There are two facets to being a lawyer, one is the practice of law and the other the law practice.

The former is what we do, the latter relates to how we run, what essentially is, the small business that enables us to practice law.

From our claim files, we see errors in both. Errors in the practice of law include, for lack of a better phrase, a misunderstanding of the law.

But when working through a claim, we often see what can be described as issues with the law practice, how the business is run. These include poor retainer letters, poor client communication, not controlling client expectations, poor case and file management, poor accounting, diarizing, and poor staff training/supervision. These aspects of lawyering are just as important as your understanding of the law. And when they are not done well, claims result.

The Law Society of Ontario, as of January 1, 2025, requires lawyers who declare as sole practitioners for the first time, to complete the LSO’s Foundations of Sole Practice Course. The course has five modules:

  1. Professional Obligations (e.g. duties to clients and third parties)
  2. Business Matters (e.g. business planning, marketing and advertising, operating of a law firm, financial management)
  3. Managing Money (e.g. how to bill, what to bill, general accounting, trust accounting)
  4. Client Management (e.g. initiating client relationships, ongoing client relations, file management, time management)
  5. Managing Risk (e.g. contingency and succession planning, wellness, avoiding fraud, law society compliance)

The course is approved by the LSO for 30 hours of professionalism CPD and the cost is $250. We have reviewed the curriculum and are of the opinion that it contains material that would be helpful to newly called lawyers here.

Accordingly, LIANS’ Board, with the concurrence of NSBS’ Legal Services Support, has approved a one-time insurance levy credit to cover the cost of the course for new lawyers who take and complete it within two years of being called. By new lawyer, we mean a recent law school graduate who has just completed their articles and is called to the Nova Scotia bar. Lawyers who were previously admitted to another bar in any other jurisdiction but transfer to Nova Scotia are not eligible.

The first group of lawyers eligible will be those called this year. They will have to pay for the course up front but upon completion, we will apply a one time $250 credit to their next LIANS’ levy fee invoice. We would have to know by February 1st to get this into the system.

So, for a lawyer called this year, if you wanted to be reimbursed the cost next year, you would have to provide us with confirmation of completion of the course no later than February 1, 2027. But the latest you will have to complete it would be February 1, 2028, in which case you would see the credit on your July 1, 2028 invoice.

Because our reimbursement will be by way of a credit on your insurance levy, to be eligible you have to be insured by LIANS. Accordingly, those exempt from insurance or insured elsewhere are not eligible for reimbursement.

You can enroll on the LSO website.

Good habits learned when young stay with us and, as Wil Durant said, excellence is not an act but a habit.