Law Times - Newsmakers

2015 top news, newsmakers, and cases 11 AT THE BEGINNING of the year, it seemed alternative business structures would dominate the debate in the legal community. It did for a while, but the discussions died down when several candidates who opposed alternative business structures emerged victorious in the Law Society of Upper Canada's bencher elections. And then later in the year, the law society's working group on the issue released a report that put more doubt on the extent of any future changes. In considering whether to allow for full ownership of law firms by non-lawyers, the working group looked at the results of alternative business structures in other jurisdictions. The impact, it found, "has not been transformative." "Some people would've predicted very significant things happening for both good and for ill as a result of [alternative business structures], and both Australia and England seem to suggest neither the most optimistic nor the most pessimistic versions have proven to be true so far," says Malcolm Mercer, co-chairman of the working group. As a result, the working group is taking a more cautious approach. "We have the advantage of somebody going first and we can see what the effects are and whether or not the stated purpose has been achieved," says Mercer. Debate over the issue took on an urgent tone as lawyers prepared to vote in the bencher elections in April. The Ontario Trial Lawyers Association took a particularly vocal stand against alternative business structures, releasing a voters' guide that noted which candidates had said they opposed the idea. It also released a report suggesting there was little evidence alternative business structures had had a positive impact on access to justice in jurisdictions that had allowed them. As of now, the working group is in no hurry to set a schedule to discuss the matter further, although its report did leave open the option of considering a non-majority ownership stake for non- lawyers. At the same time, it will consider other options, such as franchise arrangements with traditional legal practices, says Mercer. The arrangement would be much like "a firm or a franchise which exists in England called qualified solicitors," he notes. "The franchise owner creates or establishes a brand by advertising and marketing, provides services to the franchisees." Charles Gluckstein, a former president of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, agrees on the need for further study. Other models might work in Ontario, says Gluckstein, a vocal opponent of the alternative business structures. Despite the lesser prospects for change in how law firms structure themselves, Canada's top judge made it clear earlier this year that lawyers have to embrace change. During her keynote speech at the Canadian Bar Association conference in Calgary in August, Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin referenced the technological changes that are having an impact in so many areas. "In the age of the Internet, people are questioning why they, the consumers of legal product, should be forced to go to expensive lawyers working in expensive office buildings located in expensive urban centres. Why, they ask, should a client retain lawyers, when integrated professional firms can deliver accounting, financial, and legal advice?" she said. "The old assumptions are being questioned," she added, noting the question isn't whether liberalization will occur but how it will happen. "We must not close our mind to the changes that are being increasingly forced on us." top stories ABS debate dominates the conversation But issue fi zzles after LSUC vote, working group's report BY ANASTASIYA JOGAL The working group on alternative business structures will take its time to look at the experiences in other jurisdictions, says Malcolm Mercer. A DAILY BLOG OF CANADIAN LEGAL NEWS VISIT LEGALFEEDS.CA FEEDS LEGAL POWERED BY

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