The government of British Columbia is in court over a change in law

The association that regulates lawyers in British Columbia has launched legal action against a law it says threatens democracy itself.

Bill 21 – the so-called Legal Profession Act – creates a single regulatory body for lawyers, notaries and licensed paralegals. It received royal assent on Thursday (May 16), the same day the Law Society of British Columbia announced it would file a constitutional challenge against the bill.

Other groups representing lawyers and legal interests are also considering their options.

The society argues that the legislation fails to protect the public interest by denying British Columbians access to an independent legal profession regulated by independent regulators, free from “unnecessary government orders.”

“Because lawyers represent clients whose interests often differ from those of the government, you can trust that the regulator is independent of government influence,” the association said in a statement on April 10 – the day Attorney General Niki Sharma introduced the legislation. “Any erosion of this principle in (BC) threatens our free and democratic society and could have national and international consequences.”

I am talking with Canadian Lawyers Magazine last month, Law Society of BC president Jeevyn Dhaliwal said the legislation represented a “seismic shift” in the regulation of the legal profession in British Columbia

The central point of the dispute is the composition of the board supervising the new regulator.

The new management board will consist of 17 directors, 14 of whom are lawyers. The lawyers will directly elect five of the 17 directors, and a majority of the remaining directors will appoint the next four lawyers. This means that most of the directors will be lawyers. But only five of them – a minority – will be chosen by the lawyers themselves.

Critics say these changes undermine the profession’s independence, a point United lawyer Michael Lee of BC said during the debate, citing a comment by the BC branch of the Canadian Bar Association.

“(It is) insufficiently autonomous from the government and the political influence of the other board members to be considered independent, which is the appointed board members themselves,” Lee said.

The board that currently oversees the law society is composed of 25 lawyers elected by the lawyers themselves, as well as up to six non-lawyers appointed by the government.

Attorney-General Niki Sharma told Lee in response that the new structure strikes a balance in the representation of lawyers, notaries and paralegals. “Not only is there a majority of lawyers, but the majority of the elected party are lawyers, and the board is made up of a mix of appointed and elected members, and the board is smaller and streamlined,” Sharma said.

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She added that the new board not only includes the representation of notaries and paralegals, but also limits the ability to appoint the government. “The attorney general is no longer a member of the board by operation of law, and the number of people directly appointed by the government is between six and three.”

“We think it was a very thoughtful approach, based on balancing not only all the competitions, but also the information that we received along the way.”

Sharma said the legislation improves access to justice by facilitating access to legal services, facilitating reconciliation and removing barriers to the practice of law for people who are currently underrepresented.

said Jamie Maclaren, a civil litigation lawyer Canadian Lawyers Magazine last month that he expects the new class of regulated paralegals to be “a real boon for pro bono and legal aid organizations” as it expands their range of affordable options to serve clients with varying levels of legal knowledge and needs.

Another controversy surrounding the legislation is the BC government’s use of the NDP shutdown to force it through the Legislature.

“Not only has the government failed to allow for a full and transparent consultation, it has also shut down debate on Bill 21 in a way that suggests it never intended to allow a full and open discussion about the consequences of seismic change, which we believe is contrary to the public interest.” Dhaliwal said in a statement from her association issued after royal assent.

British Columbia Housing Minister and Speaker of the Government House Ravi Kahlon last week defended the use of the closure. He said Bill 21 is one of the most debated laws in the last 20 years.

“We want to make sure that the opposition has the opportunity to ask as many questions as they need,” Kahlon said. “But we have a limited time and we need to make sure we are able to take the actions that British Columbians expect of us.”