Law Times

BY ANITA BAL AKRISHNAN Law Times BENCHER candidates re- sponded to criticism of law schools online. Twitter user Shakir Ra- him released a four-part tweet thread with more than 130 "likes," pushing the profession to "critically question" the law school education model amid rising tuition. Candidates for the Law Society of Ontario's board of directors responded with potential solutions. Follow other election commentary at #BencherElection2019. LT BY ANITA BAL AKRISHNAN Law Times THE Law Society of Ontario's 2019 budget estimates the gov- erning body will spend about $1 million more this year than last year on continuing profes- sional development and says it will receive half a million dol- lars less in revenue from the en- deavour. Some lawyers hoping to join the LSO's board of directors say the LSO may need to do a better job at providing more resources for lawyers with fewer resources, amid competition from other professional associations and demand for free or low-cost pro- gramming. Geoff Pollock, founder of Geoff Pollock & Associates PC, who is running for a Toronto- based bencher seat in the April 15 to 30 election, says he would like to see the law society put its archives of previous lectures online at no charge to licensees, since it would not add much cost at the margin. Pollock says he would also like to see the LSO provide CPD credit for lawyers who volunteer with Pro Bono Ontario and that the law society could also con- sider reduced CPD fees for sole practitioners. "I'm very concerned about PM #40762529 BY ANITA BAL AKRISHNAN Law Times SEVERAL candidates in the Law Society of Ontario's bench- er election say they will donate a sum of money for every lawyer who was called to the bar in the past decade and casts a ballot. Caryma Sa'd, founder and principal at the Law Office of Caryma Sa'd, who is running for bencher, says she is spearhead- ing the campaign with fellow candidate Sean Robichaud, lead counsel and founder at Robi- chaud's Criminal Lawyers. The pair announced on April 1 a new website advertising their push to get younger lawyers in- volved in voting. Several other candidates — Douglas Judson, E. Patrick Shea, Deepa Tailor and Billeh Hamud — have also pledged to donate a sum for every vote cast by a re- cent call. In addition to a donation to a charitable cause, the website says the named candidates will make "a commitment to advancing a recent call category of bencher." Donations pledged for recent calls' votes Caryma Sa'd says she will donate a sum of money for each lawyer who was called to the bar in the past decade, and casts at least one ballot in the upcoming bencher campaign. Questions around CPD raised by bencher hopefuls Law school debate emerges online with candidates See Pressure, page 2 See Experiential, page 3 See Focus, page 2 Innovation crucial Unique time for lawyers page 5 Lawyers who self-rep No greater cost awards page 5 COVERING ONTARIO'S LEGAL SCENE | APRIL 8, 2019 | WWW.LAWTIMESNEWS.COM | VOL. 30, NO. 13 | $5.00 Well-being pledge Important step forward page 7 Focus on Litigation page 8 Geoff Pollock says he would like to see the law society put its archives of previous lectures online at no charge to licensees. Photo: Laura Pedersen The Bencher Election is April 30th Visit our new micro-site devoted to the upcoming LSO Bencher Election with news coverage, candidate profiles and advertising opportunities for bencher candidates. Connect with all facets of the bencher election and make an informed decision by visiting BencherElection.ca today. Untitled-1 1 2019-03-05 1:51 PM www.twitter.com/lawtimes Follow CanadianLawyerMag.com Get More Online 'SFTI$BOBEJBOMFHBMOFXTBOE BOBMZTJTBWBJMBCMFPOBOZEFWJDF ntitled-10 1 2019-02-22 10:01 AM

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