B.C. lawyers hold differing perspectives on Legal Profession Act passed last month.
B.C.’s new Legal Profession Act received royal assent and became law last month despite strong opposition from the province’s law society and bar association.
Concerns over lawyer independence under act “Overall, we’re deeply disappointed that the act passed,” said Scott Morishita, president of the CBABC. The new regulator will have 17 board directors, including five elected by lawyers, two elected by notaries public, two paralegals, three members of the public appointed by the B.C. government—including at least one from a First Nation—and five directors appointed by a majority of other directors, including four lawyers and a notary public, one of whom must be an Indigenous person.
Many lawyers are also concerned about the “significant amount of prescriptive sections” within the legislation that tells the board what to do, according to Dhaliwal. He said 75 to 80 per cent of people who have legal problems can’t afford legal services in B.C., and the new governance structure will open up the possibility of appropriately trained professionals providing certain legal services—hopefully at a more affordable price.
“There are similar models in Great Britain and Australia. Nobody is suggesting that their lawyers there aren’t independent.”
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