Law Times

LAW TIMES COVERING ONTARIO'S LEGAL SCENE | FEBRUARY 25, 2019 5 www.lawtimesnews.com BY JULIA NOWICKI For Law Times THE nominations for the Law Society of Ontario's bencher elections are in, and this year's candidate list reveals the larg- est slate the regulating body has seen in more than 20 years. As of Feb. 21, there were 145 lawyers and paralegals run- ning for the role of bencher. The regulator's governing body has 45 seats, including 20 for law- yers from inside Toronto, 20 for lawyers outside Toronto, and five for paralegals. One bencher, Jack Braithwaite, was elected as of Feb. 8, as he was the only person nominated in the for the northeast electoral region. The 128 lawyers who submitted nomination forms — 54 from outside of Toronto and 74 from within — represent the highest candidate turnout since at least 1995. These elections, held on April 30, will be the first time both paralegals and lawyers are appointed in the same year. LSO's elections officer Jim Varro issued a statement to Law Times regarding the turnout, stating that the society appreci- ates "this expression of interest in the upcoming election." Noel Semple is an assistant professor at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. He says there are several key issues at the top of many lawyers' minds this election season; however, the larger roster of candidates may also be a result of the LSO's recent considerations to change the composition of Convocation. In 2018, a report presented by an LSO Governance Task Force suggested the society opt for a reduced number of benchers. Following those recommen- dations, the LSO reduced the voting and speaking rights of ex- officio and honorary benchers. "There has been discus- sion about radically reducing the number of benchers, [with some] arguing that the law soci- ety should have a much smaller board of directors, kind of like a corporation," Semple says. "If that were to happen and you would cut the number of benchers to under 20, then the opportunity to be elected in future elections will be much smaller. People might think this is the last chance to take a shot at it with these better odds." However, Semple says, the larger slate may have little im- pact on the results of the elec- tion. Based on his research, vot- ing patterns in Ontario bencher elections tend to favour big, well- known names regardless of their stance on issues that may have garnered recent attention, such as the articling versus law prac- tice program debate or alterna- tive business structures. "Given that there's no party system and people are not neces- sarily voting on the basis of the issues, often I think many voters will vote for names that they rec- ognize," Semple says. "If there's a lot of new candi- dates who are early-career law- yers trying to get their name out there and build name recogni- tion, I don't think they'll neces- sarily be successful." There is a greater number of benchers seeking re-election in 2019, when compared to four years prior. Thirty incumbents have submitted nomination forms, 17 of those from inside Toronto. In 2015, only 18 benchers sought re-election. Janis Criger, a non-practising lawyer and bencher who is run- ning for re-election, ranked 13th in 2015 for most votes for bench- ers from outside Toronto. She says that when she campaigns she always encourages people to vote, even if it's not for her, be- cause she knows that the day-to- day practice of law can make it tough to follow through on one's intent to vote. "It's important to vote even if you think you will never run into a bencher anywhere, even if you think you're never going to deal with the law society and you're going to practise without ever having a question. It's still important to have people there that you think represent the profession well and people there that will work hard," says Criger. She says that certain galva- nizing candidates and issues, such as licensure and the state- ment of principles, might en- courage more voting this year. "As the Ontario demographic changes, we need to stay rel- evant, and we are not going to be relevant unless what people see in the legal profession is what they see when they look around them. I think it will be galvaniz- ing, though, because law is con- servative by nature. Lawyers are individualists, there are strong personalities, because otherwise you wouldn't be able to do this work," says Criger. Paul Schabas, a partner at Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP, says that, although it's difficult to say exactly what inspired a greater number of people to put their name up for election this year, he hopes it will encourage a larger voter turnout. "If there are lots of people who are running, that demonstrates a much greater degree of interest and engagement in how the pro- fession is governed and, hope- fully, we'll also see that in a better voter turnout," Schabas says. Avvy Yao-Yao Go, a bencher who is not running for re-election and is director of the Metro To- ronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, says that a higher number of candidates is a good sign that more and more legal professionals are becoming in- terested and involved in the work of the governing body; however, representation in those numbers is also important. "I would hope to see more women and particularly racial- ized women running and also hope to see more people work- ing in the social justice sector particularly," Go says. "There should be more peo- ple from different sectors, not just people who work in the big firms because we do need the Convocation to ref lect the dif- ferent practices and experiences. If you work in the big firms, you might be protected from some of the challenges that the sole practitioners or lawyers in small firms may face." Go also hopes that the large slate will inspire more legal pro- fessionals to cast their ballot on election day. "I hope that more lawyers will be interested in the election," Go says. Newly appointed benchers will take office on May 23. LT — With files from Anita Balakrishnan Janis Criger says that certain galvanizing candidates and issues might encourage more voting in the upcoming bencher election this year. Greater voter turnout encouraged LSO bencher election reveals largest slate in over 20 years "There has been discussion about radically reducing the number of benchers, [with some] arguing that the law society should have a much smaller board of directors, kind of like a corporation." Noel Semple NEWS LawSocietyOntario_LT_Feb25_19.indd 1 2019-02-20 3:38 PM

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