feedback to the Executive Director at these meetings as to their impressions of his/her performance and must relay to the Executive Director any feedback they may have received from Council. The Executive Director will be expected to act and respond reasonably to that feedback and be prepared to address the actions he or she has taken at a subsequent meeting.

19.4.3 Continuity and consistency amongst the Officers from one year to the next is an important aspect of the Executive Director performance evaluation process and as such, both the President and First Vice-President must attend all performance-related meetings with the Executive Director.

19.5 Beginning in September of each year, the Executive Director must report at every Council meeting on the progress being made on the achievement of each of the performance goals. The Executive Director’s reports to Council may be oral or written, or part orally and part in writing. In the event that the Executive Director’s progress on the achievement of any of the performance goals has been impeded, for any reason, the Executive Director’s report must highlight the impediment and any remedial action he or she has taken to achieve the goal. In the event that the Executive Director determines that any given goal will not be achievable, the Executive Director must advise Council of this and the reason why it cannot be achieved at the first reasonable opportunity.

19.5.1 The President and First Vice-President must advise Council at the first reasonable opportunity in the event they form the opinion for any reason that the goals the Executive Director is supposed to achieve in any Council calendar year may require amendment; and

19.5.2 At the first reasonable opportunity, the President and First Vice-President must report to Council (either orally or in writing) on the occurrence and outcome of any meetings with the Executive Director in relation to the Executive Director’s activities and performance evaluation process.

19.6 In April of each year, Council must decide who, in addition to Council members, may be requested or required to complete an assessment of the Executive Director’s performance in the prior year. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, others who may be requested or required to complete an assessment of the Executive Director’s performance in the prior year may include the Society’s directors and senior representatives of other stakeholders in the Society’s general functions and operations.

19.6.1 Assessments should be completed by Council (and others, as determined) and by the Executive Director in the first week of May (Appendix 2);

19.6.2 To better effect the process of the Executive Director’s annual performance evaluation, Council, at its own discretion exercised reasonably, may retain the services of a human resources consultant or other professional to assist with the assessment process;

19.6.3 In the event that further information is required to provide a more effective annual evaluation of the Executive Director, the Society’s Officers are entitled to access all completed evaluations and to conduct supplementary interviews with any evaluator or assessor they deem appropriate;

19.6.4 Completed assessments will be identifiable to the Society’s Officers, however, the names of the individual assessors will be kept confidential and accessible only by the Society’s Officers and by any human resources consultant or other professional engaged to assist with any annual review; and

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19.6.5 The Executive Director will complete a self-assessment (Appendix 1) and provide a copy thereof to the President and First Vice-President.

19.7 In the latter part of May, the President and First Vice-President will meet with the Executive Director to discuss the assessments submitted by members of Council and others (if any), to review the Executive Director’s self-assessment and to determine whether the Executive Director has achieved the annual performance goals in the manner set out in this Policy.

19.7.1 Part of this discussion should be focused on looking forward to the next performance year and identifying potential new goals for that year; and

19.7.2 The President must provide a brief written report to Council summarizing the results of the feedback session with the Executive Director.

19.8 The Executive Director must maintain his own performance review file.

19.8.1 The President must maintain a separate file with all original documents and notes relating to the Executive Director’s performance evaluation process. The President’s separate file must be passed from President to President so long as the Executive Director’s annual evaluation as set out in this Policy remains in force. The President’s separate file must at all times be accessible to the then current Officers of the Society but must otherwise remain confidential.

19.8.2 Council, at its own discretion exercised reasonably, may engage a human resources consultant or other professional to assist with any aspect of the Executive Director’s performance evaluation process.

19.8.3 All individuals performing tasks on behalf of the Society with respect to the Executive Director’s annual performance evaluation process must be required to enter into written undertakings at the time of their respective engagements that they will keep all related information confidential, saving and excepting information that may be required by the Society’s Officers or Council to be disclosed to them.

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Council Policy 19 – Appendix 1

Executive Director Performance Goals

1. Budget goal

2. Human resources goal

3. Communications

4. Emerging issues

5. Supporting Council and the Executive

6. Development goal

7. Other

Signature: _______________________________________ Date: __________________________________

Executive Director, Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society Signature: _______________________________________ Date: __________________________________ President, Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society

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Council Policy 19 - Appendix 2

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PERFORMANCE REVIEW

Part A: Organizational Responsibilities

1. Mission/vision How satisfied are you that the Executive Director has a clear understanding of the mission and vision of the organization, and plays a key role in translating that vision into realistic action? Very satisfied Satisfied Unsatisfied Cannot assess Please comment:

2. Achievement of specific annual priorities or goals How satisfied are you that the Executive Director has accomplished the annual priorities or goals set by Council for the performance period? Very satisfied Satisfied Unsatisfied Cannot assess Please comment:

3. Strategic leadership – human resources How satisfied are you that the Executive Director has selected and developed qualified staff, built morale amongst staff and volunteers and encouraged best practices? Very satisfied Satisfied Unsatisfied Cannot assess Please comment:

4. Program effectiveness How satisfied are you that the Executive Director has appropriate knowledge of the operations of the Society and demonstrates leadership in finding efficiencies where possible? Very satisfied Satisfied Unsatisfied Cannot assess Please comment:

5. Fiscal responsibility How satisfied are you that the Executive Director manages the resources of the Society well and demonstrates fiscal responsibility? Very satisfied Satisfied Unsatisfied Cannot assess Please comment:

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6. Financial Management How satisfied are you that the Executive Director is knowledgeable regarding financial matters and has established a system that allows for accurate accounting and informed financial decision-making? Very satisfied Satisfied Unsatisfied Cannot assess Please comment:

7. Operations management How satisfied are you that the Executive Director has in place suitable systems, policies and processes for accounting, personnel, office space, information technology and risk management? Very satisfied Satisfied Unsatisfied Cannot assess Please comment:

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Council Policy 20 – Public Representatives on Council

NAME OF POLICY Public Representatives on Council


Society Reg. 2.7

Approved by Council November 21, 2008

Effective November 21, 2008



20.1 Public Representatives are to be appointed by Council based on a recommendation from the Governance

and Nominating Committee following a public call for applications and a transparent.process.

20.2 In appointing Public Representatives, Council ensures that they represent diverse communities and perspectives.

20.3 The Society must maintain a general position description and skills matrix for Public Representatives, which must be available to persons who are interested in serving as Public Representatives.

20.4 In fulfilling the Society’s purpose, the public interest must always be paramount. The Public Representatives, in serving the Society, assist in ensuring that this purpose is met.

20.5 In addition to the roles and responsibilities they share as members of Council, including serving on committees, Public Representatives:

20.5.1 consider how the public perspective and interest can be brought to bear in the work of Council;

20.5.2 make recommendations to Council on how the public interest can be better served in the work of the Society;

20.5.3 prepare for publication in the Annual Report a summary of their work and perspectives as members of Council; and

20.5.4 periodically review and provide comment on

(i) how effectively the expectations of the Public Representatives are being met, and

(ii) the involvement in the Society of persons who are not members, and make recommendations to Council about the effectiveness of the means by which the public perspective and skills are used in the governance of the Society.

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Council Policy 21 – Member of the Council of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada

NAME OF POLICY Member of the Council of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada


None

Approved by Council November 23, 2012

Effective Nov. 23, 2012



21.1 As a member of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, Council, on the recommendation of the

Governance and Nominating Committee, appoints one member to the Federation’s Council.

21.2 Acting in the public interest, the Mission Statement of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada articulates the following commitments of the organization:

1. Bringing together Canada’s law societies to enhance open and transparent governance of an independent legal profession in Canada, and to set national standards and harmonize provincial and territorial rules and procedures;

2. Promoting the cause of justice and the Rule of Law;

3. Providing a forum for the exchange of information of mutual interest to Canada’s law societies;

4. Undertaking national initiatives on behalf of Canada’s law societies;

5. Speaking nationally and internationally on behalf of Canada’s law societies;

6. Informing the public, governments and members of the legal profession about the role, responsibilities and activities of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and of Canada’s law societies; and

7. Sharing the expertise of Canada’s law societies to contribute to the development of effective regulation of an independent legal profession around the world.

21.3 The Federation Council member’s term commences on November 15th each year.

21.4 In recommending a person for the position, the Governance and Nominating Committee will consider the following:

21.4.1 The Federation Council member must have a detailed understanding of regulation of the legal profession and demonstrate a willingness to remain connected to the issues of regulation at the Society level, even if he or she is no longer actively undertaking that work;

21.4.2 The Federation Council member should have demonstrated leadership in the Society or elsewhere, for example, by having served in a senior office;

21.4.3 The Federation Council member must have a commitment to effective and timely communication with the Society through its Executive Director, the Officers and Council to assist the Society in considering the issues being addressed by the Federation and, where appropriate, communicating the Society’s perspective on those issues;

21.4.4 The Federation Council member must demonstrate a willingness to learn about new matters on the national agenda, and to participate in both Federation Council and committee work that may differ from work they have done previously at the Society;

21.4.5 The Federation Council member must be able to dedicate the time required to prepare for and attend Federation Council and committee meetings, to attend Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society Council meetings and provide periodic reports to Council;

21.4.6 The Federation Council member must demonstrate an ability to collaborate with both the Society’s and the Federation’s leadership in order to contribute to the issues being considered by the Federation; and

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21.4.7 The Federation Council takes a national perspective on issues and candidates for the Federation Council member’ position would benefit from having experience with pan-Canadian bodies that deal with issues of import across the country.

21.5 The Federation Council member will regularly attend Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society Council meetings, participate in discussions at those meetings and report as required on Federation matters. Federation Council members are ex officio and non-voting.

21.6 The Society will support its Federation Council member and provide time on Council agendas for consideration of Federation matters, through providing timely responses to matters requiring Society input and considering, in a timely way, national initiatives that require Society approval.

21.7 The Federation Council member is expected to serve for three or four years to provide adequate time to become fully efficient and effective in the Federation’s work. It is anticipated that if the Federation Council member assumes an officer position at the Federation, that may require a longer term.

21.8 When possible, the Society will decide upon a successor member of the Federation Council at least six months before expiry of the incumbent’s term to allow for appropriate orientation, attendance at one or two Federation Council meetings and other necessary transition into the position.

21.9 At the end of their term, the retiring Federation Council member will participate in an exit interview with the President and First Vice-President of the Society. The purpose of the exit interview is for the Society leadership to learn about the Federation Council member’s experience on the Federation Council for purposes of enhancing the Society’s work with and within the Federation.

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Council Policy 19 -- Executive Director Performance Management Process

NAME OF POLICY Executive Director Performance Management Process


None

Approved by Council

Effective

Reviewed

Revised

PURPOSE

19.1 This policy governs the annual performance management process for the Executive Director of

the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (“Society”). It aligns with Council Policy 18, Executive

Expectations for the Executive Director.

OVERVIEW

19.2 The Executive Director reports to Council and is the Chief Executive Officer of the Society and

functions as the Society’s Chief Operating Officer.

19.3 Council has a responsibility to provide timely and relevant feedback to the Executive Director

against the achievement of expectations as set out in Council Policy 18 and the annual

performance goals as determined mutually by Council and the Executive Director. Council will

provide feedback to the Executive Director during updates at Council meetings and/or provide

feedback to the President and Vice-President to be shared with the Executive Director.

19.4 The overall performance management process will include activities such as quarterly update

meetings, Executive Director updates to Council at scheduled meetings, an annual assessment

by Council, a self-assessment completed by the Executive Director and an end-of-performance

year meeting between the President and First Vice-President to provide feedback to the

Executive Director based on the annual evaluations submitted by members of Council and others

(if solicited).

RECOMMENDED PROCESS

19.5 The following schedule may change slightly from year to year due to business priorities and

needs but represents the approximate timing of activities related to the Executive Director’s

performance management process.

19.6 Establishing goals

19.6.1 In May-June, the President and First Vice-President for the new Council year will seek

input from Council on what they feel the priorities for the Society and the Executive

Director should be for the coming year.

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19.6.2 The President and First Vice-President will consider Council’s input and, in June/early

July, meet with the Executive Director to discuss and mutually establish performance

goals for the Executive Director for the upcoming year.

19.6.3 Performance goals will vary from year to year but typically include ones related to

financial, human resources, communications, operations, and strategic goals and

objectives. There should also be a professional development goal(s) identified for the

Executive Director.

19.6.4 To the extent possible, all goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable,

realistic and timely). Once agreed upon, these goals will be approved by Council.

19.7 Reviewing progress against goals

19.7.1 Starting in September, the President, First Vice-President and Executive Director will

commence quarterly meetings to review the Executive Director’s progress against the

performance goals and to identify any difficulties or challenges being encountered.

19.7.2 In these meetings, the President and First Vice-President will provide constructive

feedback to the Executive Director based on their observations and convey feedback

they may have received from Council. The President and Vice-President will report to

Council on the outcome of these meetings.

19.7.3 Additionally, the Executive Director will report at every Council meeting on the progress

being made on the achievement of each of the performance goals and highlight any

areas where difficulties or challenges exist.

19.8 Annual review process

19.8.1 No later than April of each year, and in consultation with the ED, Council will decide if any

individuals (other than Council members) will be asked to participate in the Executive

Director performance management assessment. Examples might include senior staff or

stakeholders of the Society. Council may, however, in its discretion, decide that no one

else will be asked to participate.

19.8.2 Performance assessments will be completed by Council members individually (and

others, as determined) in May. Completed assessments will be confidential and

anonymous. Assessments may be provided in electronic form, in writing or solicited

directly by a consultant as determined by Council.

19.8.3 The Executive Director will complete a self-assessment at the same time and provide a

copy to the President and First Vice-President.

19.8.4 In late spring, the President and First Vice-President will meet with the Executive Director

to discuss the consolidated assessment results, review the Executive Director’s self-

assessment, determine whether the Executive Director has achieved their annual

performance goals, and identify goals for the next performance year.

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19.8.5 A copy of the consolidated assessment report will be shared in full with the Executive

Director prior to this meeting.

19.8.6 The President will provide a confidential report to Council summarizing the results of the

feedback session with the Executive Director.

19.8.7 The President will maintain the Executive Director’s performance management file

(including all original documents and notes) and transfer this file to subsequent

Presidents of the Society. The file will be made available to the then current Officers of

the Society if needed but will otherwise remain confidential.

19.8.8 Council may wish to retain the services of an external human resources consultant to

assist with the annual assessment process. The Executive Director will ensure funds are

available for a consultant, if needed, and the President will contact the Director of

Finance to make such a request.

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Council Policy 19 – Appendix 1 Executive Director Performance Goals

Key Performance Goals, Objectives, Projects Performance Goal / Objective /

Project Describe the results expected

and how they will be measured

Describe the results achieved

(Discussed and completed at beginning of review period by the reviewer and employee together)

(To be completed at year end)

Professional Development Goal What activities will be

undertaken to move towards this development goal

Progress

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Assessment Summary Summary of Performance – President and First Vice-President Comments: This summary is to state the opinion of the individual(s) you report to regarding the achievements of work and goals.

Employee Comments

By signing this Performance Management Form, both parties acknowledge that they have read and discussed the contents of the form.

Planning Meeting

President and First VP Signatures:

Date: Signature: Date:

Review Meeting



Review Meeting



End of Year Meeting


Date: Signature:

Date:

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COMMITTEE WORK PLAN AND PROGRESS REPORT 2020-2021

Governance Committee

Committee Mandate and Responsibilities Mandate:

The Committee supports Council in the governance of the Society by supporting Council’s commitment to the principles and practices of good governance

Responsibilities:

Support Council’s governance and best practices of the Society, including but not limited to:

• recommending changes to the Legal Profession Act and Regulations as requested by Council • reviewing and recommending changes to Council Policies • Monitoring, reviewing and recommending to Council governance policies • Supporting, as requested by the Executive Committee or by Council, the regular evaluation of

Council or its Committees • Supporting, as requested by Council, the delivery of Council orientation

The Committee shall report annually to the Executive and Executive Director the status of Council’s governance policies, in accordance with Council Policy 8.

Committee Chair: Bryan Darrell

Details for each Project/Initiative 1. Name of project: Review all current council policies and recommend amendments

Subcommittee Chair: Tilly Pillay QC Members: Jane Willwerth

Goal/outcome of project: • Ensure the language of current policies is aligned with our current strategic plan

Timeframe for completion: Phase 1

Resources required (volunteer, staff): none additional

2. Name of project: Review of ED policies 17-19; review of Council policies for current governance best practices Subcommittee Chair: TBD Members: Tilly Pillay QC, Jim Rossiter QC, Paula Minnikin, Rebecca Hiltz LeBlanc, Patrick Young

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Goal/outcome of project: • Short term: Complete independent review of Policy 19 • Long term: Review of Council policies for current governance best practices

Timeframe for completion: Short term goal: Phase 1 Long term goal: Phase 3


3. Name of project: Review and recommend approval of amendments to Council Policy #5 Code of Conduct and recommend approval of a complaints relating to conduct policy to Council Subcommittee Chair: TBD Members: Tilly Pillay QC, Jim Rossiter QC

Goal/outcome of project:



4. Name of project: Review of council evaluation policies and processes Subcommittee Chair: TBD Members: Carrie Ricker, Tilly Pillay QC, Paula Minnikin

Goal/outcome of project: Short term: Edit current evaluation form for end of 2019-2020 Council year

Long term: Overhaul of evaluation process (will need to be ready by May 2021)

Timeframe for completion: Short term: Phase 1 Long term: Phase 3


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5. Name of project: Review and documentation of current process for committee appointments and determination of changes required Subcommittee Chair: TBD Members: Michelle Higgins, Josh Sanitmaw, Andrew Nickerson QC

Goal/outcome of project: Short term: document existing process Medium Term – approve and transfer to Nominating Committee for next steps

Timeframe for completion: Short term: Phase 1 Medium term: Phase 2


6. Name of project: Review of Council composition and election procedures Subcommittee Chair: TBD Members: Rebecca Hiltz LeBlanc, Nancy Rubin QC, Josh Santimaw, Patrick Young, Andy Nickerson

Goal/outcome of project: Complete review of how we populate Council and election procedures



Additional Comments on Committee’s Plans or Progress

Phase 1: March – May 2020 Phase 2: June – December 2020 Phase 3: January – December 2021

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Council Year: July 2019 – June 2020

0B0BJULY 1B1BAUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 5B5BCouncil Meeting – July 19 Big Issue: Strategic Plan

Credentials Monitoring Report

TA Update and TARWG Update

DSA Recipient Announced 6B6BOther Activities

CBA SOGIC Panel - July 16 (Halifax Public Library)

Pride Parade – July 20

Pride Reception - July 25

20B20BNo Council meeting

Strategic Plan via OnBoard for approval

7B7BCouncil Meeting in the Community (?) – September 27 24B24BBig Issue: EDI & TRC

LIANS Report to Council

MDP Update (info)

Report from GNC on Court Liaison Task Force and Consideration of splitting GNC

Client ID Rules

DSA Policy amendments (Consent agenda)

CPLED

TARWG Report

Comms Update - Website

Communications to Committee Chairs

Posthumous Calls to the Bar

Strategic Plan Rollout 8B8BOther Activities

Wickwire Lecture – Schulich School of Law – September 26 at 4:30 or 5:00 pm

9B9BNo Council Meeting 22B22BOther Activities

Notice re 2PP

ndPP VP out to

membership

FLSC Conference –St. John’s, NL, October 16-20

Call to the Bar – October 11 @ 10:30am

TRC Education Session – October 24 at 10:00 am (Hotel Halifax)

2B2BNOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY 10B10BCouncil Meeting – November 22 25B25BBig Issue: Strategic Plan & Activity Plan 26B26BCouncil in the Community, reachAbility

Introduction of 2020 Activity Plan

AFR update

LFCC claims and policy

11B11BNo Council Meeting

Equity Lens training

12B12BCouncil Meeting – January 24 27B27BBig Issue: EDI

Report from GNC re 2PP

ndPP VP

nominee

Interim reports and updated workplans from Committees

TARWG Report

Create Sole Practitioner Working Group

LSS update

Introduction to budget (high level)

14B14BNo Council Meeting

Possible Council education session– second TRC presentation

23B23BOther Activities

Nominations for 2PP

ndPP VP close

– February 14

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Council Year: July 2019 – June 2020

To be slotted in:

Updated: February 3, 2020

Report on 2019 Annual Lawyer Report


CBA Bench/Bar Reception & Dinner – November 21 (Convention Centre)

Recognition Reception – November 22

Posthumous Calls to the Bar – November 7 at 3:00 pm

CPLED update

PREP funding decision 13B13BOther Activities

GNC interviews for 2PP

ndPP VP

(early January)

Call to the Bar – January 17 @ 10:30am

Minister’s Reception Honouring IB&M Law Students – January 15 at 6:00pm (Maritime Museum of the Atlantic)

MARCH APRIL 3B3BMAY 4B4BJUNE 15B15BCouncil Meeting – March 27 Big Issue: Budget introduction/debate/preliminary approval

LIANS Report to Council

PR Monitoring Report

MDP decision

Regulatory risk update 16B16BOther Activities

UUCouncil Meeting – April 24 28B28BBig Issue: Fee/Budget approval/LIANS Levy,

Equity and Access Monitoring Report

Annual Lawyer Report

ED Performance Evaluation process


Call to the Bar – April 17 @ 10:30am

Review ED Performance Evaluation Process and Participation

Dara Gordon event – TBD

18B18BCouncil Meeting – May 22 – UUCouncil in the Community – Location TBD Big Issue: Review of Strategic Plan and Activity Plan

Review of Activity Plan

Review of Strategic Plan

E&C Monitoring Report


Complete Council Evaluation and ED Performance Evaluation Surveys

UUCouncil Session – June 12 @ 1:00pm UUOther Activities

Main Call to the Bar – June 5 @ Pier 21 10:00am

REC Event Honouring Articled Clerks from Racialized & Indigenous Communities – Date TBD

Council Dinner – June 12

Annual Meeting – June 13 @ Schulich School of Law

Annual Lawyer Report filings due – June 30

All Fees due – June 30

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Engagement Calendar 2019-2020

JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER

July 10, 4:30pm: Kings

County Bar visit

September 20, 10 am: Antigonish-Guysborough County Bar visit, Nova Scotia Legal Aid Office

September 21: Western

County Bar visit (at the Western County Bar AGM – The Villages of Mountain Gap Resort)

September 26, 4:30pm:

Wickwire Memorial Lecture - Room 105, Weldon Law Building

October 10, 12:00pm: Cumberland County Bar visit, Savoie Kitchen, Amherst

October 23, 12:00pm:

Pictou County Bar visit, New Glasgow Swiss Chalet

October 24, 10:00am:

Treaty rights education session – Hotel Halifax

NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY

November 8, 3pm: Posthumous Calls to the Bar

November 20: President attending 3rd Child Welfare Symposium at Membertou

November 22, 4:00pm: Recognition Reception, Bluenose Room, Hotel Halifax

December 6: Executive

meeting with CBA

Executive

January 9: Officers’ meeting, McInnes Cooper

January 17, Noon: Officers’ meeting at BoyneClarke

MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE

March 5: Officers’ meeting, Cox & Palmer

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From: Tilly Pillay QC, Executive Director Date: May 22, 2020 Subject: Executive Director’s Report Our focus since the last Council meeting has been to continue our day-to-day operations while responding to increased public and member enquiries.

What we have learnt

• We know that we can move to a virtual working environment almost immediately • We know that we cannot rely on only one form of technology (for example, when

our email server crashed last week, we turned to Zoom Channel to allow us to interact as an office and respond to enquiries)

• Some of our processes (especially in finance) are still manual – we need to move them to an electronic platform

• People still like to send us things via mail (and fax!) • Different forms of communications (internal, external with the members) are

necessary, given what we are trying to communicate • Information for members is not just limited to legal practice, but also to health

directives, economic relief, protecting the health of lawyers, their staff and their clients (both physical and mental health)

• Supporting the morale and wellbeing of staff looks very different when everyone is working remotely – strategies have to be focused and intentional

• We can do many things virtually, but it is not the answer to everything • Always have a back-up plan (and another plan to back up that plan!)

What we can do differently in the future

• Use technology more, where appropriate • Achieve cost savings through increased use of technology • Move most of our internal processes on line so most operations can occur virtually

(we have slowly being moving towards this, but need to accelerate the pace) • Invest in appropriate equipment for staff to support their working remotely, when

necessary

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• Engage with our members by doing “check ins” with them, as opposed to having a specific matter to discuss with them (this is what LSS has been doing since the pandemic started, and it has helped build some positive conversations)

• Engage with our justice partners to create a process/protocol for communication in emergency situations so that we can activate it when necessary

• Adopt efficiencies in every aspect of our work (we strive to do this, but there is always more that can be done)

• Be nimble enough to reprioritize our work depending on what the circumstances require

• Make it easier for members to access the information they need

We are still learning lessons from this experience and there are definitely more opportunities than challenges. The feedback we are receiving from members and the public is helping us to shape what approaches we may adopt in the future.

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President’s Report – Carrie Ricker

May 2020

Although it’s been more than two months since the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

were felt, we remain in uncertain times. The Society continues to fully operate, albeit in a largely

remote way. We continue our committee, Executive and Council work, primarily by Zoom. We

continue to move forward on the Society’s Strategic Goals and Objectives. The impacts and

future implications of Covid-19 are, however, monumental for the legal profession and our larger

communities. Over the coming weeks, we will need to evaluate our future work in light of the

pandemic and determine how it must adapt to best meet the public interest and needs in

accessing legal services. The ability of all Nova Scotians to access the legal services they need

from where they are is more critical now than ever.

I want to again thank all of the staff and volunteers of the Society for their amazing work during

this pandemic. Thank you for your dedication and your patience.

I also want to applaud the many lawyers, justice partners and organizations who have stepped up

to ensure continued access to justice and legal services despite the challenging circumstances.

We have seen many examples of lawyers and organization acting in the public interest to address

access issues. These examples include new and expanded pro bono legal services and access to

legal information, moving quickly to remote service offerings, adopting practice changes

including within the courts, and working across aisles and physical distance to swiftly address

urgent criminal and family law matters.

The Society continues to support the Court Liaison Committees and has ongoing

communications with partners including the Department of Justice, the judiciary, the CBA and

others to look at how we can continue to support lawyers and initiatives addressing public legal

service needs. The Society also continues to update its response and efforts to assist the public

and members in relation to Covid-19 and the website is updated regularly with new information.

While I am grateful for everyone’s efforts to date and impressed with the ongoing work, there is

also considerable sadness for me in writing this report. As we approach the end of the Council

year in June, this is generally a time of gathering and celebration at the Society. This is the time

of year we recognize outstanding graduating law students with the Race and the Law Essay Prize

and the President’s Award, as well as the IB&M Initiative graduates at a reception hosted by the

Racial Equity Committee. We recognize the lasting legacy of Dara Gordon, Q.C. at our annual

women in leadership in the law event. June is when we gather with the majority of our articling

clerks, their families and supporters to celebrate our largest annual call to the bar. We have our

annual Council dinner. Council and Society staff gather with our colleagues around the Province

for the Society’s Annual General Meeting and professional development day. None of these

things will happen this year in the way that was planned. Some will be delayed, some will

happen virtually, some will be missed; all will be changed. The loss of these opportunities to

gather, to share and to celebrate is real and felt by many. But we will find ways to gather, share

and celebrate in the future. I’m hopeful that along with the loss comes an opportunity for renewal

and a chance to continue to examine how we best gather and engage as the Society moving

forward.

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2

In case I don’t get another chance, I do want to take this opportunity to send heartfelt

congratulations to all of the 2020 law graduates and articled clerks, and I’m sure all of Council

shares in this with me. Despite any current uncertainties, the practice of law is still a noble

profession which can bring about positive change and serve to move forward the bend of

humanity towards justice. It’s a profession that new graduates and admittees hopefully feel

enthused and proud to join. For the next few weeks I will do my best, including virtually, to

bring this message and our congratulations for the significant achievements of graduation and

bar admission.

Much of our other Council year-end work can and must continue, however.

The Finance Committee and Society staff continue to support the Society’s year-end audit and

preparation of the financial statements, which will be presented at the AGM for approval.

Society work is ongoing to review and adapt to potential changing fiscal circumstances and to

look at ways to support members through this pandemic.

Our May Council meeting will be a time to look at Council activities over this past year and

look ahead at priorities for 2020-2021. As we consider the post-Covid-19 realities for the

delivery of legal services, Council members may be interested in legal analyst and author Jordan

Furlong’s blog series on justice system and law firm opportunities and impacts as a result of the

pandemic available at https://www.law21.ca/blog/

May is also the time for our Council evaluation survey which Council members will receive by

email before month’s end. Continuous evaluation of its performance is a Council responsibility

under Council policy #7. I ask each member of Council to take the time to reflect and complete

the Council Evaluation Survey as openly as possible so we can all learn from each other’s

experiences and look for opportunities for improvement moving forward.

As always, if anyone has any questions, concerns or ideas, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I

am wishing all of you all good health.

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https://www.law21.ca/blog/

MEMORANDUM TO COUNCIL FROM: Jacqueline L. Mullenger

DATE: May 5, 2020

SUBJECT: Monitoring Report – Education and Credentials For: Approval

Introduction

Information ×

Recommendation/Motion: Executive Summary: The purpose of this report is to brief Council about credentialing responsibilities and the work of the department of Education & Credentials. A summary of the regulatory work undertaken by the department is attached as Appendix “A”. Analysis: Introduction The Education & Credentials department is the gatekeeper for those who wish to join the profession. Section 4 of the Legal Profession Act, defines the purpose of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society - to “uphold and protect the public interest in the practice of law”. In pursuit of this purpose, one of the responsibilities of the Society is to establish standards for the qualifications of those seeking membership in the Society. The Society’s Regulations provide specifics as to how this mandate will be accomplished. Education & Credentials deals with applicants applying to become members of the Society, as well as with current members who wish to change their membership category upward (i.e. to practising lawyer) or downward (to non-practising, retired or to resign). In each instance we recognize the need to bring a risk focus to our analysis of the issues that need to be addressed. At this stage, as our part of the regulatory reform work in this area, we are gathering information and insight into what risks there are and

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how they might be addressed, rather than implementing a true risk management process. If regulatory reform is approved, it is understood risk management and abatement will then become part of the regulatory role. There are three avenues by which a person may become a member of the Society:

1. Article and complete the Bar Admission Course; 2. Transfer from another province within Canada; and 3. Transfer from outside Canada.

Members of the Society hold one of the following categories:

1. Practising Lawyer; 2. Non-Practising; 3. Resigned; 4. Life Member; or 5. Articled Clerk.

Since February 2010, the inception of the Fair Registration Practice Act, the responsibility for making initial admissions and credentialing decisions has shifted to the Executive Director. Only decisions about character and fitness are referred to the Credentials Committee in the first instance. The Fair Registration Practices Act requires additional resources to be expended. Staff are required to complete yearly reports and undergo a review of all of our admission processes every two years. In addition there are bimonthly FRPA breakfast meetings and the Director sits on an ad hoc advisory committee for FRPA that provides advice to the FRPA Review Officer. As has been reported previously, FRPA caused the Society to review all of the admission processes and ensure that information regarding admissions is available and easy to understand. The Credentials Committee is responsible for making decisions on applications where the applicant’s character or fitness is in issue. In the past fiscal year one application was taken to the committee as Society staff identified a conflict. Most decisions about changing category, admissions and articling are made by staff. The Work of E&C The work of the department can be broken down into Credentialing, Skills course, Bar examination, LSS/MSELP and Mandatory continuing professional development; each will be dealt with in turn.

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3

Credentialing The credentialing work consists of many types of applications as set out earlier. The vast majority of this work involves changes in category and transfers to Nova Scotia. It is important to note that the vast majority of department resources as used to complete this work each year. For the many years of we have been issuing electronic rulings which has stood us in good stead since the pandemic. Staff have been able to continue their work at the same level since working from home as a result of all of our files being electronic. We have been working with other provinces to urge them to do more things electronically such as certificates of standing. One of the blessings from the pandemic has been that many are now accepting these electronically. We hope that will continue when we all go back to the office to work. Our main focus this year has been on getting the regulations and policies updated for the Implementation of the new PREP course and adapting to the pandemic. We have continued to also review processes, policies and decision making to ensure that risk and triple “P” principles are taken into account in all situations. We start each analysis by looking at what risk may be involved to the public by the request that is being made. We then consider what is the most proactive, principled and proportionate way to approach the decision. Examples include finding ways to permit people to return to practice without necessarily rewriting the Bar Exam, permitting more flexible articling arrangements, abridging articles to avoid creating unnecessary burdens, finding ways to test the skills of foreign transfer without necessarily insisting that they article or work under supervision. Working to avoid situations where people cannot work for a prolonged period of time if there is no risk to public to permit them to do so. Moving away from the Bar Examination is also creating new opportunities to think and work in a different way. As we no longer can ask foreign transfers to write the Bar Examination we must examine whether there is a reasonable alternative to that requirement. Asking lawyers who have practised elsewhere for many years to take a course in teaching and assessing their lawyering skills may not be the most effective tool. Instead, we may ask them to simply demonstrate their competency by completing the PREP final assessment and undertaking a review of our Bar Review Outlines which outline the main areas of law in Nova Scotia. The statistics in the following paragraphs show the numbers of in-house rulings for each fiscal year. We are currently in the 2021 fiscal year, however, we are reporting on the statistics for the 2020 fiscal year which just ended. Please note that some of our rulings require more analysis than others. For example, making a ruling on a foreign transfer takes more resources and time than processing an application for a notary public.

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Nevertheless, each application must be processed; a decision must be made and communicated to the applicant, thereby taking resources. In total, the following in-house rulings have been issued:

We also track certificates of standing, and abridgment of articles. The abridgment applications have come about as a result of our decreased bar admission ceremonies.

1467

1525

1554

1453

1500

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Nu

mb

er o

f R

ulin

gs

Fiscal Year

Number of Ruling by Fiscal Year

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5

Credentialing Rulings The Department handled 19 types of rulings during the course of the year, in addition to the Articling Rulings. The types of rulings are set out below in a chart that shows the numbers of rulings for each fiscal year. The numbers for the last year in each category have remained relatively consistent. There was an increase in the number of members who changed down but most of those were prior to the fallout from the pandemic. There were also fewer domestic transfers but an increase in foreign transfers. Retirements were down this past year but given the current situation we may see an increase in retirements in the current fiscal year. We have not seen a surge in changes of category, retirements or resignations since the beginning of the pandemic. What follows is a breakdown of the types of rulings that staff make and statistics about the credentialing work.

Fiscal year 2016

Fiscal year 2017

Fiscal year 2018

Fiscal year 2019

Fiscal year 2020

Temporary Practice Permit

34 42 41 43 29

Temporary Practice Permits (NMA)

15 9 5 6

Change of Category (up)

61 55 60 54 47

Change of Category (down)

91 104 112 96 115

Domestic transfers 25 49 42 55 33

Foreign transfers 4 8 11 4 13

Foreign Legal Consultants

3 3 4 1 1

Temporary mobility from outside Canada

2 3 0 0 1

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Please note: The Society’s fiscal year runs from May 1 to April 30 On the following page is a pie chart of the various types of rulings from the 2020 fiscal year.

Fiscal year 2016

Fiscal year 2017

Fiscal year 2018

Fiscal year 2019

Fiscal year 2020

Readmission following resignation

1 2 0 0 1

Resignations 34 34 45 27 25

Retirements 46 48 41 58 43

Certificates of Standing

125 90 120 77 105

Notary Public applications

90 123 123 137 115

Application for law corporation

28 25 17 20 19

Application for LLP 1 4 2 2 1

Renewal of law corporation

490 450 418 401 393

Renewal of LLP 7 8 12 13 13

Trust account assessments

34

New firm registrations

14 23 32

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7

Articling Rulings The Articling process involves a variety of rulings starting with the approval of the articling application up to and including the application for admission. Below is a list of the types of rulings staff make and statistics for most of those rulings. For the last fiscal year we had 88 articling clerks. This number is different from clerk applications because clerks can apply to article in a different fiscal year than the year they actually article. Since the start of the pandemic we have not seen lay offs of articled clerks nor have we seen clerks losing their articling positions for the coming year. We currently have 64 articled clerks registered for the upcoming year and 6 more we are still processing. Many will be delaying their article start date but the Society is working with those to assist them in shortening their articles so they will be able to be called in June 2021. In

29

6

47

115

33

13

11

12543

105

115

191

393

13

32

2020

Temporary Practice Permit Temporary Practice Permits (NMA)

Change of Category (up) Change of Category (down)

Domestic transfers Foreign transfers

Foreign Legal Consultants Temporary mobility from outside Canada

Readmission following resignation Resignations

Retirements Certificates of Standing

Notary Public applications Application for law corporation

Application for LLP Renewal of law corporation

Renewal of LLP Opening trust account

New firm registrations

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addition, in order to be eligible for call they will need to start the PREP program by June 26, 2020. Many firms have stepped up and are paying for their clerks to begin the program even if their articles are being delayed. The Society is also working on assisting those who are paying for the course themselves with the aid of the grant from the Law Foundation of Nova Scotia. There are two ways to employ an articled clerk. An individual lawyer may have a clerk or a firm can employ clerks and assign a Supervising Lawyer to oversee the articling process. Overall the number of firms taking clerks remained relatively steady. Most years the variations in numbers are caused by the differences in rural lawyers taking clerks as well as sole practitioners and government. So far this fiscal year 37 firms, lawyers or organizations are taking clerks. The number of lawyers/firms who employed clerks in each previous year is as follows:

Type of ruling Fiscal year 2016

Fiscal year 2017

Fiscal year 2018

Fiscal year 2019

Fiscal year 2020

Articled clerk applications

71 79 78 70 84

Articling plans 66 79 86 54 84

Education plans 75 70 57 43 73

Principal applications

57 52 61 48 72

Change in supervising lawyer/principal

0 8 0 1 1

Extension of articles

26 25 24 53 22

Applications for admission

90 120 131 136 113

Termination of articles

0 0 0 0 0

Secondment of articles

16 17 18 13 19

Application to work outside articles

2 1 0 1 0

Abridgement of articles

5 8 5 6 4

Leaves of absence

5 1 2

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The numbers of clerks have varied through the last five years. Those numbers are:

As you will see we continue to see a large number of clerks starting articles after the regular June 1st deadline. Last year we had 14 clerks start after June 1st.

49

43

47

53

48

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Number

Year

Lawyers/Law Firms that Employed an Articled Clerk

45

6358 57

70

22 20 22

14 14

67

8380

71

84

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Nu

mb

er

Year

Start Dates for Clerks

June 1st start After June 1st Total Clerks

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10

The Society does not gather statistics about students looking for articling positions, as we are not involved in that process and therefore are only aware of issues anecdotally. The Society continues to work with potential clerks and principals to create articling situations that are outside the traditional type of articles but still offer the student a valuable and workable articling experience. This year in particular, we have been sharing information with the Schulich school of law to determine if there are any students looking for articles so we are more aware of the need. Bar Admission Ceremonies Since June 2014 the Society has changed the admission ceremonies. Prior to that time, admission ceremonies were offered in most months of the year, resulting in duplication of effort and wasted resources. An attempt was made a few years ago to have the courts accept “paper calls” so that lawyers did not have to appear in court to be called, as happens in many provinces. Unfortunately, our court did not accept this proposal. As a result, the Society has moved to a system where we have only four ceremonies per year, including the big call in June. The only challenge we have experienced is for articled clerks and transfers who fall outside the normal schedule. The need for students to wait until the next call date delays their call resulting in an inability to work. We have been solving this issue by abridging articles i.e. calling people before they have completed their articles or supervision and having them go back to their firms once called to complete their term. So far, this has worked well. The calls for the past years looked like this:

Month of call Total

number called

Articled clerks

Transfers Readmission

following resignation

January 15, 2016 10 4 5 1

April 22, 2016 5 0 5

June 10, 2016 57 51 5 1

October 14, 2016 28 8 20 0

January 13, 2017 20 3 16 1

April 21, 2017 15 7 8 0

June 9, 2017 74 65 9 0

October 13, 2017 33 12 21 0

January 12, 2018 15 3 12 0

April 20, 2018 9 1 8 0

June 15, 2018 62 58 4 0

October 19, 2018 41 11 30 0

January 11, 2019 20 6 14 0

May 3, 2019 13 1 12 0

June 7, 2019 60 59 1 0

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11

October 11, 2019 20 12 9 0

November 8, 2019 Posthumous call

11

January 17, 2020 12 1 11 0

April 16, 2020 21 2 18 1

In November 2019, we posthumously admitted 11 veterans who lost their lives in the First World War. The Society collaborated with the Supreme Court to host a special ceremony with relatives reading the oath on behalf of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Due to the global wide pandemic, the Supreme Court agreed to move forward with a paper call for the April 2020 ceremony. This required applicants to swear or affirm their oath before a notary public via video conference, filing an affidavit with the courts confirming they had done so, and signing the roll electronically. The June 2020 will be completed in a similar fashion, however the court has agreed to hold a Zoom hearing to have the new lawyers take their oaths in front of Justice Lynch. The June call to the bar each year is the call where most of the articled clerks are called. The numbers for the last few years are set out in the table below. Interestingly, in June 2019, we had 59 articled clerks called to the bar. Of those, 56 secured positions.

50 51

66

57 59

3842

54 5256

129

12

3 2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Nu

mb

er o

f C

lerk

s

Year

Clerk Employment

Clerks Called Clerks with Jobs Clerks Looking

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Bar Admission program As you are aware, we are now moving to a new Bar Admission Program. The students will take the PREP program offered by CPLED and a cultural competence workshop offered by the Society. The PREP program will begin in June 2020. Our students have been registering for the program. To date we have 62 registered. At the moment we are uncertain as to whether the cultural competency workshop will go ahead in-person, online or be delayed as a result of the pandemic. In the meantime we have just completed offering the final version of our legacy Skills Course. The Skills Course is offered 3 times in the fall of each year. The numbers of students taking the course over the last number of years are as follows.

Fiscal year NS students PEI students Total students

2020 84 n/a 84

2019 76 n/a 76

2018 75 14 89

2017 83 9 92

2016 65 8 73

Bar Examination We are in the final phase of offering the Bar Examination. We have only two sitting remaining. In the last sitting 8 individuals failed the bar examination. Of those only 7 are eligible to rewrite. We also have an additional two who sat out. As a result there should be 9 people writing the July exam. Only those who fail will be eligible to rewrite at the last sitting in January 2021.The numbers over the last years have looked like this:

Exam sitting

Applicants writing

Number of

repeaters

Passes (first time)

Failures (first time)

Total failures

Failure rate

2020-01 25 first time 10 20 6 8 24.00%

2019-07 73 first time 5 62 11 13 15.00%

2019-01 15 first time 14 13 2 6 13.00%

2018-07 66 first time 4 55 11 15 17.00%

2018-01 19 first time 13 15 4 7 21.00%

2017-07 64 first time 8 52 12 15 19.00%

2017-01 25 first time 15 18 7 8 28.00%

2016-07 64 first time 4 54 14 16 22.00%

2016-01 14 first time 2 12 2 3 14.28%

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The numbers of applicants passing or failing at any given examination continue to fluctuate slightly. The Exam continues to be created and marked initially by our exam consultant. The exams are reviewed and set by our Bar Examiners, who are senior members of the bar. In addition, the Examiners act as a review body if a student asks to have their examination reviewed. These reviews result in very few changes, although occasionally a student will be successful. We offer an online virtual exam writing seminar to replace the in-person seminar. This permits students to take the seminar at any time and in any place. It is not a “Hollywood” seminar, however, it does give the students the same information they received on a semi-annual basis. Also the students are free to contact staff if they have questions or need assistance. Mandatory Continuing Professional Development The mandatory CPD requirement came into effect in June 2012. All practising members are required to complete 12 hours of study annually and to report their activities in the Annual Lawyers Report. In May 2015 Council passed a resolution, after a review process, to change the MCPD requirement. Beginning this fiscal year all lawyers were required to create and implement a professional development plan on an annual basis. Generally, compliance was high although members did need some encouragement to complete their plans.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Jan-16 Jul-16 Jan-17 Jul-17 Jan-18 Jul-18 Jan-19 Jul-19 Jan-20

Nu

mb

er o

f ap

plic

ants

Exam Sitting

Exam Results

Passes (first time) Failures (first time) Total Failures Linear (Passes (first time))

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We are awaiting the results of this year’s Annual Lawyer’s Report to determine compliance. Last year there were a few lawyers who were not compliant in terms of reporting but who did have some type of plan in place when inquiries were made. The Society has resources available to members to assist them in creating a professional development plan. In addition, E&C staff are available to review plans and to assist members should they require individual guidance. As mentioned earlier, staff have offered seminars to a variety of firms and organizations throughout the year. Society staff have also been working to update the website and to make additional resources available to the membership. As we move forward these resources will be combined with the practice resources currently offered on the LIANS website. Legal Services Support highlights Legal Services Support is both a dedicated staff team from Education & Credentials that undertakes specific regulatory projects with an educational focus (i.e. MSELP, New Firm Registration), and a cross-departmental initiative to provide Triple P member-focused advisory services. Over the past year, the Legal Services Support function has engaged in four key projects:

1. MSELP Self-Assessment program (formally launched in July 2019) 2. New firm registration (a credentialing program) 3. Succession Planning Toolkit (new practice resource) 4. LSS advisory

The MSELP Self-Assessment formally launched end of July 2019 after extensive testing, feedback and revision. Since then:

160 firms engaged with LSS staff directly about the program (the nature of these calls and their benefits were discussed in more detail in the last LSS report to Council.)

109 firms were sent the Self-Assessment Tool (and 27 firms were

scheduled to be sent the SAT in future months)

75 firms submitted a completed Self-Assessment Tool This represents a 69% completion rate for those sent an SAT during the reporting period. We are mindful that many firms take more than the original month long deadline to complete the SAT, so we expect this percentage to rise significantly before the first year of the program is complete (end of July 2020).

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Not all firms contacted about MSELP ended up being sent an SAT. An unforeseen benefit of the program has been identifying firms and lawyers contemplating or moving toward retirement. It has ‘switched’ the conversation but meant we are able to provide meaningful support for those firms as they transition out of practice (or firm closure). A goal for Year 1 of the program is to administer the MSELP program to at least 1/3 of all law firms in Nova Scotia (ie. 140 of 421 firms). We have already contacted 160 firms and sent the SAT to (or scheduled for receipt over the coming months) 136 firms (including 16 sent in May). So we are on track for end of Year 1 (July 2020). The LSS team has conducted 15 follow-up meetings (6 in person, 9 by telephone) with firms who completed the SAT during the reporting period. This represents 20% of the respondents and is below the targeted 25% goal, so additional meetings will be scheduled before the end of the first program year. New Firm Registration continues to be an impactful way for Society staff to proactively engage with members at a critical point in their law practice ‘life cycle’. During the 2020 fiscal year, we registered 32 new firms and engaged with many more who reached out to investigate the process and in some cases, start to pursue opening a practice. In each of these cases we were able to refer lawyers to practice management tools and guidance on both ethical and compliance considerations. In many cases, we made referrals to LAP, to other lawyers (i.e. informal mentorship arrangements), and other resources. Most were referred to our colleagues in the Trust Assurance team to start the process for approval to operate a trust account. The launch of the Succession Planning Toolkit was a significant achievement for the team during the 2020 fiscal year. The toolkit is the product of several years of Council and Committee work and member engagement. We know from the data we track on member engagement (since 2018) that succession planning / file destruction are the practice management issues our members most frequently seek guidance and support on. During the past reporting period alone, more than 50 LSS interactions with members related to succession planning and/or file destruction. This does not include the many more discussions about succession that arise from calls about MSELP, or in the context of meetings about new firm registration. The Toolkit offers members a practice package of tools and guidance that lives on the NSBS website. Our ‘bread and butter’ LSS advisory work continues to occupy a significant percentage of staff resource (across the Society). During the 2019/2020 reporting period, we recorded more than 200 individual LSS enquiries – and not including those directed to the Trust Assurance team or PR Counsel for ethics advice.

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As reported to Council in January 2019, LSS enquiries most commonly related to (in descending order):

Opening a practice / registering a new practice Changing firms Trust accounts Succession planning File management

This has remained consistent since January, with the exception of an influx of questions in March and April relating to remote practice (technology, video conferencing, remote witnessing, etc.) during COVID-19. Perhaps the most significant development for LSS advisory in the past year has been the formation of a biweekly LSS / Risk working group comprised of staff across the Society who identify and respond to risk issues through a Triple P lens, and ensure our internal processes and responses are aligned. New practice tools and resources are also developed through the work of this group. Examples include new guidance (in development) for lawyers leaving law firms, and for managing stale trust account balances. Member outreach was a particular focus for the LSS team during the reporting year. The LSS Manager participated in a series of County Bar roadshow meetings with Society President, Carrie Ricker and Equity and Access Manager, Angela Simmonds. The LSS team presented at a number of professional meetings (2019 Annual Meeting, Western County Bar, Solo and Small firm Conference, Lunenburg County Bar meeting, CBA Conference). LSS Officer Rob McCleave spent time in Cape Breton in early 2020 meeting with a number of law firms to discuss their succession plans. As a final note, the LSS team has been working with LIANS staff to collaborate on risk and practice management programming and issues. NSBS and LIANS co-hosted the 2019 Solo and Small Practice Conference with great success. Risk issue are identified and shared between staff with a view to enhancing member knowledge and resources collectively. I would be happy to answer questions, should you have any. Respectfully submitted,

Jacqueline L. Mullenger Director, Education & Credentials

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Appendix “A” Education & Credentials Below is the regulatory work of the department. Council is involved in the setting of some standards and policy that pertain to credentialing matters. Articling and Admissions which includes: admission inquiries, Credentials Committee work, articled clerk applications, Principal/supervising lawyer applications, applications for admission, applications for academic call, education plans, mid-term and final reports, rulings involving articling and admission issues, Internal Reviews, Credentials Inquiries and Bar Admission Ceremonies. The department also processes applications for Notary Public commissions. Skills Course which includes setting of standards, and curriculum, preparation, delivery and assessment of both in person and online course, volunteer management, internal reviews of marks and working on policy. Bar examinations which include: choosing testing areas, liaising with Exam Consultant, oversight of Bar Examiners, screening of winter and summer examinations, preparation of Bar Review Outlines, exam writing seminars, accommodation requests, invigilation of exams, appeals, review of failing exams and providing feedback and assistance to applicants. Transfer Applications which include: rulings involving transfers, bar examinations for transfers, education plans and supervision for transfers, temporary permits for transfers, foreign legal consultants, temporary permits for lawyers from outside Canada, temporary permits for lawyers from within Canada. Internal reviews of rulings Change of Category Applications which include: changes of category upwards, reinstatement of former judges, readmission following resignation or disbarment, and internal reviews of rulings. Since September 2012, the department has also been responsible for changes of category downwards, including resignations and retirement. Certificates of Standing/ Letters of standing: The department processes all applications and provides these certificates and letters. Reports regarding applications for QC appointments and judicial appointments: In the near future the department will be taking over this process which currently happens in the Executive Director’s office. Opening of Trust Accounts: The department is responsible for the opening of new trust accounts. This process includes administering the trust account assessment and working with the member to obtain the appropriate documentation and information about the opening of new trust accounts. In most cases this also involves new law firms

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so the need to understand the structures and relationships that are being created becomes part of the focus. Limited Liability Partnerships: The department is responsible for administration and oversight of both the creation of these entities and their yearly renewal. Law Corporations: The department is responsible for the administration and oversight of the creation of law corporations and their renewals. Continuing Professional Development which includes the implementation and monitoring of the requirements set out in the regulations for mandatory cpd, the offering of cpd where appropriate and liaising with members, firms and providers. It also involves the delivery of the LRA assessment and working with other departments to create and implement education for staff, committees and Council. Legal Services Support / Self-Assessment Process: The department is responsible for the implementation of this work. The work involves the self assessment process as well as giving advice, guidance and support to practicing members who are looking for advice on a variety of topics. It also involves maintaining a resource portal for members and some limited education where the need arises. New Firm Registration Process: Prior to opening a new practice, a lawyer or firm must go through the new firm registration process which includes completing a registration form and meeting with one of the E&C team members. Staff review the processes, obligations and items that members need to consider prior to opening their practice. If needed, we offer guidance, advice and support. Standards Committees: The department has taken on responsibility for staffing both the Family Law Standards Committee and the Law Office Economics Management Standards Committee (LOEMC). In the upcoming year the LOEMC will be focusing on Succession Planning.

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council meeting agenda via videoconference · scott campbell, court of appeal liaison committee...

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