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New Conduct Review Task Force invites comment
If you have comments or concerns about conduct reviews as a component
of the Law Society discipline process, a new task force would like to hear
from you. The Conduct Review Task Force, chaired by Westminster Bencher
Peter J. Keighley, QC, is addressing three primary questions in its study:
- What works in the conduct review process?
- What does not work?
- What changes or improvements are needed?
Law Society Rules 4-7 through 4-12 govern conduct reviews. A conduct
review is not a hearing, but an informal review carried out by a Conduct
Review Subcommittee composed of a Bencher and a non-Bencher practitioner
or by two Benchers. When Law Society staff assess and refer a complaint
about a lawyer to the Discipline Committee for consideration, the
Committee may choose to order a conduct review as a means of further
investigating or disposing of the complaint. In many instances, the
Discipline Committee may determine there is a conduct issue to address but
one that may not warrant a citation.
A lawyer appears at a conduct review personally and may be accompanied
by counsel; the complainant may attend all or part of the review with
permission of the Subcommittee. The proceeding is otherwise not open to
the public. If a complaint giving rise to a conduct review is already
known to the public, however, the fact of the review and its disposition
may be disclosed under recent rule changes.
A Conduct Review Subcommittee considers any conduct issues and prepares
a report and recommendations. It may recommend that the Discipline
Committee take no further action on the complaint against the lawyer
(although the Subcommittee may recommend that the lawyer take certain
steps to rectify a matter or prevent future problems in practice). If the
matter is more serious, the Subcommittee may instead recommend that the
Discipline Committee issue a citation or refer the lawyer to the Practice
Standards Committee. In 2002, the Discipline Committee ordered 33 conduct
reviews (40% of all actions taken by the Committee).
Lawyer Ian Sisett of Vancouver raised concerns over the complaints and
conduct review process through a proposed motion to the AGM in September,
but later agreed to withdraw his motion after the Benchers determined to
strike the task force to look specifically at conduct reviews. Mr.
Keighley will be joined on the Task Force by Mr. Sisett and by Benchers
Ian Donaldson, QC, Michael Falkins and Russell Tretiak, QC and Life
Benchers Howard Berge, QC and Jane Shackell, QC.
Lawyers who have served on conduct review panels, counsel who have
represented lawyers in the process or lawyers who have undergone conduct
reviews themselves, as well as any others in the profession with an
interest in the issue, are welcome to relay their comments to the Conduct
Review Task Force by November 30 c/o Kathy Copak by email to kcopak@lsbc.org
or by mail to 8th Floor, 845 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 4Z9.
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