Law Times

LAW TIMES 12 COVERING ONTARIO'S LEGAL SCENE | APRIL 1, 2019 www.lawtimesnews.com BY CAROLYN GRUSKE For Law Times L awyers and paralegals are waging campaigns to be among the 45 people elected as benchers, but if a few of the candidates have their way, there won't be nearly as many people representing the legal profession at Convocation in the future as there are now. "It's my position that we have too many benchers," says Rebecca Durcan, a partner at Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc in Toronto, who has sat as a bench- er since August. She says the number of elect- ed benchers plus the eight pub- licly appointed members and the ex officio and honorary bench- ers results in "a very, very large and unwieldy board." "In light of the decisions that this board makes — regula- tory decisions, policy decisions — having that many people at the table, I believe, is simply too many," she says. Durcan isn't the only person running for election who has made the size of Convocation part of their election platform. Barbara Murchie, a partner and trademark agent at Bennett Jones LLP, and Megan Short- reed, a partner at Paliare Ro- land Rosenberg Rothstein LLP, among other candidates, have given the size of Convocation some consideration. Durcan says the current trend in the professional regula- tion sphere is for organizations to adopt a "risk-based approach" and to ensure regulatory mem- bers demonstrate "specific com- petencies and training." She also says it's much more common to see fewer people sitting around the decision-making table. "I know that the trend is for regulatory boards to really take a hard look at their size and determine how many are actu- ally needed to do the job. The re- sources out there [demonstrate that size] is based on a magic number of somewhere between seven and 15," says Durcan, who is experienced in risk man- agement and works as counsel to several Ontario regulators. "When you look at our numbers, by whatever metric you use, we are so outside of the standard of what is needed." Murchie, who has served as a bencher for eight years and is running for her final term, says Convocation is "large." "It could be reduced some- what," she says. She says cutting the number of lawyer benchers to 30 — 15 from Toronto and 15 from the rest of Ontario — may make for a more manageable number while still maintaining diversity and wide provincial representation. "I do think we could have fewer benchers, but I would not like to see us reduced to a board- sized level," says Murchie. "I think that we are a board in one way. And from that per- spective, a smaller group would be much more manageable, but I also think it's important we have perspective from across the province and from different ar- eas of practice and from lawyers who serve different demograph- ics of people. So, I think we're better off with a larger than nor- mal board arrangement." One concern she has about cutting back the number of benchers is that it would, by extension, reduce the num- ber of people available to serve on committees and working groups, which would likely lead to more involvement by law so- ciety staff members. Ensuring that the lawyers who do serve as benchers "have a meaningful commitment to ethical governance in the public interest, which is the mandate" [of the law society] should be the primary focus in any election, says Shortreed, who is running for the first time. To that end, part of her elec- tion platform includes thoughts about bencher numbers and ob- ligations. She says she supports "fur- ther governance reform to deal with both the size and compe- tency of Convocation. "I practise professional regu- lation and have advised regula- tors for my entire career. And I can tell you very few of the other professions have a council the size of the LSO's Convocation, particularly when you take into account the large number of ex officio and emeritus benchers. So, it has a tendency to not be ef- ficient and to add cost," she says. "That has been an issue that's been looked at by past gover- nance and reform task forces, and there [have] been some steps taken, like some term limits put in place and some adjustments made to speaking rights of un- elected benchers, but I do believe there's more work to do. At the same time, it has to be balanced with a need for diversity of per- spectives." Shortreed says she's not for "dramatic change" such as Rebecca Durcan says the current size of Convocation makes for 'a very, very large and unwieldy board.' "[V]ery few of the other professions have a council the size of the LSO's Convocation, particularly when you take into account the large number of ex officio and emeritus benchers." Megan Shortreed See Candidates, page 13 Does the size of Convocation need to shrink? BENCHER ELECTION JERRY UDELL BENCHER CANDIDATE 2019 YOUR VOICE IN CONVOCATION • Only sitting Bencher who Practices Transactional Real Estate Law in Convocation • Co-Chair LSO Real Estate Issues Committee • Endorsed by a numerous Benchers including the 2 other Solicitor benchers, Jeff Lem and Sid Troister • The only voice for Real Estate Lawyers outside of the GTA ONCE REELECTED I WILL CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON: • More aggressive consultation with the profession before changes are implemented; • Having Convocation deal with "real' issues facing practitioners; and • Creating a more positive perception of lawyers Bencherblog.ca Please Vote for Jerry Udell Untitled-2 1 2019-03-26 3:14 PM

• Cover