Thank you Bill Hendsbee, KC; Welcome Deanna Steblyk, KC; Welcome Ryan D. Anderson, KC; Survey to Verify Draft Competency Profile

February 29, 2024

Thank You to Outgoing President, Bill Hendsbee, KC

We would like to thank our outgoing President, Bill Hendsbee, KC. Bill joined the Board in 2018. Bill is a partner at Cummings Andrews Mackay LLP, where he has practised exclusively in plaintiff personal injury law for nearly 30 years.

“Serving as a Bencher over the last six years and, in particular, my year as President, has been the most challenging and rewarding experience of my professional career,” says Bill. “I continue to be inspired by the intelligence, hard work and commitment of my fellow Benchers as they work to improve the profession to better serve our public interest mandate and I was fortunate to be able to play a small part in advancing this important work.

It was a privilege to serve as President given the accelerated changes to the legal profession over the last few years. I am proud to say that despite this rapid transformation and the challenges it has brought, our strategic work has remained a key priority and we have meaningfully advanced our strategic goals in a variety of areas, while also creating efficiencies in our regulatory processes.

I would like to thank my fellow Benchers and the dedicated Law Society staff that I had the pleasure of working alongside. The organization is in good hands moving forward and I am excited to observe the continuation of new projects to come as we advance our goals as the independent regulator of the legal profession in Alberta.”

We are grateful to Bill for his time, commitment and significant contributions as Bencher and President.

Welcome Deanna Steblyk, KC, President 2024–25

Deanna Steblyk, KC, begins her term as the 2024–25 President of the Law Society of Alberta today.

Deanna joined the Board in 2018. She is Senior Special Counsel to the Vice-Chairs at the Alberta Securities Commission, where she assists Commission adjudicators with legal research, preparation of oral and written decisions and policy matters.

“I’m excited and feel very privileged to be stepping into the role of President,” says Deanna. “We have both new and returning Benchers at the table following the November election, and I think that together with the Law Society’s excellent staff and management, we’re well-positioned to take on the important work ahead of us this year.

I hope I can do justice to the fine example of leadership set by our outgoing President, Bill Hendsbee, KC, and all of the great past Presidents who preceded us both.”

To learn more about Deanna, visit the board directory.

Welcome Ryan D. Anderson, KC, President-Elect 2024–25

Ryan D. Anderson, KC, begins his term as the 2024–25 President-Elect of the Law Society of Alberta today.

Ryan joined the Board in 2018. He is a Partner at Huckvale LLP in Lethbridge, where his practice consists of agricultural transactions and finance, wills and estates, and family law disputes, including work as a mediator.

“I am looking forward to working with the newly elected Benchers,” says Ryan. “We have just completed our strategic plan and it will be an exciting year as we begin to put the plan into action.

We have some great goals of increasing public confidence in the Law Society of Alberta, supporting and providing resources for lawyers, and improving our regulatory process. These are no small tasks but we are continuing to move in the right direction.”

To learn more about Ryan, visit the board directory.

National Committee on Accreditation: Survey to Verify Draft Competency Profile

The Federation of Law Societies of Canada invites members of the legal profession to complete a brief survey to support the development of a competency-based assessment system for internationally trained lawyers and law graduates applying to the Federation’s National Committee on Accreditation (NCA).

The NCA is responsible for assessing the credentials of internationally trained lawyers and law graduates. Before they may apply to a bar admission program in a Canadian common law jurisdiction, NCA candidates must demonstrate that their legal education and experience are roughly equivalent to those of graduates of Federation-approved Canadian common law programs. This process involves an assessment of each candidate’s legal education and experience and requires candidates to demonstrate competence in specified legal subjects through NCA exams or law school courses.

An initial draft competency profile was developed by an appointed Task Force and refined in consultation with members of the legal academy, supervisors of articling students, entry level lawyers, internationally trained lawyers, NCA examiners, law societies and the Federation’s Indigenous Advisory Council.

The Federation is seeking input to help validate the draft profile via survey. Individual responses are anonymous, and the data recorded will be deleted from the file server one month after the close of the survey.

The deadline for completing the survey is March 13, 2024.

Complete the Survey

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