February 24, 2022
Thank You to Outgoing President, Darlene W. Scott, QC
We would like to thank our outgoing President, Darlene W. Scott, QC. Darlene joined the Board in 2014 and has served on committees, task forces and the Executive Committee, where she will continue to serve as Past-President. 

"The work that was accomplished over the last two years was exciting and I am eager to see this work continue and accrue to the benefit of the public and the entire profession over the next few years. I am confident that my successors will continue to progress our strategic goals with the completion of existing initiatives and the start of meaningful new ones, all to the benefit of the public we serve. I look forward to watching and supporting those efforts in the coming years."

We are grateful to Darlene for her time, commitment and significant contributions as Bencher and President.
Welcome Ken Warren, QC, President 2022–23
Ken Warren, QC, begins his term as the 2022–23 President of the Law Society of Alberta today.

Ken joined the Board in 2018. He is a partner at Gowling WLG, where he practises in commercial dispute resolution with a focus on shareholder disputes, professional liability defence, executive employment law and mediation.

"We are all at this table because we care, because we want to make a difference and I believe we have a really important head start because we have the most diverse table in the Law Society’s history. We may not all come at things the same way, but I feel that’s our strength…and that’s what will lead to decisions we can all be proud of, together."

To learn more about Ken, visit the board directory.
Welcome Bill Hendsbee, QC, President-Elect 2022–23
Bill Hendsbee, QC, begins his term as the 2022–23 President-Elect of the Law Society of Alberta today.

Bill joined the Board in 2018. He is currently a partner at Cummings Andrews Mackay LLP, where he has practised exclusively in plaintiff personal injury law for more than two decades.

“We are at a unique point in time. The transition back from the pandemic will require strong and thoughtful leadership. The Law Society of Alberta will need to ensure that we constantly evaluate how we do our work to ensure that we meet the evolving needs of the public we serve and Alberta lawyers.”

To learn more about Bill, visit the board directory.
Court Announcements
Court of Queen's Bench Announcements


The Queen’s Bench Filing Digital Service (FDS) allows lawyers and legal assistants to file a wide range of civil: general filing and claims documents not requiring fee waivers electronically, in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and Lethbridge. Because FDS requires the creation of an account, it is available to lawyers (and legal assistants) and law firms only. This announcement does not apply to filings made by self-represented litigants.

Effective Feb. 14, 2022, use of the FDS filing system will be mandatory for counsel filing the following pleadings in civil cases in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and Lethbridge:

  • Statement of Claim/Amended Statement of Claim
  • Statement of Defence/Amended Statement of Defence
  • Reply to Defence
  • Demand for Notice by Defendant
  • Notice of Claim Against Co-Defendant
  • Noting in Default
  • Third Party Claim/Amended Third Party Claim
  • Third Party Statement of Defence/Amended Third Party Statement of Defence
  • Demand for Notice by Third Party Defendant
  • Reply to Defence of Third Party Defendant
  • Counterclaim/Amended Counterclaim
  • Statement of Defence to Counterclaim/Amended Statement of Defence to
  • Counterclaim
  • Reply to Statement of Defence to Counterclaim

A grace period of two weeks shall be observed, until Feb. 28, 2022, before use of FDS for filing these materials will be strictly enforced. Please note that FDS cannot accommodate filings for which payment is waived or from entities that do not currently pay a fee (ie. fee waiver or Legal Aid Certificate, filings by Alberta Justice), and therefore these filings will continue to be accepted by email.

Lawyers and legal assistants using FDS must first create an account. Instructions for the creation of an account, an overview of FDS, and an additional guide for lawyers and legal assistants are available at the following links:



Please note that while, as of Feb.14, 2022, use of FDS will be mandatory for the Pleadings set out above, FDS can accommodate a wide range of Civil filings more efficiently than email filing. Lawyers and legal assistants are encouraged to make use of FDS to file all of the materials that are currently accepted. A complete list of documents that FDS will accept is set out here.



Subject to any issues arising in particular matters between the date of this Announcement and the date of a hearing that may require an adjournment due to COVID issues affecting that particular hearing, the Court Schedule for the week commencing Feb. 28, 2022 will proceed as outlined in the full announcement.


Provincial Court Announcement


Effective Feb. 22, 2022, the Provincial Court of Alberta will remove restrictions on out-of-custody trials, preliminary inquiries and other hearings put in place in January 2022 as a result of the rapid spread of the omicron variant. These matters will now proceed as scheduled. Learn more.


Court of Appeal Announcement


In the Dec. 17, 2021 Notice to the Profession and Public, the Court of Appeal announced that, unless otherwise directed, all appeal sittings, applications before three-judge panels, applications before a single judge and Bar Admissions would continue to be heard electronically until Feb. 25, 2022, and appeal conferences and judicial dispute resolution matters would continue to be heard electronically until further notice. Read more.
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