The next Law Society bencher election will be held on April 30th, 2019. Once again I am running for bencher, outside Toronto, for my third and final term.
I am proud of my service to date and if re-elected, I will continue to commit myself to promoting the profession in a manner consistent with the public interest.
During the last term, I actively participated as a member of the working group on the regulation of referral fees, contingency fees and advertising. I am committed to enhancing the reputation of the profession in the eye of the public. I will continue to be a good listener, and to make myself available to carry your concerns to Convocation.
In the next term, the Law Society will deal with the introduction of modern technology to make legal service more readily available at the lowest possible cost. The ongoing focus must be on efficiency in addition to quality.
I oppose change for the sake of change. I respect the traditions of the Law Society over the past 220 years; however, I recognize that there are changes which need to be made to better inform the public, increase access to justice and improve the process for entrance into the profession.
Below are my views on some priorities of the Law Society.
ACCESS TO JUSTICE
The profession must pursue more efficient and less costly ways to deliver services to enable those who are currently forced to self represent to have the benefit of counsel.
COUNTY AND DISTRICT LAW LIBRARIES
I support funding to expand the mandate of County and District Law Libraries and to increase services to convert the libraries into resource centres.
LICENSING
The Law Society needs to find ways to decrease the cost of the licensing to minimize the financial burden on applicants.
CORE MANDATE
The Law Society is involved in too many issues not related to our mandate. We must re-focus and concentrate on regulating the profession in the public interest.
DIVERSITY
The current diversity of Convocation must be maintained and continue to reflect those who provide and receive legal services.
ALTERNATE BUSINESS SYSTEMS
I oppose the implementation of ABS as a means of delivering and regulating legal services
I am available at mmlerner@lerners.ca if you have any questions as to where I stand on any issue.
Please favour me with your support.
