Law Times

PAGE 4 W BY KENDYL SEBESTA Law Times LSUC takes cautious approach to new business structures Reforming the Legal Profession NEWS it as a victory for the public and a revolutionary moment for lawyers across the country. By permitting non-lawyers hen Britain fi rst in- troduced the Legal Services Act, the government hailed to own legal practices, the think- ing was that law fi rms would be able to raise money by selling eq- uity to shareholders; consumers would be able to buy legal ser- vices through businesses that had never considered selling them be- fore; and consumer-related costs would drop, thereby making legal services more accessible. Th e act followed a long struggle over how to handle the growing numbers of people who couldn't access legal services at current rates. In response, Britain introduced the act in order to give law fi rms greater access to capital while allowing new players to pro- vide services through alternative business structures. Several jurisdictions have since been closely watching Britain to see how the experiment turns out. Canada is no exception. "Th e Legal Services Act came McKELLAR STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS INC. would like to thank all those who took part in THE 14TH ANNUAL McKELLAR CHARITY GOLF DAY on Monday, June 18th, 2012. for use and support in their fight against cancer. A special thanks goes out to our sponsors for this event: This event raised $26,300.00 for wicc (Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade) PLATINUM SPONSORS FINANCIAL HORIZONS GROUP SUN LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY OF CANADA GOLD SPONSORS BMO LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY THE STANDARD LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY OF CANADA BRONZE SPONSORS MANULIFE FINANCIAL THE RIORDON DESIGN GROUP INC. We appreciate your support! about in the U.K. because of sig- nifi cant access-to-justice issues," says Mitch Kowalski, a Toronto lawyer and author of Avoiding Ex- tinction: Reimagining Legal Services for the 21st Century. "We have the same problems here, the reason being there is no competition — just a large group of really expensive lawyers charg- ing really expensive fees — mean- ing prices cannot drop. So you're leſt with a huge whack of people who are hung out to dry. "So while it' ing month in the U.K., I think if we were to see a legal services act here, the door would really be wide open. It would be limitless. Th e whole nature of law would change." Such a change, says Kowalski, s been a very excit- www.mckellar.com would likely result in decreased numbers of self-represented liti- gants, improved court wait times, greater technological advance- ments, and, most importantly, signifi cantly reduced costs for routine matters without taxing ntitled-4 1 ANNOUNCEMENT 12-07-03 2:37 PM Introducing our newest Associate. I represent Siskinds. We are pleased to announce Serge Kalloghlian has joined our Toronto office. His practice is currently focused on representing investors in securities class actions and other shareholder rights litigation. Prior to joining Siskinds, Serge completed his articles at a national full-service firm and worked as an associate at a class action boutique. His experience and expertise makes Serge a valuable asset to the Siskinds team. With 25 practice groups, Siskinds has the knowledge and resources to help our clients in nearly every aspect of modern law. 416.362.8334 Toll Free 877.672.2121 47 Colborne Street, Toronto Simon Chester believes the legal profession will look quite different in 30 years. Photo: Laura Pedersen cash-strapped governments. But, Kowalski adds, that will only happen if the provincial gov- ernments take the lead. Th at' ticularly true in Ontario, he says, noting the Law Society of Upper Canada doesn't seem "terribly in- terested" in the British model. "Really, this is going to have to s par- according to a report presented to Convocation in May. So far, the Law Society of Brit- July 9, 2012 • law Times ish Columbia has led the way with a report on the subject in October. Th e report was somewhat be driven by the provincial gov- ernment because, in most cases, lawyers are not very good at adapt- ing, talking, yes, but currently things are stagnant, so it' someone like the attorney general to come in and lead. I think over time we'll see the major changes coming from the smaller guys and newer players because they have no baggage and aren't paralyzed like some of the bigger fi rms." Th e LSUC has begun looking " says Kowalski. "Th ere's a lot of s going to take at the British model of legal servic- es. Law societies across the coun- try are facing calls to consider whether or not a similar act would be appropriate in their province, skeptical of pursuing alternative business structures. It noted it wasn't clear whether or not they would in fact improve legal servic- es. Still, it indicated the regulator would be open to improvements. Th e LSUC also discussed the issue during Convocation pro- ceedings in May and appears to be taking the same wait-and-see approach. John Hunter, president of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, says it' stance on what many have dubbed to be a signifi cant leap of faith by British government. "Th e law societies are looking s an appropriate at ways to bring down costs with- out sacrifi cing access to justice by improving legal services in rural communities and unbundling le- gal services," says Hunter. "In the meantime, they are also keeping a watchful eye on the U.K. to see if it would help them in assisting the public. its Rules of Professional Conduct and Paralegal Rules of Conduct to allow lawyers and paralegals to provide legal services under lim- ited-scope retainers. Th e change followed pressure to fi nd ways to decrease client costs by allowing lawyers to handle some, but not all, of their legal matters. Simon Chester, a partner at Last year, the LSUC amended " Heenan Blaikie LLP in Toronto, says the LSUC's approach to the issue is a fi tting example of the tension between a conservative profession and the needs of the public and will likely dictate what happens in the coming years. "I think the law societies are regarding access to justice as a real priority, is a tension between a conserva- tive profession that justifi ably has a proud history and the need to realize their mandate is not to protect the profession but to pro- tect the public. So I'm not sure if the solution is necessarily unbun- dling, but either way, I think 30 years from now the profession will be quite diff erent." " says Chester. "But there LT Serge Kalloghlian – Securities Class Actions SISKINDS .COM Untitled-1 1 L E A DERS IN THEIR FIELD www.lawtimesnews.com ® Th is is the fi rst instalment in Law Times' summer series on reforms to the legal profession around the world. 12-06-29 9:02 AM

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