2024

Chief Justice Robert Bauman said the change demonstrates the court's commitment to transparency and accountability.

Representatives of the legal profession in British Columbia have made their voices heard in response to proposals from the provincial government on regulatory modernization.

The CBABC Aboriginal Lawyers Forum recognizes the extraordinary recipients of this year’s ALF Special Contribution Award: Myrna McCallum and Douglas S. White III, KC. As part of the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch, the Aboriginal Lawyers Forum (ALF) facilitates social networking and mentoring for Indigenous lawyers and law students in BC.

The Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch has submitted recommendations to the Ministry of Attorney General, in response to its Intentions Paper released in September 2022.  

The Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch, supports a single regulator model for the legal profession, as long as these changes do not impact lawyers’ independence and self-regulation, the legal association says in its submission to the Ministry of the Attorney General.

The newly minted president of the B.C. branch of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) is saying he will be pushing for more access to justice and increased legal aid funding over the course of his term in office, which will run alongside anticipated major changes to the governance of lawyers in the province.

CBABC will be asking lawyers several questions arising from the Intentions Paper including, “how should we define the practice of law?”, “what should be the scope of practice for each profession?”, “how should paralegals be regulated?” and, “how many lawyers should be on the governing board?”

The BC government has outlined its ideas for creating a single regulator in the province for lawyers, notaries, and paralegals but vows it has “no intention” of interfering with the legal profession’s independence.

British Columbia is recommending a large-scale modernization of how the legal professions are governed in the province, and an expert is saying the proposals would represent a “quantum leap” for regulation in Canada if they are adopted.

Lawyer with Community Legal Services Association will focus on diversity, inclusion, access to justice