Law Times

BY ANITA BAL AKRISHNAN Law Times CANDIDATES for the board of the Law Society of Ontario weighed in on Twitter ahead of news that the province would cut funding to Legal Aid Ontar- io, confirming earlier reports. Voting starts this week for the bencher election, and can- didates weighed in on the topic. Follow the commentary along at #BencherElection2019. LT BY ANITA BAL AKRISHNAN Law Times REAL estate lawyers continue to advertise fixed-fee services with exceptions, despite tighter restrictions passed by the Law Society of Ontario less than two years ago. The LSO made new rules for advertising residential real estate services Sept. 28, 2017 "to sup- port transparency and ensure consumers may easily compare prices," according to the regu- lator's Advertising and Fee Ar- rangements Issues Working Group website. The revised rule 4.2-2.1 said a lawyer may advertise a price to act on a residential real estate transaction if: "the price is inclu- sive of all fees for legal services, disbursements, third party charges and other amounts ex- cept for the harmonized sales tax and the following permitted disbursements: land transfer tax, government document registra- tion fees, fees charged by govern- ment, Teranet fees, the cost of a condominium status certificate, payment for letters from credi- tors' lawyers regarding similar name executions and any title insurance premium." Although restrictions may be tighter, a search for "cheap real estate deals lawyer Ontario" in Google turns up many lawyers who still offer packaged or fixed fees, notes Sidney Troister, a se- PM #40762529 BY ANITA BAL AKRISHNAN Law Times BENCHER candidate John Nunziata says he thinks the pro- vincial government may have to intervene in the legal profes- sion's self-regulation model fol- lowing the bencher election end- ing April 30. Nunziata told Law Times that he has heard the proposition of reviewing the Law Society Act discussed among Ontario's members of provincial Parlia- ment who watch the legal pro- fession. However, Law Times requested interviews with 14 MPPs who have backgrounds as lawyers and none accepted. Several MPPs, including a spokesperson for Attorney Gen- eral Caroline Mulroney, repeat- ed the same message. "The Law Society of Ontario has a mandate to regulate law- yers and paralegals in the public interest. Questions regarding the law society, the bencher elec- tion and the regulation of law- yers should be directed to the law society. The attorney general Sustainability of self-regulation scrutinized Rebecca Bromwich says that government should support self-regulation in the public interest. Fixed fees advertising in real estate ads questioned Support for Legal Aid discussed online See Debate, page 2 See Online, page 5 See Election, page 2 Smart contracts Are we ready for their use? page 7 HRTO ruling Lesson for the profession page 5 COVERING ONTARIO'S LEGAL SCENE | APRIL 15, 2019 | WWW.LAWTIMESNEWS.COM | VOL. 30, NO. 14 | $5.00 Punitive damages Focus is on misconduct page 7 Focus on Emerging Legal Boutiques page 8 Sidney Troister says advertising rules do not address quality of service in fixed-fee real estate advertising. Photo: Laura Pedersen www.twitter.com/lawtimes Follow & $#&!&jmmm$cYa[bbWh$Yec ntitled-4 1 12-03-20 10:44 AM 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 2019-04-12 10:12 AM

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