3 Weeks Left to Take Advantage of Early Bird Pricing
6 CPD hours, including 1.5 EPPM hours
Jointly presented by the Manitoba Bar Association, The University of Manitoba Faculty of Law & The Law Society of Manitoba
This year’s Pitblado Lectures will provide thought provoking presentations as well as concrete guidance for practitioners on topics including:
Testamentary Capacity
Predatory Marriages
Medical Perspective on Capacity
Video Recording Will Instructions
Capacity Assessments
Assisted Dying – constitutional, philosophical and ethical issues
How Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) works in Manitoba
Featured out of province speakers include Professor Albert H. Oosterhoff (Oosterhoff on Wills, 8th ed. and Oosterhoff on Trusts: Text, Commentary and Materials, 9th ed.) and Kimberly A. Whaley, of the Toronto litigation firm Whaley Estate Litigation Partners.
Stay tuned for updated information and speaker announcements on the Pitblado website: www.pitbladolectures.com
[Reprinted with permission from the August 2019 edition of Communiqué,by Leah Kosokowsky, Director – Regulation at The Law Society of Manitoba.]
On January 1, 2020, rule changes affecting client identification and verification and the receipt of cash will come into effect.
What does this mean for you?
All firms need to review and revise their processes to ensure compliance with the existing and new rules. These rules are critically important in the international fight against money laundering and terrorism financing and thus compliance will be enforced robustly.
What help can you expect?
The Law Society of Manitoba will provide several education sessions with resource material to assist you. The education sessions will be provided at no cost and can be applied toward your annual continuing professional development requirements.
Why are we making these changes?
Lawyers must never knowingly assist in or encourage any dishonesty, fraud, crime or illegal conduct. As the Code of Professional Conduct puts it,
… a lawyer should be on guard against becoming the tool or dupe of an unscrupulous client or others and should be alert to and avoid unwittingly becoming involved with a client or others engaged in criminal activities such as mortgage fraud or money laundering.
Money laundering and terrorism financing are significant global problems. Lawyers and law firms do not want to knowingly or unknowingly allow clients to launder money by washing it through a lawyer’s trust account.
For some time, The Law Society of Manitoba has had two sets of rules in place, known as the “client identification and verification rules” and the “no cash rules”. These decade-old rules were based on model rules developed by the Federation of Law Societies in an effort to help lawyers prevent money laundering. Over the last several years Canadian law societies have identified that to be effective a more robust set of rules is required.
After consultation with the legal profession throughout Canada, the Federation of Law Societies changed the model rules in October 2018, which changes were adopted by The Law Society of Manitoba benchers in May of 2019. The new rule amendments are being drafted and will be finalized by the benchers this fall with an implementation date of January 1, 2020 for all Manitoba lawyers.
What Kind of Changes can you expect?
Receipt of Cash Rules
Additional definitions
Greater clarity
Fewer exceptions to the rule that prohibits lawyers from accepting cash in excess of $7,500.
Client Identification and Verification Rules
Greater clarity of the information that must be obtained and recorded when identifying clients on all files
New methods to verify a client’s identity on files where you are paying, receiving or transferring funds
Clarification of files exempt from verification
Removal of the “reasonable measures” standard for verifying identity
Obligation to inquire into the source of the funds
Reduced time to verify a client’s identity
Additional obligations when handling financial matters for corporations, businesses, trusts or other entities
Amendments relating to the use of agents
Ongoing monitoring obligations articulated
New Trust Accounting Rule
New rule expressly prohibiting lawyers from depositing any monies into trust other than trust money that is directly related to legal services that are being provided
This will eliminate the ability of lawyers to deposit fiduciary property into trust when acting solely in a representative capacity
No change to other recently enacted rules that place record keeping and reporting requirements on lawyers who act in representative capacity
To learn more, attend one of the three free education sessions offered by The Law Society of Manitoba this fall.
The award honours former Chief Justice Richard Scott, who served as Manitoba’s Chief Justice for over 20 years and is a Past President of the Law Society of Manitoba.
The Richard J. Scott Award is presented annually by the Law Society of Manitoba to an individual who advances the rule of law through advocacy, litigation, teaching, research or writing. Activities that support an independent judiciary, an independent legal profession, access to legal services, access to justice, and public interest advocacy are all eligible.
Past recipients include: Byron Williams (2013) Irene Hamilton, Q.C. (2014) Allan Fineblit, Q.C. (2015) Jeff Hirsch (2016) John Myers (2017) Karen Dyck (2018)
The award is presented in conjunction with the annual Isaac Pitblado Lectures which take place on November 8, 2019.
The deadline for nominations is September 27, 2019.
Nominations can be sent to:
Chief Executive Officer The Law Society of Manitoba 200 – 260 St. Mary Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3C 0M6 or by e-mail to Pat Bourbonnais at pbourbonnais@lawsociety.mb.ca.
Nominations should be accompanied by the nominee’s c.v. and an explanation as to why the nominee deserves this award.
Have you ever attended a CPD Summer Replay? Why not take the opportunity to slow down and catch up on your CPD hours during the quieter summer months.
Register today for one of these low-cost, in-person presentations.
Walk-Ins welcome!
These programs are replays of previously recorded live presentations offered in-person only in the Law Society Classroom. Lunch and refreshments are not included. Feel free to bring your own refreshments.
Programs include:
Avoiding Cyber Dangers
Procrastination and Professional Liability Insurance Claims
2018 Hot Topics in Real Estate
Renouncing U.S. Citizenship – Why, How and What are the Consequences?
We recently wrote about the declaration of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Mental Health Week. Lawyers as a group are notorious for ignoring mental wellness and self care. I came across this opinion piece titled “A more inclusive discussion on the impact of trauma on lawyers’ mental health is needed“, published in Canadian Lawyer Magazine, and thought it was a good way to continue the conversation. It was writtenby Crystal Tomasiuk, Crown counsel with B.C. Prosecution Services, and discusses the vicarious trauma lawyers deal with in their practice. Having sat in on a couple of criminal trials, I have wondered how lawyers deal with the sometimes horrific facts and scenes they are exposed to.
Vicarious trauma can affect those of any background. As important as it is to recognize our collective vulnerability in this way, more is needed for a truly inclusive and trauma-informed approach. In particular, we need to face the prevalence of trauma in our society and explicitly address the fact that many of us come to the practice of law having already experienced significant trauma that may shape how our mental health is impacted by the pressures of the profession.
If you feel you’re suffering from vicarious trauma, or just the stress of the profession, the Law Society of Manitoba’s Health and Wellness program offers a free and confidential service for you and your family.
The Manitoba Law Library would like to acknowledge with gratitude that we are situated on Treaty One Territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree and Dakota peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation.
Printing and Photocopying
If you need to use the library’s printing and photocopying services you will need to create an account. See us at the front desk for assistance.
Please note: The library will be closing early on Friday, December 13th at 11:00AM for a special event. Regular library service will resume Monday, December 16th at 8:30AM.
Please note: The library will be closed on Monday, November 11th, 2024. Regular library service will resume Tuesday, November 12th at 8:30AM.
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