Document also discusses mental health, Indigenous, diversity initiatives
The Law Society of British Columbia has shared its 2024 annual report, which addressed its regulatory work, challenges, and progress on its priorities, including improving access to justice, advancing truth and reconciliation, supporting mental health, and promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion.
“A year of unprecedented challenges, 2024 was also a year of determined progress,” said Jeevyn Dhaliwal, the law society’s 2024 president, in a message in the annual report.
“I am energized and committed to providing leadership and steady guidance to the team as we navigate this period of change together and continue to make a difference for the public and the legal profession,” added Gigi Chen-Kuo, the law society’s CEO/executive director, in the annual report.
In its news release, the BC law society said a vital development was Bill 21 – the Legal Professions Act – receiving royal assent in May 2024.
The BC law society noted that it commenced litigation to assail Bill 21’s constitutionality and requested injunctive relief to suspend its transitional provisions. The law society claimed that the legislation jeopardized the legal profession’s independence and eroded the principles ensuring that the province affirmed the rule of law.
The law society shared that the court accepted the existence of a serious question for trial, but decided that the law society failed to show irreparable harm, given that the bill’s transitional planning process required the law society’s expertise.
The BC law society said work began under the Legal Professions Act to form the transitional board, Indigenous council, and advisory committee, supervising the development of Legal Professions BC’s first rules.
Progress on priorities
In its annual report, the BC law society detailed its efforts to advance access to justice.
Among lawyers responding to the access to justice survey, 49.2 percent said they delivered pro bono, low bono, or legal aid services. The survey found more than 312,000 hours of pro bono work in BC, with each lawyer offering such services contributing an average of 56 hours.
The law society noted that common support included summary legal advice, document preparation, and advocacy. BC’s lawyers also utilized their skills to mentor new lawyers, deliver public legal education, sit on community boards and tribunals, and support equity-deserving groups.
The BC law society said its lawyers also contribute financially. The law society added that it committed around $4 million annually to services such as Courthouse Libraries BC, CanLII, and non-profit legal programs like Rise and Access Pro Bono.
To help promote truth and reconciliation, the law society engaged in Indigenous initiatives, including the Pulling Together Canoe Journey and LawCast BC episodes focusing on truth and reconciliation.
The BC law society shared that it organized mental health initiatives, including offering resources through its lawyer well-being hub, to support mental health in the legal profession.
The law society said the second installment of its virtual Mental Health Forum, co-hosted with the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC, saw about 500 attendees. This event sought to give legal professionals strategies to improve their mental well-being and employers practical guidelines to ensure healthy workplaces.
Brook Greenberg, the law society’s vice president, published an opinion piece asking the provincial government to reconsider the Legal Professions Act’s provisions permitting the legal regulator to impose medical treatment on licensees.
To promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in the legal profession, the BC law society engaged in initiatives such as a film screening of “But I Look Like a Lawyer,” a celebration of Vancouver’s queer history during Pride Week, and an inclusive language practice resource.
Highlights in 2024
In its annual report, the BC law society said 2024 saw 18 suspensions, six disbarments, three fines, and five resignations in the face of discipline, subject to conditions and undertakings not to reapply for a minimum of five years or more.
The law society added that it resolved 59 percent of serious matters that would have ordinarily required a hearing via alternative avenues.
The BC law society’s annual report also covered:
- its innovative programs that led to positive outcomes, including consent agreements, the alternative discipline process, and the administrative penalties program
- its awards to recognize excellence in the legal profession, such as the Indigenous Scholarship, the Law Society Scholarship, and the Law Society Gold Medal
- the LSBC Tribunal
- the Lawyers Indemnity Fund
