In early December, the Law Society of BC released the Report of a Governance Review of the Law Society of British Columbia, as prepared by regulator and governance specialist, Harry Cayton.
CBABC members are encouraged to review this report, as the recommendations include significant changes to how the legal profession is governed.
Mr. Cayton noted in his final report: “The review finds that the legal framework within which the Law Society operates is not fit for a modern regulatory body and that it hampers the Law Society’s Benchers in fulfilling their responsibilities. In particular, the power of the members to elect the Benchers and to overrule them and to stop changes to the Society’s rules means that the Society acts more like a professional association than a professional regulator.” His report goes on to list recommendations to improve the governance structure.
The CBABC Professional Issues Committee had reviewed previous governance reports produced by Mr. Cayton, as well as the mandate and structure of the BC Law Society. CBABC developed a set of recommendations for consideration by Mr. Cayton, which were formally submitted October 26, 2021. Many of the CBABC recommendations were incorporated into his final report. The Professional Issues Committee is now undertaking a review of the findings and response of LSBC.
As part of this review, we welcome feedback on the report from CBABC members at feedback@cbabc.org.
Read the CBABC Submission to Harry Cayton.
Read the Report of a Governance Review of the Law Society of British Columbia.