If you are hiring or planning to hire an articling student, you must complete the Principal Training Course, administered by the Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA). Completion of Principal Training Course is a requirement for all lawyers who want to be a principal.

If you have hired a student and the student has submitted an articling agreement to you, please complete the course immediately to avoid potential delays in your student’s commencement of articles. Applications to become an articling student will be denied if the proposed principal has not completed this course. 

Lawyers are strongly encouraged to successfully complete the Principal Training Course well in advance of hiring a student. This requirement will then be considered complete when applying to be a principal in the future.

The course is designed to take between 3 to 3.5 hours to complete and includes 8 lessons covering such topics as Law Society duties/requirements, how to be an effective mentor, dealing with difficult conversations and cultural competency. The course does not have to be completed in one sitting. You can stop and return to where you left off at any time.

The Law Society has worked with LESA to keep the cost of the course reasonable as it is a mandatory requirement for principals. There is a registration fee of $125 to cover LESA’s costs to deliver the course. Please ensure that you register with your Law Society Member ID so that we can track the completion of your training. For more information on the course, visit the Law Society website.

The 11^th annual Moose Hide Campaign takes place on Thursday, May 12. The Moose Hide Campaign is a grassroots movement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous men, boys and all Canadians who are standing up against violence towards women and children.

Throughout the year, and especially around the time of the campaign, people are encouraged to wear a moose hide pin to signify their commitment to standing against and protecting women and children from gender-based and domestic violence.

The inspiration for the campaign came to co-founders Paul Lacerte and his daughter Raven on an early morning in August 2011. The pair were hunting for moose on their traditional Carrier territory along the Highway of Tears — a 725-kilometre highway in northern British Columbia between Prince George and Prince Rupert where many women have gone missing or been murdered.

Since then, more than two million moose hide pins have been distributed in thousands of participating communities, schools, and organizations across Canada.

As shared on their website, “Moose Hide Campaign Day is a day of ceremony. It’s a day where all Canadians are called to join together to take a stand against violence towards women and children and to take practical steps for our collective journey of reconciliation.”

Learn more about the different ways you, your firm or your organization can get involved at the Moose Hide Campaign Day event website. 

The Court of Queen's Bench is pleased to announce the rollout of the Court Information Access Guide for Alberta (CIAGA) on behalf of all three Courts.

The CIAGA replaces the former Alberta Courts Public and Media Access Guide and updates the applicable legislation, case law and procedures. It is intended to be used as an information resource internally by Court staff and externally by members of the public. It is accessible here.

Congratulations to the 12 new judges appointed to the Provincial Court on May 4, 2022:

The Honourable Judge Aldo Argento – Calgary Civil Division

The Honourable Judge Joanne M. Heudes – Edmonton Region

The Honourable Judge Kimberley E. Palichuk – Edmonton Criminal Division

The Honourable Judge Jayme D. Williams – Calgary Criminal Division and Calgary Region

The Honourable Judge Gerald T. Annetts – Edmonton Region

The Honourable Judge Chang (Trang) Thi Doan Du – Edmonton Family and Youth Division

The Honourable Judge David B.H. Findlay – Family and Youth Court in Calgary

The Honourable Judge Steven Hinkley – Northern Region

The Honourable Judge Kathleen S.V. Linton – Edmonton Family and Youth Division

The Honourable Judge Barry L. Nordin – Calgary Criminal Division and Calgary Region

The Honourable Judge Gordon D. Putnam – Edmonton Region

The Honourable Judge Lisa C. Tchir – Edmonton Criminal Division

For more information, read the Provincial Court announcement and the Government of Alberta news release.