December 5, 2019
Darlene W. Scott, QC Elected President-Elect 2020-2021
Darlene W. Scott, QC (pictured right) has been elected by the Benchers as the incoming President-Elect. She will join Kent Teskey, QC, who will take over as President from Rob Armstrong, QC in February for the 2020-21 term. 

Ms. Scott received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta. She is currently a partner at the Edmonton office of Dentons Canada LLP and practises in the areas of real estate and financing. Ms. Scott joined the Law Society of Alberta Board in 2014.

"I am pleased and proud to be elected by my fellow Benchers as President-Elect," said Ms. Scott. "I look forward to continuing the work of the Law Society in its goal to be an innovative and proactive regulator while encouraging accessibility of high quality legal services to all Albertans from a diverse, competent and healthy profession." 
2020-2021 Executive Committee Elected
The 2020-21 Executive Committee will be Kent Teskey, QC, Darlene W. Scott, QC, Bill Hendsbee, Cal Johnson, QC, Deanna Steblyk, Ken Warren, QC, and Louise Wasylenko.

We congratulate the incoming Executive Committee.
Indigenous Initiatives Liaison Announcement
At the end of the year we bid farewell to our Indigenous Initiatives Liaison, Koren Lightning-Earle ( pictured right ), and welcome Andrea Menard ( pictured below ) to continue advancing our work around the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action.

Over the past two and a half years, Ms. Lightning-Earle has laid impressive groundwork on behalf of the Law Society to progress Indigenous programming and awareness. She has delivered Indigenous cultural competence training to Law Society Board and staff, as well as to Alberta’s lawyers. She led the development of free educational opportunities including lunch and learns, webinars and conferences. She also garnered renewed interest in the Indigenous Summer Student Program, focusing on recruitment and ongoing support for students and firms along the way. 

With Ms. Lightning-Earle’s leadership, the Law Society established an Indigenous Advisory Committee to collect feedback and input on our current work and future areas of focus.
There is still work to be done and the Law Society is committed to moving forward. Our Strategic Plan places a high importance on equity, diversity and inclusion and responding to the TRC Calls to Action.

We are pleased to welcome Andrea Menard who will keep moving us down a path of lasting change around Indigenous initiatives in Alberta’s legal community. Ms. Menard received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of British Columbia in 2004 and is currently working on her Master of Laws at Osgoode Hall Law School. Most recently, Ms. Menard held the role of Indigenous Relations Manager at Legal Aid Alberta (LAA).

Survey of Lawyers on Family Law and Family Violence in Canada
The Department of Justice Canada is developing a guide to help lawyers who take on family law cases safely identify and respond to family violence. The purpose of this survey is to:

  • gather information about family violence in family law cases; and
  • identify the concerns of lawyers with respect to identifying and responding to family violence in family law cases.

You are asked to complete the following survey , which should take around 10 to 15 minutes. Survey responses will be kept confidential and will be stored in a secured and locked file. Only Department of Justice researchers will have access to responses linked to respondents. The survey responses will be summarized in a document that will not contain any identifying information about respondents. This summary document may be published on the Department of Justice Canada website.
2020 Distinguished Service Award Winners
The Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch and the Law Society of Alberta are pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Distinguished Service Awards:

  • Steve Raby, QC- Service to the Profession
  • M. Meenu Ahluwalia - Service to the Community
  • Professor Jennifer Koshan - Legal Scholarship
  • Robert W. Calvert, QC (posthumous) - Pro Bono Legal Service

The 2020 Distinguished Service Awards luncheon will take place on Wednesday, February 5, 2020 beginning at 11:15 a.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Calgary, AB.

Tickets for the luncheon are $61.90 + GST, and may be purchased on the CBA Alberta website here .
Court of Queen's Bench: Notices to the Profession and Public