Don't pay the Ferryman (the hooded man at the rudder) 'til the ship gets right-side-up again

 

SELF-REGULATING CIVILITY OF LAWYERS

Proposed amendment: simply remove SELF



Legislation that allowed the legal profession to be self-governing (decades ago) was on the condition that lawyers conduct themselves in a professional manner. The Code of Professional Conduct (“the Code”) is not enforceable by law, but rather a recommendation by The Law Society of Manitoba (the "Society") as a self-governing body. The problem with that concept is that law firms are not regulated.

The ship has long since sailed from whence this ship was launched. It should be apparent the Society has clearly lost its way, somewhere along the shores of a rock and a hard place. We are seeing practices that are in clear violation of its governing authority and criminal. In Manitoba, these include:

• unreported criminal behaviour i.e.,
  - (Jack King's actions required police investigation);
  - knowledge of perjury, obstruction of justice, (many references throughout this blog);
  - price fixing - collusion (Law Society Member-Benched!);
• members starting up a side business of insurance of by and for its members;
• members administering and investigating its own claims;
• members* (judges and masters) judging in court as to whether a claim has any merit;
• members in conflict of interest situations.
• But  WAIT! There's more .... like female lawyers interviewed by The FIRM (as stated in the Society newsletter and posted online) whereby candidates (redundant to say young and female)

1. have been asked whether they intend on having a family then
2. directs those women to go article for the government if they do!  

When a watchdog is on a master’s lap, only justice is kept at bay.

 

The Society’s effectiveness is further weakened with the enactment of the Limited Partnership Act (“LLP”) which allows law firms to distance itself even further  -- and not to CODE.

Note: Firms have become such BIG business that changes are presently under review to allow non-members (as in, people who are not lawyers) to purchase and own law firms. I can just see the lawyer in the not so distant future--looking up the status of a court case online at QB Registry and having an online link to the NASDAQ exchange for quick reference as to who's ahead.

Enough is enough.

 

The time has come for the Government of Manitoba to step in, remove the right to self-govern away from the Society, and let lawyers return back to the practice of law and the novel notion of being a profession. Let's NOT allow big business to further threaten the administration of justice even further than it has--where the greatest impact is on those most vulnerable (that now includes anyone whose personal income is below 6 figures.)

 

When a young man with great potential (LCS Grad of 2012) told me he wanted to be a lawyer, I was very concerned for him and worried whether he could survive The FIRM of 2017--you see, he's never had to experience bullying or forced to do anything he had to lie about. I simply refuse to live life in a doom and gloom world and tell him to abandon his values and principles in order to "go along to get along" in the world of legal society because...

I HAVE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE that we can fix this by then.  I don't think it's too late to turn things around. That's what I believe. That's what I'm fighting for. What -- like it's hard?

I was proud to be a Legal Assistant in the 80's, in the good old days of great legal legends like DeGraves, Mackay, Settle, Buchwald, Sarchuk--a time when even a legend like Richard Shead could fall (charged for fraud 1995, investigated and went to prison). Those were the days when it truly was a profession, and lawyers were the heart of the firm, and an office manager -- an employee. Now The FIRM has a lawyer's heart and soul under contract in exchange for a priviliged life of riches and protection.


The time has come and the time is NOW for an independent (non-member) Lawyer Enforcement Review Agency ( LERA-II). If we can expect this type of an independent review of our police force then certainly we can hold the business of law accountable as well.

Policing is first and foremost a service to the public, the more it is at odds with the composition and values of that public, the less well it works.   

Max Yalden, Chief Commissioner
of the Canadian Human Rights Commission

Do it for the class of 2012 and those graduating thereafter.

This unpaid political message is brought to you by:

M.A.M.A. 

A Bullish Government
Home of:  Mothers Against Members* Association