Message to Members

Legal Professions Act introduced in legislature today
Apr 10, 2024

I am reaching out to every CBABC member to inform you of major changes to the future regulation of lawyers in B.C.

Today, the Legal Professions Act was unveiled in the B.C. legislature, outlining how a single regulator would apply to lawyers, notaries and paralegals. As introduced, this legislation will impact lawyer independence and self-regulation of our profession.

Read the legislation >

Our members’ early analysis is that this legislation poses a threat to lawyer independence and should not be passed. Only five lawyers on the 17-person Board will be elected and the other four will be appointed by the Board, which is composed of a mix of lawyers and non-lawyers. Further, a slim majority of one lawyer on the Board does not maintain the self-regulation and independence of the Bar.

We are reviewing the full text of the legislation and engaging in discussions with government, the Law Society, other associations, and the BC First Nations Justice Council.

Read our media release >

On behalf of our membership, CBABC has continued to highlight concerns and ask questions about this new regulatory model since it was first proposed by government in Spring 2022. Our Professional Issues Committee has led the development of our submissions and positions. Our membership has given feedback through a series of roundtables held after the Intentions Paper was released in September 2022 and the Public Update was issued in March 2024.

We repeatedly asked government to share their legislative intentions with everyone, including when we met in person with the Attorney General in November 2023 and in writing in January 2024. On March 18, the government released some details that raised more questions, which have not been answered.

Read our advocacy timeline >

We welcome your feedback as we continue to advocate on behalf of the profession. Please contact us at feedback@cbabc.org.

Scott Morishita
CBABC President 2023/24