Law Society of the Northwest Territories

WEEKLY BULLETIN

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Watch this bulletin for CBA-NT updates and events.

Don't forget to register for events before the registration deadlines.

ARCTIC OBITER

Click here to download your copy of May's Arctic Obiter in PDF format.
(PDF - 2.99 MB)

The Law Society
of the Northwest Territories
Main Floor; 5004 - 50th Avenue
P.O. Box 1298
Yellowknife, NT
X1A 2N9

TEL: (867) 873-3828
FAX: (867) 873-6344

CONTENTS:

1. Correction: CBA-NT Family Law Evening
2. Court of Appeal BBQ: Last Chance to buy tickets!
3. CBA-NT Annual Summer Meeting & Barbeque
4. NWT Human Rights Commission: Request for Proposals
5. Aboriginal Day: Calling All Aboriginal Lawyers
6. UPCOMING MEETINGS
Legal Ethics & Practice Committee
Women Lawyers Forum
CBA-NT Annual Summer Meeting
7. UPCOMING CLE EVENTS
Spousal Support & Matrimonial Assessments
Alternative Billing Practices
8. NATIONAL CPD OPPORTUNITIES
NEW R. v. Cunningham... Can I Withdraw?
NEW File Transfer on Termination of Retainer

CORRECTION
CBA-NT Family Law Evening

Resident members received an email with attached posters identifying two upcoming dates: The CBA-NT Family Law Evening and a Lunch & Learn on Alternative Billing. The Family Law Evening poster stated an incorrect date and time. Please note the following correct dates and times for these two events:

A Family Law Evening:
Spousal Support & Matrimonial Assessments

Thursday, June 17, 2010 - 5:00pm
Champagne Room (Yellowknife)

Alternative Billing: Replacing Time with Value

Friday, June 18, 2010 - 12:00pm
Champagne Room (Yellowknife)

We apologize for any confusion this has caused. Additional information, including registration details, can be found below under "Upcoming CLE Events".

Court of Appeal Barbeque

LAST CHANCE TO PURCHASE TICKETS!
Tickets are on sale until Friday, June 11.

The Law Society invites all members to the annual Court of Appeal Barbeque on Tuesday, June 15, at the Yellowknife Racquet Club.

Email invitations have been sent to all members. Please contact the Law Society if you have not received one.

Tickets are $25.00. Purchase yours before they run out.

CBA-NT
Annual Summer Meeting & Family Barbeque

CBA Members are reminded of the CBA-NT Annual Summer Meeting on Tuesday, June 29, at 12:00pm. Notices have been sent to all CBA-NT members. Details can be found below under "Upcoming Meetings".

After the meeting and work day, all CBA members and their families are invited to the

Annual Summer Barbeque

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 - 5:00pm
Fred Henne Territorial Park (Yellowknife)

This year, we’re excited to welcome National President Kevin Carroll, QC, National Treasurer Annette Horst, and Alberta President Gillian Marriott, QC, for an evening with good food and great company.

NWT HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Request for Proposals

The Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission (the “Commission”) is requesting proposals from qualified proponents for the provision of legal services to the Commission. The legal services will be provided on a part-time, as needed basis. The Commission seeks these services for a one-year pilot project beginning July 2010.

The deadline for proposals is: July 5, 2010, 3pm (MDT).

The full Request for Proposals package can be downloaded from: www.nwthumanrights.ca or by contacting the NWT Human Rights Commission:

Linda Noseworthy
Administrative Officer
NWT Human Rights Commission
Main Floor, Laing Building, 5003-49th Street
(Entrance on Franklin Street, next to Motor Vehicles.)
Toll free: 1-888-669-5575
Yellowknife: 867-669-5575
e-mail: info@nwthumanrights.ca

This Request for Proposals can also be downloaded from our Employment Opportunities webpage.

ABORIGINAL DAY
Calling All Aboriginal Lawyers

The Government of the NWT invites all Aboriginal lawyers to take part in the Aboriginal Day parade and festivities on June 21.

The parade, beginning at 11:00am in Yellowknife, will draw residents to City Hall for a celebration at 12:00pm. To be part of the parade, please contact Gail Cyr, Special Advisor to the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, at (867) 920-3106, or by email at gail_cyr@gov.nt.ca.

As well, the Yellowknives First Nation Dene will have a celebration at the Yellowknife River, carrying well into the evening.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

Legal Ethics & Practice Committee

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 - 12:00pm
Law Society Boardroom
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: June 8

Women Lawyers Forum

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 - 12:00pm
Law Society Boardroom
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: June 14

CBA-NT Annual Summer Meeting

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 - 12:00pm
Location TBA

UPCOMING CLE EVENTS

A Family Law Evening: Spousal Support & Matrimonial Assessments

Thursday, June 17, 2010 - 5:00pm
Champagne Room (Yellowknife)

This event is brought to you by the CBA-NT Family Law Section
Registration: TBD
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: June 15

Join Calgary-based Family Law Lawyer Lonny Balbi, QC, for this two-part evening event:

1. Spousal support is one of the most complicated and conceptually difficult areas of the law. A careful reading of the Divorce Act does not clarify very much. Judges are left with so much discretion that case law is unhelpful to most practitioners. The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines introduced a new way of thinking about spousal support. Learn how to argue the relevance (or the irrelevance) of the SSAGs and understand how they were developed.
2. Most Family Law lawyers are willing to give away the advice which is most crucial to clients. The first meeting a client has with a lawyer is probably the most important meeting that client will ever have with his or her counsel. There are some excellent strategies to provide Family Law clients with excellent value for that first meeting and, additionally, allow the lawyer to charge appropriately for it.

Alternative Billing: Replacing Time with Value

Friday, June 18, 2010 - 12:00pm
Champagne Room (Yellowknife)

This event is brought to you by the Law Society
Registration: free
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: June 16

The profession is in trouble! Clients are complaining that lawyers are simply too expensive. Very few people leave a lawyer's office feeling that it was a positive experience. Many of the negative feelings come from the way we charge.

Charging by the hour is a concept that is old and fragile. Buying a car or booking a flight can cost the same as legal services, and yet the experience is completely different. Lawyers could do a much better job by learning how to charge a flat fee and provide better value to clients.

NATIONAL CPD OPPORTUNITIES

R. v. Cunningham... Can I Withdraw?

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 12:00pm (CST)
Online (Law Society of Saskatchewan)

Join the Honourable Judge M. D. Irwin of the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan and Jay Watson, partner with the law firm of Cuelenaere Kendall Katzman & Watson, as they discuss the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Cunningham, a case involving counsels’ ability to withdraw from a criminal case for non-payment of fees. Questions will be encouraged.

For more details and to register for this webinar, click on the following:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/821386864

File Transfer on Termination of Retainer

Friday, June 25, 2010 - 12:00pm (CST)
Online (Law Society of Saskatchewan)

Attend this webinar to hear Law Society staff discuss common issue arising from file transfers on the termination of a retainer. In particular:

What documents on the file is the former client entitled to? Who owns what documents? Which documents belong to the client? Which documents belong to the lawyer?
What fees can the lawyer charge to transfer the file? Can the lawyer charge for photocopies? Can the lawyer charge for the time spent preparing the file for transfer?
If there are unpaid fees, does the lawyer have the right to assert a solicitor’s lien over the file?

For more details and to register for this webinar, click on the following:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/838912400

This email has been sent out as part of the membership communication efforts of the Law Society of the Northwest Territories. The Weekly Bulletin is emailed every Tuesday to provide members with important news and information. Notices regarding the Arctic Obiter, the Law Society's newsletter, are released once a month. This mailing list is used exclusively by the Law Society of the Northwest Territories. This list is shared, on occasion, with the Northwest Territories Branch of the Canadian Bar Association under a working contract. It is not sold or otherwise distributed to any other party for any reason.

If you believe this email is being delivered to an incorrect address, or if you have any questions or concerns, please email communications@lawsociety.nt.ca.

For more information, visit the Law Society website: