The Indigenous Advisory Committee is Looking for Volunteers

The Law Society of Alberta has committed to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action in a thoughtful and collaborative way that builds and strengthens relationships with Indigenous peoples and communities. 

As one example, the Law Society has established the Indigenous Advisory Committee to collect feedback and input on Indigenous initiatives at the Law Society. We believe that this will advance the goals of truth and reconciliation, particularly surrounding access to justice for Indigenous peoples and cultural competency development for lawyers. The Committee will work with our Indigenous Initiatives Liaison, Koren Lightning-Earle.

The Law Society is looking for committed individuals to become a part of the Committee. Visit our website for application details.

Canadian Lawyer Index Advisory

We have been advised that an Alberta lawyer received an invitation to subscribe to Canadian Lawyer Index (CanLaw), a national lawyer referral service. CanLaw is run by J. Kirby Inwood, who is not a member of any law society. Law societies across Canada have received numerous complaints about Mr. Inwood since 2000, as he is known to send hateful, abusive and obscene communications to lawyers and members of the public. We strongly recommend disregarding emails from CanLaw and Mr. Inwood.

If you would like to learn more about other lawyer referral services or how the public can find lawyers in Alberta, please visit the Law Society’s website.

The Law Society of Alberta is pleased to announce that Jessica Fleming and Alastair MacKinnon are recipients of the 2018 Viscount Bennett Scholarship. For details on the other recipients, check our previous eBulletin. 

Jessica Fleming completed her Juris Doctor (JD) through Osgoode Hall Law School in 2015. Shortly after, she obtained her Bachelor of Laws (Civil) from the University of Montreal. During her time at Osgoode, Jessica became an experienced research assistant, working with multiple esteemed professors.

Currently, Jessica is a law clerk to the Honourable Chief Justice Marc Noël at the Federal Court of Appeal. She will begin a clerkship with the Honourable Justice Russell Brown at the Supreme Court of Canada in 2019.

The Viscount Bennett Scholarship will assist Jessica in her pursuit to obtain a LLM from the University of Cambridge. 

Alastair MacKinnon is a graduate of the University of Calgary Faculty of Law and received his JD in 2013. Alastair achieved the highest aggregated grade point average over his three years of law school, earning him the prestigious William A. McGillivray Gold Medal.

He began his legal career as a judicial clerk at the Alberta Court of Appeal in 2013. After being called to the Bar, he started practising at Bennett Jones LLP in Calgary in 2014 and is currently at the Toronto office.

Alastair will begin his LLM in September 2018 at the University of Toronto. His research will focus on systematic improvement that can be made to avoid miscarriage of justice. 

The Viscount Bennett Scholarship is financed from a trust fund established by the Right Honourable Viscount Bennett to encourage a high standard of legal education, training and excellence. This annual award for post-graduate studies in law is presented to individuals who are dedicated to their community and profession, and who wish to further their legal education. 

Lawyers representing clients who want to cancel enrolment in the City of Calgary’s Tax Instalment Payment Plan (TIPP) are encouraged to use the online form instead of submissions by fax.

For a link to the online form and more information about TIPP cancellation, please visit The City of Calgary - TIPP - Cancel TIPP.