In part one of this article series I posed the question of whether clinical legal education can provide the solution to two difficulties facing the legal profession in Canada today. These two issues include a call from the legal profession for students that are better prepared in their academic training to take on the rigours of practice and a call from the community at large for the cost effective delivery of legal services. In part one I maintained that clinical legal education could play a valuable role in preparing students for practice by providing upper level students the opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge that they have acquired through law school in a properly supervised real world environment. In part two I contend first that there is a significant unmet demand for legal services in Canada and second that this demand could in part be filled by legal clinics operating from law schools across the country.

Unmet Demand for Legal Services

That there is a significant unmet demand for legal services in Canada is a proposition that I believe few would effectively be able to argue against. Indeed, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada has recognized one aspect of this demand in numerous recent speeches where she has referenced the access to justice “crisis” in the country, brought about by in part, she asserts, by a legal system that is too costly and too complicated for most Canadians. Numerous recent reports also document this crisis not only in regards to justice concerns, but in regards to a wide array of legal services in general. These reports include the Federal Department of Justice report on Legal Service Provision in Northern Canada, The Canadian Bar Association paper entitled “Moving Forward on Legal Aid” and the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Report of the Ontario Civil Legal Needs Project.

The Role of Legal Clinics

Having briefly highlighted the recognition of an unmet demand for legal services in Canada, I contend that an expansion of clinical legal education in the country could present one partial solution to this issue. Students who are taking part in a clinical legal program have the time and resources available to handle a wide range of client issues. Additionally, while certain subject matter may restrict students to assisting local clients, there are many services that can be provided from a distance to clients residing in more rural or remote areas. One example of this type of service is the Business Law Clinic at the University of Victoria, which serves clients from all around the province of British Columbia by utilizing technology such as Skype and e-mail.

There can be no doubt that we are facing a challenge in regards to meeting the unmet demand for cost effective legal services in Canada. Official recognition of this issue has come from the judiciary and legal organizations from across the country. As organizations such as the Law Society of BC explore ways that properly supervised law students and paralegals can be utilized to address this issue, I strongly encourage those involved with Law Schools across the country to expand their clinical programs to both provide a well rounded education to students and to work to fill the existing unmet demand for legal services.

Before I embark on a brief exploration of whether clinical legal education can provide a solution to two difficulties facing the legal profession in Canada today, I must first make a disclosure. I am a big proponent of clinical legal education and as the incoming director of an excellent clinical program at the University of Victoria I have witnessed first hand the numerous benefits that this manner of education can have to students, the profession and the community as a whole. This experience allows me to approach this discussion not only from the perspective of a lawyer and consultant who has an interest in the future of the legal profession, but also from the point of view of an academic. In my experience it is often the disconnect between these two perspectives that is a cause for conflict and I hope in this discussion to move past this issue and establish that the expansion of legal clinics in Canada are in the interests of both the profession and the academy.

Before I embark on this discussion however, it is useful to provide some background. Clinical legal education took root in North American in the early 20^th century when the first law schools in the United States recognized the need to supplement the case book method of legal education with the type of practical experience gained through the apprenticeship model that was the predominant legal education model in Europe at the time. This led to early clinics being established at universities such as Northwestern Law School and Yale. In the years following, law school clinics expanded throughout the United States and have since become an integral component of the law school curriculum across the country. The history of law school clinics in Canada reveals that their development is much more recent and in this country the integration of legal clinics into law schools has been a slow and measured process. Despite this, there are currently a variety of excellent legal clinical programs found at law schools across the country including the Business Law Clinic, Environmental Law Clinic and Law Centre at the University of Victoria, the Law Students Legal Advice Program at the University of British Columbia, the Osgoode Hall Community and Legal Aid Services, the University of Toronto Downtown Legal Services and many others.

In addition to the existence of numerous clinics across the country, the recognition that Legal Clinics have an important role to play in the education of young lawyers in Canada can be seen by the recent establishment of the Association for Canadian Clinical Legal Education. This organization, composed of clinical legal educators from across the country, was formed in part to provide a forum for legal educators to share best practices and to encourage the promotion and improvement of clinical legal education in Canadian Law Schools. Having witnessed first hand the many positive aspects of clinical legal education through my involvement with the Business Law Clinic at the University of Victoria I share the enthusiasm of the Association for clinical legal education and feel that this type of education experience can assist the profession in dealing with a number of pressing issues including calls from the profession for better-prepared students and the delivery of legal services to those who may not otherwise be able to access them.

Calls from the legal profession for better-prepared students – There is a growing voice within the legal profession in Canada for changes in the manner that law students are educated. This voice arises from the feeling that students are sometimes not adequately prepared to take on the duties of an articled student and eventually called lawyer once they have completed their legal education. While this perspective may be contentious, it is my personal opinion that there is a valid point to be made regarding the preparation of law students that must be explored. Movement towards setting some minimum standards across the country for legal education are afoot with the Federation of Law Societies of Canada recently proposing a new set of standards to ensure the entry level competence of newly called lawyers that includes the introduction of certain required courses at law school. These standards have been met with criticism from academics who, among other points, maintain that it is not the role of the profession to dictate the educational standards of law schools.

While this may be a valid perspective, it is my point of view that law schools in Canada should not be blind to the fact that the overwhelming majority of their graduates join the profession and have come to law school with the express purpose of learning the skills necessary to do so. In this regard, clinical legal education for upper level students can play a valuable role in preparing students for practice. Law school clinics allow students to apply the theoretical knowledge that they have obtained through class work in a safe and properly supervised environment. This practical application not only strengthens the lessons learned in foundational courses, but also allows students exposure to areas such as ethics that are difficult to fully appreciate in the abstract.

I am very curious to hear the perspectives of those in the SLAW community regarding the role of clinical legal education in Canada and encourage comments below to share your thoughts.

In part 2 of this exploration of law school clinics, I will discuss how the expansion of clinical legal education in Canada can play a valuable role in meeting the unmet demand for legal services that currently exists in the country.

It could be argued that from the time that students first enter law school they are being trained as de facto risk managers. Students are typically asked in their exams to “spot the issue” and spend hours learning the various legal pitfalls (ie: risks) that may face future clients. In practice lawyers continue to play the role of risk managers as they are called upon to manage and minimize the risks that clients face in their daily business operations. Despite this considerable grounding in working with risk and counseling clients on methods to minimize and avoid risk, seemingly very few law firms in Canada actually engage in any sort of structured or coordinated risk management activities for their own organizations.

Early thinking about risk can be traced to the renaissance period when mathematicians began to study probability in organized fashion. Not long after, the management of risk began to be considered in a business context when insurance and other financial products such as futures were created to account for commercial risk inherent in activities like farming and shipping. The modern discipline of risk management in North America has much more recent roots however, and can be traced to a period in the 1970’s when a variety of federal agencies in the United States including the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission began to embrace systemized risk management analysis. From these beginnings, risk management has grown to become a multi faceted management discipline that is an important component of the strategic management activities of organizations both big and small. The importance of risk management activities has also come to the attention of the general public in recent years due in large part to the high profile failure of risk management systems in cases such as the collapse of Enron and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Like many strategic management processes, risk management is not a complex activity, however it does require the commitment of time and resources to be planned and executed properly. Guidance for the design of risk management systems can be taken from the two most well established frameworks, being the International Standards Organization (“ISO”) standard 31000/31010 and the framework developed by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). These frameworks both suggest a similar process that includes establishing the context, risk identification, risk analysis, risk evaluation and risk treatment. Despite the somewhat standard approaches advocated by the two leading frameworks, the actual implementation of a risk management system is typically highly customized to each organization's unique circumstances. Risk management is approached in a somewhat similar fashion to traditional strategic planning with an professional consultant or knowledgeable staff member leading firm management through a facilitated process to identify, analyze and develop treatment plans for significant risks.

A properly planned and executed risk management strategy can result in a number of considerable benefits to law firms including the support of strategic and other business planning initiatives, the assurance of effective resource allocation and the mitigation of negative consequences from unexpected circumstances. There are myriad resources regarding risk management available online and I encourage all those responsible for management functions in law firms to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the topic and considering whether risk management should form a focus of your firms strategic management activities in the future.

Studying or writing about your peer group can be a daunting and sometimes professionally hazardous task. For evidence of this, consider well-respected consultant and legal futurist Richard Susskind whose early work “The Future of Law” was met with considerable skepticism and even derision in some legal circles.

Despite the hazards, inherent in such an endeavour I could not help myself recently but to accept such an assignment that tasked me with the performance of an analysis and the development of a framework for the engagement of consultants in an industry in which I myself am a consultant. The task for which I was retained, was to study the manner in which consultants worked with clients within the industry and develop an overarching framework for the industries umbrella group organization in order to assist its members in employing their consulting dollars most effectively. This result of the project was not only a series of best practices recommendations but also a personally fascinating insight into the consulting business itself.

While the industry in question was not law, being a lawyer turned consultant I could not help myself but to consider the lessons learned in the context of the legal industry and the recent developments that have taken place in the legal consulting sphere. For those that have not noticed, there has been a considerable increase in the amount of consultants offering their services to the legal industry as of late. These consultants range from large organizations such as Hildebrandt and Altman Weil to smaller operations such as my own consulting company. Individually the consultants bring diverse backgrounds to the table from former lawyers to MBA’s to some with surprisingly little background at all. Task wise you can now find consultants serving the legal industry in a seemingly endless array of categories including Human Resources, Marketing, Project Management, Strategic Management and Knowledge Management.

Although the industry context for my study of consultants was different from the legal consulting landscape there were some basic questions asked and lessons learned that could be of assistance to those in the legal sphere looking to engage a consultant. As such, I have attempted to distill four of the basic lessons learned from the experience below. While the lessons may be basic, I have found both in other industries and in the law, these rudimentary considerations are often not contemplated to the detriment of both the client and the consultant.

To Hire or not to Hire

The initial decision of whether to bring in an outside consultant is often a difficult one and requires careful consideration. On one hand some industries in the past have suffered from “over consulting” and have spent considerable dollars on outside counsel when the task may have been best handled in house. On the other hand, lawyers as a rule tend to be very self sufficient and believe that they can handle all tasks presented to them even if they would better served by external assistance.

With this in mind an analysis of whether to hire a consultant for a given task must be based on a balanced consideration of internal competencies and economics. As a general rule if a given task could be performed better and/or more efficiently by an outside professional then it may be time to consider looking for a consultant. The weight of each consideration will necessarily be different in each context.

The lesson here is to put in the up front time to carefully consider your decision to engage a consultant. Not seeking outside assistance when it could greatly improve your business or hiring outside assistance when it is not really required can be equally costly mistakes.

Finding a Consultant

Finding a suitable consultant is akin to finding a good lawyer. In the case of lawyers perhaps the least advisable method is to randomly choose from ads in the Yellow Pages. The analogous method with consultants in my opinion is to choose based on a Google search and a flashy website. A good Internet presence is a great secondary method to confirm that a consultant is who they say they are and has expertise in a given area. Like with lawyers however, the best method of finding a good consultant is almost always through a word of mouth referral. If a word of mouth referral is not an option for you, at very least follow the next suggestion below.

Check References

The most astounding lesson for me from my consulting analysis project was the amount of consultants with a seemingly dismal track record of client satisfaction that still managed to be active in the industry. Equally surprising was the absence of a very basic step in most clients hiring processes when they engaged consultants on new projects. This very basic step is something that no employer would consider leaving out in taking on a new employee but somehow the step is missed in many consulting engagements; check references. When engaging any consultant you have not worked with in the past it is highly recommended that you ask for contact information on at least the last two previous engagements they have completed. This simple step could save a great deal of cost and effort.

Define Scope and Deliverables

Second only to the suggestion above, the lack of a properly defined scoped and set of deliverables was the most common and greatest deficiency identified in consulting engagements that had negative outcomes. It is vitally important that serious consideration be given at the outset of any consulting engagement to the scope of the project, the concrete deliverables of the project and the timeline of the project. These details must then be committed to paper.

Some of the advice offered above might seem obvious to a practicing lawyer, however I know from experience that what you advise your clients to do and what you yourself may do in practice are often two different things. Additionally, it is often the foundational steps that are the most important to a project and often most overlooked.

Like the legal industry, there is a range of quality of services that you will find in the consulting industry. Finding a great consultant however, like finding a great lawyer, can have a tremendously positive outcome for your business.

The issue of succession for small firms and solo practitioners has received a significant amount of attention of late in Canada. The attention stems from a demographic reality that sees the majority of lawyers in many provinces in the country in excess of 50 years old and a general recognition that a substantial amount of these lawyers have not adequately planned for succession. Concerns regarding succession are especially poignant for small firms and solo practitioners who often suffer from a lack of resources to address succession issues but who are the most at risk for negative consequences due to an unexpected illness or other triggering circumstance. I have recently had the opportunity to work on a number of projects with small firms and solo practitioners in British Columbia that has revealed that a lack of succession planning is indeed a very real concern for the legal profession.

As succession planning is a hot topic these days, there are myriad resources available and a variety of approaches that can be followed that range from extensive planning activities to simple checklists. My intention in this post is not to outline complicated discussions and processes but instead to outline 3 very basic steps that can be taken to begin the process of identifying and addressing succession issues that face the small firm and solo practitioner.

1. Evaluate

The first step that any lawyer can take in regards to succession is to simply set aside some dedicated time to think about succession issues. This can be as basic as booking an hour appointment with yourself or your partners to ask the following questions:

• When do I plan to retire?
• What is my exit strategy?
• What steps need to be taken to ensure my exit strategy is viable?

Although these questions seem very basic and lawyers may have notionally considered them in the past, it is alarming how many individuals nearing retirement age have not addressed these issues in any organized manner. The final question is especially important, as unrealistic expectations may exist regarding the saleability of your practice or the desirability of your geographic region to young lawyers. These expectations can only be tested through identification, discussion and research.

2. Plan

Following evaluation, a basic plan should be committed to paper. The plan does not have to be extensive but can include the answers to the above questions and should establish some simple steps to be taken and a commitment to when the steps will be completed by. One common approach to planning calls for steps that are SMART or Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Specific. In order to assist I have identified below what I feel to be the five most common succession strategies and one possible first corresponding basic step that can be taken:

• Sell your practice – Contact a Certified Business Valuator (CBV) that has experience with professional service businesses. You can locate a CBV through their website at https://cicbv.ca/
• Wind down your practice – Contact the Law Society to obtain information on the process for winding down a practice. Many Law Societies have checklists and other resources available. It is also a good idea to ensure that you have a designated winding up caretaker.
• Join larger firm – Make a list of suitable firms in your area and commence the process of dialogue with the appropriate contact.
• Transition to junior lawyer – Contact the career officer from the universities in your region to gather information about recruitment of a junior lawyer.

3. Take Simple Steps

At this point you will have a basic idea of your succession plan and an outline of steps that can be taken. The goal now is to follow through and execute on your basic steps according to the timeline established.

While the three steps above appear simple to the point of the ridiculous, it is surprising how many lawyers have not taken even these basic steps. Recent data from the Law Society of BC for instance indicates that only 12% of solo practitioners over the age of 50 have designated a winding up caretaker. Similarly, through personal experience I can report that a shockingly high percentage of small firms I have worked with have not addressed the most foundational question of all with their partners “When do you plan to retire”.

Through the application of the three basic steps outline above hopefully more small firms and solo practitioners can begin the process of planning for succession.

I must start this post with a confession that the title above is borrowed from a song by Vancouver artists “Said the Whale”. It is not only a great song but also a great topic statement for a subject that has been consuming my attention of late; that of orientation programs for new lawyers in British Columbia. Although the context in which this topic arises for me is province-specific, I know from conversations with young lawyers and law students from across Canada that law firm orientation programs, or rather oftentimes the lack thereof, should be a topic of significant interest for lawyers in many parts of the country.

Why should I care?

Why this topic should be of interest to a wide range of lawyers is very simple. There is a demographic reality facing the legal profession in Canada which sees a significant amount of the profession nearing retirement age (the average age of lawyer in B.C. is 51). These aging lawyers are the senior partners of law firms from across Canada and most should be actively thinking about succession.

On the other side of the coin we have a new generation of young lawyers entering the workforce with a different set of values and life experiences than that of their predecessors. In my role as a management consultant I regularly hear from frustrated lawyers who have invested in an articling student or young lawyer only to have this individual leave their firm after a relatively short period of time. Often the lawyer is frustrated and confused as to the reasons that the young lawyer has left and chalks it up to some deficiency in the generation as whole such as a lack of loyalty, or an unwillingness to endure hard work.

Through my work with law students and young lawyers I know however, that these generalizations rarely hold up under scrutiny and in fact the decision to leave can often be traced to a relatively simple organizational management issue, such as the lack of a formal orientation program.

What do young lawyers currently face?

To illustrate the different scenarios that young lawyers may face in regards to orientation, I will offer the contrasting experiences of two students.

The first, Student A has secured a position with a small to medium sized firm in Vancouver. Upon arriving to work on his first day he is greeted by a partner who calls him into his office for his orientation briefing. The partner explains that he is the student’s assigned mentor and provides the student with an orientation binder containing useful information such as firm policies and procedures, useful contacts and instruction on use of firm systems such as voicemail and photocopiers. The student is also provided with a schedule for their first week that contains a variety of pre-scheduled orientation meetings including information technology, human resources and courthouse library orientation. The partner provides the student with a firm tour and then leads the student to their office. The partner leaves the student in their office to familiarize themselves with a promise to meet back for lunch at noon.

The second, Student B has secured a position with a small to medium sized firm in the Interior of British Columbia. Upon arriving to work on his first day he is greeted by a partner who shows the student to his office. The partner explains that the stack of files on the student’s desk will need to be addressed as soon as possible. No further orientation is provided.

Why does orientation matter?

When I recount the above scenarios to lawyers I am sometimes met with a comment or two about “coddling” or some expression that the lawyer in question had to figure things out for themselves so why shouldn’t their junior. Those who share this attitude often miss the wider point that new employee orientations are now standard practice within most sophisticated industries (and in my experience most law firms of 25+ lawyers) and that these practices generally lead to more stable, long term employees.

More importantly, I have found personally that orientation programs, and other formal programs such as mentoring and evaluation, are highly valued by the current generation of law school graduates. While I have not conducted any research into the matter, I believe this may have to do with relatively recent changes in parenting and educational programs that place a high value on structure and planned activities. For recent law school graduates, the articling experience may be the first time they are truly away from a formally structured environment and therefore easing them into the workplace through a properly structured orientation program may be one important key to retaining them for the long term.

What can I do?

Orientation programs can range from a simple binder to a full month of structured activities, the choice of which often depends on internal resources. Even the smallest firm can develop an orientation program however, and I would encourage all lawyers who are hiring a student or young lawyer to develop some form of structured orientation.

If you would like a list of further resources on this topic feel free to send me an e-mail.

Springtime is almost here and for those interested in spreading the word about access to justice this means planning for Law Day 2011 on April 14th.

Law Day is an annual event organized by the Canadian Bar Association that is made possible through the volunteer efforts of hundreds of individuals across the country who donate their time to this worthwhile event. Law Day takes various forms in different provinces and locations across the country however each event shares the common goal of engaging the public and educating them about the law and legal system.

Events this year are slated for communities from across the country ranging from Vancouver to Saint John. Importantly, many Law Day events are also scheduled for smaller centres, rural communities and outlying areas such as Fort St. John in British Columbia and Drumheller in Alberta. I am personally encouraged to see Law Day events in communities outside of major provincial urban centres as engagement with the public in these communities is integral to ensuring that all citizens of Canada are educated about the justice system and that access to justice is equal for all people, no matter where they choose to reside.

Fittingly the theme for Law Day this year is access to justice and events will seek to highlight current justice issues and educate the public on how they can access their justice system. Access is a timely issue for Law Day to highlight given the recent comments of Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin who received wide press coverage when she told a University of Toronto Conference audience,that “We have wonderful justice for corporations and for the wealthy. But the middle class and the poor may not be able to access our justice system.”

Law Day is less an occasion to focus on the shortfalls of our system however, and is more an opportunity to engage the public on the often poorly understood subject of the Canadian legal system. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the successful aspects of the system that we do have and to take part in an enjoyable community event. I have personally been involved in a number of Law Day Events, the most memorable of which occurred as a judge in a mock trial where, to the cheers of a gallery full of parents, I delivered a sentence of a 72 hour cellular telephone prohibition to a troop of very unhappy girl guides.

For those unfamiliar with Law Day I encourage you visit the website for further information.

Over the past few months I have had the privilege to be involved in an important project in British Columbia known as the Public Commission on Legal Aid (“Public Commission”).

Although the scope of the Public Commission is province wide and therefore includes cities and communities of all sizes, I have been personally interested to hear the unique challenges faced by those in rural communities in regards to legal aid. Commissioner Leonard Doust, Q.C. will be releasing an official report of his findings sometime in 2011; however, I wanted to take the opportunity now to share some background on the Public Commission and some of themes that struck me as an individual attending the various Public Commission hearings throughout the province.

The need for a Public Commission on Legal Aid was identified through a series of meetings that took place in 2009 between a variety of community organizations and justice system stakeholders. The attendees at the meetings expressed a collective concern regarding legal aid in British Columbia and a strong desire to seek progressive solutions for the future of legal aid in the province. Acting on this collective will, the Public Commission was officially established in June of 2010 by a variety of organizations including The Canadian Bar Association (British Columbia), The Law Society of British Columbia, The Law Foundation of British Columbia, The British Columbia Crown Counsel Association, The Vancouver Bar Association and The Victoria Bar Association. 

In order to engage the public of British Columbia regarding their priorities for the future of legal aid in the province, an process was established that consisted of two principle activities: an open call for written submissions and an 11 community tour of the province to hear in person submissions. To date the Public Commission has received a significant amount of written submissions and has recently completed hearings in all 11 communities. In addition to visiting the larger urban centres of the province, the Public Commission has held hearings in numerous smaller communities including Terrace, Williams Lake, Nanaimo and Cranbrook.

Although similar themes were encountered in many locations, I was personally struck by the submissions made in rural communities and the additional challenges that are faced by those delivering and seeking legal aid services in these areas. The challenges include such items as:

1. Difficulty accessing legal aid information due to lack of telephone and internet connectivity;
2. Difficulty attending appointments or court matters due to lack of public transportation;
3. Difficulty recruiting lawyers who will do legal aid work; and
4. A general lack of legal aid resources in rural communities.

The most important common theme throughout the hearings however was the passion and commitment of the individuals from community groups and the legal profession to assisting those in need of legal aid services. While it was clear to me throughout the process that there are significant challenges ahead for legal aid in the province of British Columbia, the will to improve the system and the commitment necessary to do so was evident in every submission that I witnessed. This passion and commitment will be vital to the development of an improved system in British Columbia especially for the populations of small communities and rural areas of the province that face unique challenges not shared by their urban counterparts. 

There is no doubt that residents of rural communities in Canada face greater access to justice limitations than their urban dwelling counterparts. In the last column we explored one such limitation, being reduced access to legal advice and legal advocacy due to a comparatively smaller number of lawyers practicing in rural areas. As we discussed, this is a trend that is forecast to get even worse in the near future. In addition to challenges in regards to legal advice and legal advocacy however, rural communities face additional challenges in another important access to justice factor, that being access to legal information.

The rise of the internet over the last two decades has fundamentally changed the manner in which people access information. This can clearly be seen in the legal field where individuals no longer have to attend a library and search through dusty volumes in order to access the legal information they are seeking. Providers of public legal education and information in Canada have embraced the electronic medium and legal information provided on the internet has become an increasingly important way to assist the public with their legal issues. This can be seen by the popularity of sites such as Clicklaw in British Columbia which contains content from 24 different legal organizations ranging from the Ministry of the Attorney General to the BC Civil Liberties Association. Other similar legal information services exist across the country including ACJNet in Alberta, The Legal Information Society in Nova Scotia, and Legal Line. Due to a marked disparity in the level of connectivity across the country however, access to this legal information is not uniform for all individuals in Canada.

The challenges inherent in providing equal access to legal information were acknowledged in a 2005 report of the Public Legal Education and Information Working Group in British Columbia. This report identified a number of gaps in regards to access to legal information including serious challenges relating to technology for those living in smaller communities. The report noted that “Technology is not uniform throughout the province and there are many areas that no not have high speed internet.” A lack of an internet connection and specifically a high speed broadband connection that allows the quick transfer of large amounts of information, is integral to the ability to access the many useful legal information resources that have been made available by public legal education and information providers. For many in rural communities however, this is not a reality.

At the end of 2007 the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission reported that while 93 percent of Canadian households had broadband access, a significant gap exists in regards to rural households with less than 81 percent having such access. The lack of broadband access in rural communities has become a topic of interest for the Federal Government and in 2009 the Prime Minister announced a strategy to expand broadband access to the unserved and underserved regions of the country. In making the announcement Stephen Harper acknowledged that "The potential benefits of expanded broadband services are enormous, particularly for the thousands of Canadians who live in rural and remote communities.” Since the announcement, projects in 75 communities across the country have been approved and are expected to result in broadband access for thousands of people in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The weight of government support and dollars is an important development in ensuring equal access to broadband services across Canada. The impact of these services on access to justice is significant for residents of rural Canada and will likely become even more important as providers of legal information and legal services seek new ways to serve rural communities that are increasingly losing lawyers in their communities to retirement.

The economic sustainability of small communities and rural areas in Canada is of serious concern to those working in government, the private sector and the general public alike. In recent years small communities have undergone significant changes that threaten their future viability, including considerable job loss due to the decline of primary industries and migratory patterns that see increasing numbers of young rural Canadians relocating to urban centres. While public attention tends to focus on employment issues facing industries such as forestry, mining and agriculture, small communities across Canada are also facing serious challenges in regards to the attraction and retention of professional service providers, including those in the legal profession. This trend is a dangerous one as it threatens to produce a functional barrier to access to justice for the significant population of Canadians that reside outside of urban centres.

 The challenges facing small communities in regards to legal professionals arise from two primary trends; the aging of the legal profession as a whole and the preference among newly called lawyers to practice in urban centres.

The demographics of the legal profession in Canada mirror that of the wider population with the proportionately large baby boom generation nearing retirement age. In real numbers, this translates into an average age for lawyers in Canada of approximately 50 years old. Exact numbers in all provinces are not available, however we do know that In British Columbia the average age of lawyers is 51 while in Ontario it is estimated that 40 percent of lawyers are over the age of 50. In small communities and rural areas, the average age is even higher with communities such as Castlegar, British Columbia showing an average lawyer age of 63 and Barrington, Nova Scotia with an average lawyer age of 60. 

On the other side of this equation are the newly called lawyers who are at the commencement of their career. If the legal profession were renewing itself in a proper manner, a significant portion of new calls would be heading to rural communities to take up the practices of retiring senior lawyers. In reality, newly called lawyers are showing a clear preference towards establishing practice in urban locations. This trend can clearly by seen in a 2007 survey of articled students in British Columbia that revealed that 82.5% of students were intending to practice in the province’s urban centres of Vancouver and Victoria. The survey results are borne out by a review of the current distribution of lawyers in British Columbia which reveals that 80% of the provinces practicing lawyers are located in the Greater Vancouver and Greater Victoria regions.

The result of these two trends is a dwindling number of lawyers practicing in small communities and rural areas of Canada and a looming access to justice crisis if large numbers of lawyers decide to retire without replacements in place. The effects can already be seen in small communities across the country as lawyers report being overwhelmed with more clients than they can handle while at the same time being unable to recruit new lawyers to their communities.

The demographic issues facing small communities and rural areas have not gone unnoticed however, as organizations across the country are taking proactive steps to attract new lawyers to communities outside of urban centres. In British Columbia the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch with funding from the Law Foundation of British Columbia has launched a three year initiative known as the Rural Education and Access to Lawyers Initiative. The Initiative is taking a multifaceted approach to the issue including the active engagement of stakeholder groups such as universities and local bar associations, and the funding of salary costs for second year summer students in select small communities throughout the province. Also in British Columbia, the provincial government announced in February of 2009, the establishment of a law school at Thompson Rivers University that will focus on the training of lawyers with a strong foundation of understanding regarding practice in a rural setting. Elsewhere across the country there are various other programs including those that encourage the entry of students from underserved communities to law school, that provide locum coverage to lawyers in small communities and that provide succession planning assistance to lawyers preparing for their retirement.

While it is too early to tell whether any of these programs have made a significant impact, it is clear that the demographic trends facing the legal profession in Canada are of serious concern to small communities and rural areas throughout the country and that focused effort is required on this front in order to ensure that the residents of these communities continue to enjoy access to justice.