UBC Law Professor Harris Appointed Interim Holder of Nemetz Chair in Legal History

UBC Faculty of Law announced this week that Professor Doug Harris was appointed interim holder of the Nemetz Chair in Legal History. From the news release on the UBC Law website:

The Chair is designed to enrich the education of lawyers, advance legal writing in Canada, and properly and permanently remember the name of Nathan T. Nemetz [former nationally and internationally renowned Chief Justice of British Columbia]. It was made possible through the generosity of members of the legal profession and community and the Province of British Columbia through the World of Opportunity Campaign.

While he holds the Nemetz Chair, Professor Harris will continue to write and teach in the areas of property law, legal history, fisheries law, and Aboriginal rights. To date, his written work includes articles on the legal relations between Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian state in early British Columbia, and on the title registration system.

TLABC Introduces New Facebook Page

Via its Twitter account, the Trial Lawyers Association of BC introduced its new Facebook page. On that page TLABC announced last week that it is ”Getting ready to launch the New Media Department”. It also posted the following recent members announcement there, originally appearing on its website:

TLABC’s rules committee has prepared papers corresponding to specific areas of the new Supreme Court Rules, which take effect July 1. The papers are a result of their scrutiny of certain aspects likely to be of interest to TLABC members. You can call up this information at www.tlabc.org/CourtRules.

More information about these and other TLABC initiatives can be found on their website.

CLEBC Releases Practice FAQ on HST and Legal Fees

The Continuing Legal Education Society of BC recently released HST Law Practice FAQ, a publication it prepared to clarify the rules applicable to PST and HST on legal fees.

The Law Society summarizes the interaction among the GST, HST, and PST in the following news release about CLEBC’s Practice FAQ:

Effective July 1, 2010, PST is eliminated and lawyers are instead required to collect HST. However, collection of PST continues under rules established for transition to HST. When billing for legal services provided before and after July 1, lawyers must charge PST and GST (but not HST) if 90% or more of the services are performed before July 1. If less than 90% of the legal services are performed before July 1, lawyers must charge PST, GST and HST based on the proportion of services performed before and after July 1. PST collection requirements continue under the transition rules until December 31, 2010.

AG Releases Report on Special Prosecutors

Last week the Attorney General announced the release of a report on the special prosecutors system. The report was prepared under the watch of Stephen Owen, vice-president of external, legal and community relations for the University of British Columbia. The report calls for regular six-month updates to improve timeliness of charge assessments, more frequent review and renewal of the special prosecutors’ list and more stringency in identifying potential conflicts of interest. The Attorney General requested the report in response to an incident in which a special prosecutor revealed a conflict of interest in a case he had been charged to investigate involving a senior member of government. 

Mr. Owen was asked to assess whether the special prosecutor system met the overriding public interests of fairness, accountability and public confidence. He reports that the overall prosecution system works well and that special prosecutors should be limited to a very few, highly sensitive cases. The following are some specific recommended changes to the system:

• To keep cases moving in a timely way, needed resources and time estimates will be identified when special prosecutors are appointed. The assistant deputy attorney general will request regular updates from the special prosecutor and senior investigating police officers.
• The special prosecutors list will be reviewed annually and include appointees from around the province.
• An appointee’s inclusion will be reviewed once every five years by the assistant deputy attorney general, deputy attorney general and Law Society of B.C. president.
• To protect against improper influence or lowering of prosecutorial standards, the use of special prosecutors will not be expanded. Caution will be taken to ensure against conflicts of interest and delays in proceedings.
• Prior to finalizing the appointment of a particular lawyer as a special prosecutor, the assistant deputy attorney general will meet with them to probe possible conflicts of interest (real, perceived or potential).
• When an MLA is investigated, no special prosecutor will be appointed who either personally donated or whose firm has donated to the MLA’s campaign.

More information on the report and its background is available from the Attorney General’s news release.

Access Pro Bono Seeks Volunteers for September Advice-a-thon

Access Pro Bono and  issued a call for volunteers for the 2010 free legal advice-a-thon scheduled for three different days this September in three B.C. cities: September 2 (Victoria), September 8 (Kelowna) and September 10 (Vancouver). Access Pro Bono describes the event this way:

This September, lawyers will once again provide free legal advice in the streets of Vancouver, Kelowna and Victoria in order to raise awareness and funds for BC’s pro bono programs. The free legal advice-a-thon will facilitate access to justice for low- and modest-income people, including the homeless, by engaging lawyers in advising pre-scheduled and drop-in clients on all legal issues.

The open-air legal advice clinics will be held over three days— one day in each city— and will rely on the volunteer efforts of over 75 lawyers. Participating lawyers will be encouraged to obtain pledges from family, friends and co-workers in direct support of pro bono programs operated by Access Pro Bono (formed by the merger of the Western Canada Society to Access Justice and Pro Bono Law of BC) and the Salvation Army.

Last year, we raised nearly $25,000 for pro bono programming in BC. This year, our goal is to raise $30,000, and we need your support to help us reach our target!

More information about the event, about registering as a lawyer, sponsoring a lawyer, getting advice at one of the open-air clinics, and about the event sponsors is available from the advice-a-thon site.

Ministry of Attorney General to Reform Family Legislation

A white paper released by the Ministry of the Attorney General on Monday, July 19th, following extensive reviews conducted about the current Family Relations Act, introduced draft legislation and policy proposals which aim at making major changes to family law in British Columbia.  These proposed changes will modernize legislation which has remained virtually unchanged for over thirty years.   

The white paper on Family Relations Act reform makes a proposal for a new Family Law Act which will address a wide range of new topics such as the promotion of the non-court dispute resolution process, the definition of legal parentage – including situations where reproductive technology has been used, and property division as it pertains to common-law relationships.

A news release from the Ministry of the Attorney General released July 29th touches on the reasons for addressing such change at this time and advises the public and interested groups that they have until October 8, 2010 to submit feedback which will be considered in the finalization of the new legislation.

Law Society Issues 2010 Practice Checklists Manual

The Law Society announced this week that, with the assistance of the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, it has now released  the 2010 Practice Checklists Manual, available in the Practice Support section of the Law Society’s website in both Word and PDF. The Practice Checklists Manual has been a leading resource for BC lawyers in several key practice areas since the first edition was published in 1984. The Law Society states in its news release of July 15 that “the publication moved online nine years ago and has proved very popular, with lawyers downloading 60,000 individual checklists in 2009.”

The Practice Checklists are accessible in the following categories:

• Client Identification & Verification
• Corporate & Commercial
• Criminal
• Family
• Litigation
• Real Estate
• Wills & Estates
• Human Rights
• Immigration

A non-exhaustive overview of the highlights of what’s new in the checklists is also available and includes updates on HST, Corporate & Commercial, Criminal, Family, Litigation, and Wills & Estates categories.

The Law Society also invites suggestions on how to improve the content and format of these checklists by contacting Barbara Buchanan, Practice Advisor.

New Westminster Courthouse Library Closed Until December

Effective July 15, the New Westminster Courthouse Library is completely closed until December for renovation. Further information about the closure is given in a news release from Courthouse Libraries BC:

As a result of extensive renovations that are occuring in the Courthouse building, the New Westminster Courthouse Library will be completely closed to members of the legal profession and the public, as of Thursday, July 15, 2010.

Members of the legal profession can access computers in the office located within the Barrister’s Lounge (computers will be available by the end of the business day on Friday, July 16, 2010). These computers provide access to the Library’s online subscription databases (LawSource, QP Legaleze, CLE Online, Hein Online, Legal Trac, DART: Western Decisions, LLMC Digital), plus Internet and word processing. The library photocopier will be there, as well as the copy/print card vending machine and the bookdrop. Please return books to the bookdrop or to the Vancouver Courthouse Library.

The library will reopen in a smaller, renovated space towards the end of the year; we will post the exact date on our website when it is known.

For assistance with information or research questions, to borrow books or to obtain photocopies, please contact the Vancouver Courthouse Library at 604.660.2841 or 1.800.665.2570, through our website at www.courthouselibrary.ca or by email at librarian@courthouselibrary.ca.

Summer 2010 VALL Review Available

The Vancouver Association of Law Libraries announced this week that the latest issue of the VALL Review is now available. Mica Donnelly notes the following highlights of this Summer 2010 issue on her blog:

This issue’s feature article is by Beth Galbraith and discusses the concept of mentorship.  Also included: a report on the CALL conference by Teresa Gleave, a summary of SFU’s Public Companies course by Agathe Holowatinc and photos from our VALL June Seminar & Social.

The Summer 2010 issue is available for download on the VALL website.

Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers) on New BC Rules at Courthouse Libraries

The Stream, the blog at Courthouse Libraries BC, has posted a list of frequent questions they’ve received on the new BC Supreme Court rules and forms. The post addresses five common questions ranging from where the new rules and forms can be found to retroactivity. The answers are thorough and rich with links. For example:

Where can I find the new court rules and forms for Supreme Court cases?

There are two new sets of rules that came into effect on July 1, 2010: 

• for family law cases: new Supreme Court Family Rules and Forms
• for all other Supreme Court cases: new Supreme Court Civil Rules and Forms  

Also of note is that the Supreme Court has issued a new collection of Practice Directions and Administrative Notices to coincide with the coming in to effect of the new court rules:

• Family Practice Directions
• Civil Practice Directions

Can I fill in the new court forms online?

Yes. There are fillable PDF versions of the court forms under the new rules. The forms can be completed on the computer and saved, printed, or filed electronically. (Note that you will need the free Adobe Reader to use these fillable forms.)

You can access the fillable court forms at:

• for family law cases in Supreme Court: fillable court forms under new family rules
• for all other Supreme Court cases: fillable court forms under new civil rules

 The complete set of questions and answers on the new rules is available at The Stream.

The Coalition For Public Legal Services Created

This week the Access to Justice campaign announced the creation of The Coalition For Public Legal Services (CPLS), described as follows: 

– a group of organizations, advocates, and volunteers working to restore BC’s commitment to legal aid.

All news items and updates will now be posted on the Coalition website at http://www.cplsbc.ca and on our new blog at http://www.cplbsbc.ca/blog

Those interested in joining the coalition as an organization or an individual are invited to contact CPLS for more information.

Public Commission on Legal Aid Established

A number of BC legal organizations recently announced their joint efforts to establish The Public Commission on Legal Aid. The Public Commission is a joint initiative of the Canadian Bar Association – BC Branch, the Law Society of BC, the Law Foundation of BC, the BC Crown Counsel Association, the Vancouver Bar Association and the Victoria Bar Association. The Public Commission will be led by Leonard Doust, Q.C., a well-respected senior member of the legal profession in the province.

The goal of the Public Commission is to engage the people of British Columbia on the issue of legal aid by conducting a series of hearings across the province from September through October 2010. The Public Commission will convene meetings and invite submission from interested parties, including residents, community organization representatives, and justice system stakeholders. Details of hearing dates and communities will be released in coming weeks, as will a dedicated website with further information on the Public Commission. The completion of the hearings will be followed by preparation and delivery of a comprehensive written report to the BC and federal governments.

CBABC President James Bond stated several reasons underlying the formation of the Public Commission:

• insufficient legal aid services are available for British Columbians who need them;
• funding cut several years ago has not been restored, and government funding has largely remained static;
• economic factors have adversely affect other funding sources, while demand for legal aid services has increased;
• and government must hear that British Columbians consider legal aid a priority before difficulties facing legal aid programs will change.

BCLI to Research Workplace Dispute Resolution

At the request of the Ministry of Labour, the British Columbia Law Institute will undertake a project to conduct legal research and analysis in relation to workplace dispute resolution mechanisms in British Columbia.

The project rests on the premise that BC workplaces have evolved significantly, in respect of both the types of employer-employee relationships and the nature of conflicts arising within the workplace.  The BCLI’s mandate includes the conduct of an international review of workplace conflict resolution approaches and an investigation of the range of labour and employment conflict resolution systems in operation in other parts of Canada and in selected other countries. The strengths and weaknesses of various approaches will be highlighted.

Two BC Supreme Court Justices Retire

Two B.C. Supreme Court justices, the Honourable Mr. Justice Eric G. Chamberlist of the court in Prince George and the Honourable Mr. Justice Ian H. Pitfield, retired recently. Mr. Justice Chamberlist, who served in Prince George, retired July 1, and Mr. Justice Pitfield, who served in Vancouver, retired a day earlier on June 30.

BC Supreme Court Issues New Practice Directions

Effective July 1, the B.C. Supreme Court issued a new collection of Practice Directions and Administrative Notices. The new collection was released to coincide with the new Supreme Court Civil and Family Rules, which came into effect the same day. In general, the new collection does not alter substantive content. Instead, it makes changes required to accurately reference the new Supreme Court Rules and Forms.

Also consequent to the new Rules and this new collection, all previously issued practice directions and notices to the profession, with the exception of the Criminal Practice Directions and the Electronic Evidence Practice Direction, are rescinded as of July 1, 2010.

The new collection comprises three categories:

• Administrative Notices (ANs)
• Practice Directions (PDs), which pertain to civil and general matters, and
• Family Practice Directions (FPDs), which pertain specifically to family law proceedings.

The new collection adopts a new numbering system in which the ANs, PDs, and FPDs each have a separate numerical sequence. As new Practice Directions and Administrative Notices are issued, they will be presented in the same format and in a continuing numerical sequence. An Index and Table of Concordance are provided to assist users of the new collection.