News Release
June 14, 2011

Vancouver – The Law Society of BC is launching “Discipline Alerts” to help lawyers avoid regulatory issues. 

The province’s lawyers will receive the alerts through the Society’s electronic and print newsletters, and alerts will  also be posted to the Law Society website and available via RSS feed. 

“We would far rather help lawyers stay out of trouble than pursue disciplinary action after the fact,” said Deborah Armour, the Chief Legal Officer for the Law Society.  “While that has potential benefits for lawyers, it will also help the public receive high quality legal services.” 

Information collected by Society staff reveals that one of the most common complaints is rude behaviour. The first alert will focus on tips for civility and examples of where uncivil behaviour has led to complaints and discipline. 

“We’ve seen cases where lawyers felt they went above and beyond for their clients to get excellent legal results and then were surprised when a client made a complaint to us. What we’ve found when we looked into it was that the clients felt their lawyers didn’t communicate with them throughout the retainer and keep them informed, leading to a lack of appreciation of both the result and the cost. That’s an example of complaints that could easily be avoided.”

More information on Discipline Alerts and other related resources can be found in the latest edition of the Law Society’s newsletter, the Benchers’ Bulletin. 

The Law Society of British Columbia regulates the more than 10,000 lawyers in the province, setting and enforcing standards of professional conduct that ensure the public is well-served by a competent, honourable legal profession. 

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 For further information or to arrange an interview contact: 

Lesley Pritchard
Communications Officer
604-443-5708
lpritchard@lsbc.org

Robyn Crisanti
Manager, Communications and Public Affairs
604-697-5845
rcrisanti@lsbc.org