Final Call!

ALIA’s Subscriber Survey (announced in the December 9 ALIAction) is closing this Friday, January 9, 2026, at midnight. Don’t miss your chance to weigh in on the indemnity program’s current and future offerings, your experiences with ALIA, and what ALIA can do to improve its service to Subscribers like you.

You should have received an email from surveys@thinkwellresearch.ca on December 9 or 10, containing a unique link to the Survey. If you did not receive this email, please contact Jessica.Dorsey@alia.ca. If you started but have not completed the Survey, you can use the same unique link to continue from where you left off.

Thank you to all the Subscribers who have already completed the Survey! Your input is extremely valuable. Your feedback will help shape ALIA's strategy in the coming years.

Civil Litigation Filing Levy Update: Enforcing Family Law Arbitral Awards

Changes to the enforcement of family law arbitral awards were recently announced by the Alberta Court of King’s Bench and are set out in the Court of King’s Bench Family Focused Protocol (at p. 48). Effective January 2, 2026, these awards are enforced in the court’s civil division under the existing family docket number, rather than in family justice chambers.

ALIA’s Civil Litigation Filing Levy (CLFL) applies to filings in the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta that commence or respond to civil litigation. Actions pertaining entirely to family law are exempt under the Transaction and Filing Levy Schedule. ALIA considers enforcement of a family law arbitral award under an existing family docket number to fall within the exemption, even though enforcement will occur in the civil division. ALIA takes a similar view for enforcement of family law arbitral awards that proceed under a new action. Accordingly, a CLFL is not payable on either of these filings.

Subscribers are reminded that the CLFL applies only to filings that commence or respond to civil litigation. Enforcement of an arbitral award within an existing family law action would not constitute commencement or response to that action.

Further information on the CLFL can be found in the CLFL FAQs and CLFL Information Chart.

King’s Counsel Appointees

The Minister of Justice has released the 2025/26 list of King’s Counsel appointees.

Congratulations to all the appointees on this significant honour, including one of ALIA’s own Directors, Catherine Merrett!

ALIA does not provide legal advice. ALIAdvisory newsletters, ALIAlert warnings, ALIAction notices, and the content on ALIA’s website, notices, blogs, correspondence, and any other communications are provided only for the general information of members who participate in the indemnity program and do not constitute legal or other professional advice or an opinion of any kind. This information is not a replacement for specific legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client relationship. If you think you would benefit from legal advice, please contact an Alberta lawyer directly.

Your policy is the contract that specifically and fully describes your coverage, and nothing stated herein revises or amends the policy. Links to third-party websites are provided for convenience only; ALIA does not vet or endorse the information contained in linked websites or guarantee its accuracy, timeliness, or fitness for a particular purpose.

If you have any comments on this ALIAdvisory or any suggestions for future ALIAdvisory articles, please contact ALIA.