Law Times

Page 4 July 25, 2016 • law Times www.lawtimesnews.com Review of licensing and articling a priority New treasurer says LPP will get 'a hard look' BY ALEX ROBINSON Law Times P aul Schabas wants to take a long, hard look at the Law Practice Program. The new treasurer for the Law Society of Upper Canada is set to instruct a committee of benchers to examine the experi- mental program, which started in 2014. "We're going to take a hard look at how well it's working, who's doing it, what the outcomes are, what the costs are, and we'll have a recommendation on that, I'm hopeful, within a few months," Schabas told Law Times, in an in- terview in his freshly painted of- fice at Osgoode Hall. Schabas is planning a review of licensing and articling, which will include the LPP initiative, and is one of a number of pri- orities he has highlighted for the LSUC as he starts his term, along with governance, access to justice, and operations. The LPP is an alternative to articling and involves a four- month training course, as well as four months of a work place- ment. It was launched as a three- year pilot project, run by Ryer- son University and the Univer- sity of Ottawa. While supporters of the pro- gram hailed it as an alternative process that could deal with a shortage of articling spots, Scha- bas was part of a group of bench- ers that sharply criticized the program when it was first pro- posed and implemented. Their concerns were that the new program would create two tiers in the licensing system and potential employers would not look at those who had partici- pated in the LPP favourably. "It is unclear how well the course achieved its purpose. Many students are working in unpaid placements," Schabas wrote on his web site when he was running for re-election as a bencher last year. "Although a few hundred stu- dents enrolled in 2014-2015, we will have to see how many are pre- pared to use this path to licensing next year. There is also concern that the students in the LPP are disproportionately racialized." "If it isn't working, we mustn't be afraid to dump it," he added. Schabas says he will be di- recting the law society's profes- sional development and compe- tence committee to start look- ing at the LPP in August as part of the larger review of the whole licensing process. "These are important initia- tives. They take up a lot of re- sources and we've got to be sure on what the outcomes are before we make a decision on it," he says. Schabas, who is a senior trial and appellate lawyer at Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP, was first elected as a bencher in 2007 and then re-elected in 2011 and 2015. Convocation elected Scha- bas as its next treasurer at its June meeting before its summer break. Schabas moved into his role immediately, presiding over that meeting. Schabas plans to hang a por- trait of Sydney Robins in his new office, in the space traditionally reserved for a painting of a former treasurer that inspires the current treasurer. Robins was the law so- ciety's first Jewish treasurer, who served from 1971 to 1974. He was also a former judge of the Ontario Court of Appeal and a source of inspiration for the new treasurer. In terms of governance re- form, Schabas wants to shrink the size of some of the law soci- ety's committees to make them more efficient. This summer, Schabas has been in the process of remaking the committees be- fore Convocation reconvenes. Before Schabas was elected in June, the law society had more than 20 different committees, task forces, and working groups. "Some of the committees have been very large over the last few years and things take a while to go through a committee and go from one committee to another and I think we've got to look for more efficiencies in how we act as a board and how we interact with and get the benefit of the ex- pertise of our staff," he says. "I think that's a challenge of any organization that has a large board, but I think it's impor- tant that we confront it and talk about it." Schabas says he will appoint a small working group of bench- ers to review governance and come up with some solutions to make the function of commit- tees less cumbersome. He says he is also looking to give committees clear objectives and timelines to ensure they do not stray away from their in- tended purposes. Schabas would also like to see the law society take a stronger role in promoting access to jus- tice under his watch. Part of this will include mak- ing sure the law society is ready to respond to recommendations that will come out this fall in a review of family law conducted by the provincial Ministry of the Attorney General and Ontario Court Justice Annemarie Bonk- alo, Schabas says. The report is expected to touch upon whether paralegals should be allowed to handle some areas of family law. "That's something we've got to be on top of as well because that's an area that really requires addressing in the short term," Schabas says. He says he would also like to see the law society figure out how its disciplinary and regula- tory processes can better engage Aboriginal Peoples. The law society recently launched an Indigenous Ad- visory Group in order to help the province's legal community understand issues that affect aboriginal communities and to guide its response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commis- sion's recommendations. "We have to think about how we reach out to those communi- ties. How do we conduct a hear- ing that they can feel comfort- able in and have confidence in?" Schabas says. LT NEWS © 2016 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00238FP-A70303-SK A concise starting point for professional negligence claims AVAILABLE RISK-FREE FOR 30 DAYS Order online: www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 Order # 987256-65203 $92 Softcover July 2016 approx.240 pages 978-0-7798-7256-5 Shipping and handling are extra. Price subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. Look to Cause of Action: Professional Negligence for step-by- step guidance on the basic issues in claims involving professional negligence, whether you are acting for the plaintiff or for the defendant. You'll save time and effort with expert commentary and analysis, sample precedents and pleadings, practical checklists, questions for interviews and discovery, and detailed investigation instructions. Cause of Action: Professional Negligence makes it easy to select the relevant information and also includes practical to-do lists for your clients. New Publication Cause of Action: Professional Negligence Eric Morgan Paul Schabas will be directing the law society's professional development and competence committee to start looking at the LPP in August as part of the larger review of the whole licensing process. Photo: Robin Kuniski

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