Law Times

LAW TIMES 2 COVERING ONTARIO'S LEGAL SCENE | APRIL 8, 2019 www.lawtimesnews.com the law society's deficit and the amount of money the law soci- ety is spending," says Pollock. Revenue from CPD pro- gramming is budgeted for $8.25 million, according to the LSO's 2019 budget, down from $8.69 million in 2018. The LSO plans to spend $4.4 million on CPD, up from $3.9 million in 2018, the budget says. Overall, the law society plans to spend about 23 per cent of its budget — $32,594,500 — on pro- fessional development and com- petence this year. The LSO's other revenue sources include about $101 mil- lion in annual fees and about $14.2 million from the licensure process, the budget says. "The number of alternative service providers in the CPD field [is] continuing to increase, diverting some demand away from the Law Society," said the budget approved by current benchers on Oct. 25, 2018. "The Law Society providing more equity and diversity pro- gramming, at nominal or no charge, to permit members to fulfil obligations … The CPD revenue mix means there are limited opportunities to curtail CPD expenses in line with de- creasing revenues as virtually the same number of courses and programs are being offered." Law Society Communica- tions Advisor Gelek Badheyt- sang says that licensees are not paid to speak at CPD events, but do receive a "thank you" gift card and have hours count toward their own CPD require- ments. Non-licensee speakers may be compensated "on occasion," Badheytsang says. Robert Besunder, a sole prac- titioner running for bencher in Toronto, says he doesn't think the LSO should get a big finan- cial surplus from CPD pro- gramming. After moving from sole and small practices to his current role at Diamond and Diamond Law, Toronto bencher candi- date Darryl Singer says he can see how small practitioners have price sensitivity to the events, which can cost hun- dreds of dollars. "I think 12 hours is kind of light," says Singer, who has lec- tured at CPD events. "Here's what I do hear, though, from sole practitioners and small-firm lawyers, and that is that the cost of CPD is too high." Based out of Prince Edward County, Ont., bencher can- didate Cheryl Lean says that, while she routinely does more CPD than what is required, she would take a fresh look at an extra three hours of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion train- ing that lawyers are required by the LSO to complete before 2020. "We have to be more alert as to how to support new law yers, but I don't k now that it's nec- essarily through formal CPD. What I'm talking about is if the local law association had their own lecture series," says Lean. LT NEWS Continued from page 1 Pressure from competition Focus on increasing turnout "The idea is: How do we get recent calls, who are a particu- larly underrepresented in terms of votes — which then trans- lates into underrepresentation in terms of presence — how do we make them feel like their vote matters?" says Sa'd. Sa'd says each candidate has chosen their own charity to patronize, including Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Cannabis Amnesty, Pro Bono Ontario, South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario and Black Action Legal Centre. The amount each candidate is donating per vote ranges from five cents per vote to 20 cents per vote, the website said when it launched. Voters do not have to reach out to candidates or prove they voted a certain way — Sa'd says the group will use the data released by the LSO after the election to determine the voter turnout in each age group. Sa'd says she isn't sure if a similar initiative has been launched before but says there is no LSO rule prohibiting the donations. The website, http://www.recentcallsvote.org/, did not, as press time, detail the positions of each candidate on issues such as law education, licensure or support for early-career lawyers. However, several of the candidates have individually spoken out on social media, advocating to help younger law- yers pay for robes, shrink law school tuition or for a designated bencher position for new calls. Sa'd says other candidates can join the initiative. The bencher election ends on April 30 and will determine the board of directors that regulate Ontario's lawyers. The election comes amid Convocation's considerations of issues that affect young lawyers, such as licensure reform. Rocco Galati, a Toronto-based lawyer and bencher seeking re-election, raised issues with the proposed recent call initia- tive, tweeting that it "amounts to vote-buying by any other name." Despite questions from online commenters, Sa'd — whose candidacy has been endorsed by Galati — says the candidates involved in the reached out to the LSO and confirmed it is within the rules. In an e-mail to Law Times, Robichaud noted that donations are voluntary and independent of whether a candidate is elected, and voting is anonymous. "If the result is that more recent calls vote and a sizeable donation is made to charitable legal organizations, that is a controversy I will readily embrace," he said. LT Continued from page 1 ntitled-1 1 2019-04-03 2:25 PM JUDICIAL VACANCY ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE MILTON The Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee advises the Attorney General of Ontario on the appointment of Judges to the Ontario Court of Justice, and invites applications for a judicial position in Milton. This appointment involves presiding over criminal law matters and also involves travel within the regional boundaries and elsewhere in the province of Ontario as assigned by the Regional Senior Justice and/or the Chief Justice. The minimum requirement to apply to be a Judge in the Ontario Court of Justice is ten years completed membership as a barrister and solicitor at the Bar of one of the Provinces or Territories of Canada. All candidates must apply either by submitting 14 copies of the current (July 2017) completed Judicial Candidate Information Form in the first instance or by a short letter (14 copies) if the form has been submitted within the previous 12 months. Should you wish to change any information in your application, you must send in 14 copies of a fully revised Judicial Candidate Information Form. If you wish to apply and need a current Judicial Candidate Information Form, or if you would like further information, please contact: Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee Tel: (416) 326-4060 Fax: (416) 212-7316 Website: www.ontariocourts.ca/ocj/jaac/ All applications, either sent by courier or mail (NO HAND DELIVERY), must be sent to: Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee c/o Ministry of Government and Consumer Services Mail Delivery 77 Wellesley Street West, Room M2B-88 Macdonald Block, Queen's Park Toronto, Ontario, M7A 1N3 Applications must be on the current prescribed form and must be TYPEWRITTEN or COMPUTER GENERATED and RECEIVED BY 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 26, 2019. CANDIDATES ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE 14 COPIES OF THEIR APPLICATION FORM OR LETTER. A Fax copy will be accepted only if 14 copies of the application or letter are sent concurrently by overnight courier. Applications received after this date WILL NOT be considered. The Judiciary of the Ontario Court of Justice should reflect the diversity of the population it serves. Applications from members of equality-seeking groups are encouraged. Untitled-2 1 2019-04-03 2:34 PM

• Cover