The Purpose of the Law Society

The purpose of the Law Society of Upper Canada is, in my view, twofold:

1. assist lawyers in delivering legal services in better, more effective and efficient ways for the benefit of the public; and

2. protect the public by ensuring a competent and ethical Bar.

The Law Society of Upper Canada has done little in connection with the first purpose.

It is time to re-focus.

It is time for change.

What do I get from becoming a Bencher?

My friends ask me time and again, "Why run for Bencher? Where do you have the time? What do you get out of it?"

My answer is always the same, "Things need to change and they won't change if I don't do what I can to change them. I can whine and complain about the "old guard" that runs the law society or I can do something about it."

For me there is a legacy aspect to my quest.

I want to leave the law society in much better shape than it is now; I want to leave a more efficient law society, a more fiscally responsible law society, a more transparent law society, a law society with a clear strategic vision for the future of law; a law society that seeks to be a leader in innovative legal services delivery.

I also won't run for more than two terms as I understand that after 8 years as a Bencher, your thinking is no longer fresh and innovative; that it is time to step aside for the next group.

The last question, "What do you get out of it?" is one that concerns me the most.

It tells me that too many lawyers see running for Bencher as a career move.

And that is certainly the impression that I received from attending the Toronto Bencher information session late last year. Speakers at that session spoke about what a great personal experience it is to be a Bencher and what connections could be made as a Bencher.

In my view those are the wrong reasons to run for Bencher.

Becoming a Bencher is about service to the profession - full stop.

A lawyer should run for Bencher because he or she has ideas, plans and skills to make the profession better for lawyers and for the public.  A lawyer should not be running for Bencher to add to his or her resume.

We need Benchers with actual governance experience and training; Benchers who are well-versed with innovative legal technology; Benchers who understand that the legal landscape has changed and have a vision of where law is going; Benchers who represent practice areas other than litigation; Benchers who are aware of and are willing to learn from what other regulators are doing.

We are in need of fresh thinking.

I urge you to vote for fresh faces, fresh ideas, fresh experience and for those with a vision.

It is time to renew the law society.

What do I get from becoming a Bencher?

Nothing.

It is what I can give to the profession by becoming a Bencher that is important to me.

The Growing Endorsement List

As the endorsements grow, so too will this post.  Stay tuned as we are just beginning!

Change is finally coming to Ontario's law society - be a part of fresh thinking and an exciting new vision of law in this province.

The following  have endorsed my candidacy:

Ian Beverley
Blair Bowen
Michael Carabash
Alexandra Cho
Perry Dellelce
Rafael Fabregas
Rod Flynn
Jordan Furlong
Paul Gonsalves
Colin Grey
Sunny Ho
Omar Ha-Redeye
Richard Herold
Chris Jaglowitz
Kari Kim
Jeff Lem
John Rider
Garry Shapiro
Paul Tackaberry
Bob Tarantino

Endorsements

The campaign has barely begun and I have my first endorsement!  Omar writes a ton of stuff on various legal issues and so his unsolicited endorsement so early in the campaign is a fantastic surprise for me!

Another prominent blogger and legal innovator, Michael Carabash, also believes in my platform and has been kind enough to endorse my bid for Bencher.

We keep rolling!

Election Statement

I offer a breadth of practice experience that speaks to all members of the Bar: I have practiced in one the world’s largest law firms, in a mid-sized firm, as in-house counsel and now as a sole practitioner.  I understand the concerns of lawyers in all these situations.

As a single father with custody of two children I also fully understand the competing pressures of family and practice.

F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “You don't write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.” 

Similarly, I am not running for Bencher because I want to do something.

I am running because I have something to do.

In the 20 years since my call to the bar I have seen a Law Society that has become increasingly disconnected from the average lawyer in this province. A Law Society that reacts at glacial pace, if at all, to matters of real importance to the day-to-day life of lawyers and the public.  A Law Society that is obsessed with regulation and ring-fencing at the expense of innovation.

Such an attitude is no longer sustainable.

As Richard Susskind notes in The End of Lawyers, “Law was not created for the benefit of lawyers any more than illness was created for the benefit of the medical profession.”   The Law Society can no longer operate on the notion that lawyers will always have the exclusive right to deliver legal services.

Now is the time for fresh new ideas and bold initiatives that address the changing legal landscape.

The Benchers that we elect in 2011 need to have a vision of the future of law. They need to be aware of and embrace legal innovation world-wide.

The Benchers that we elect in 2011 will be required to understand the Cloud, SaaS, LPOs, social media, value-based billing, alternative firm structures that allow for outside investment and many other innovations.  Many legal governing bodies around the world are allowing new governance structures and service delivery models to the benefit of both the public and members of the profession.  It is time for us to join them - or we risk being left even further behind than we already are.

My current practice is 90% value-based billing with very few files being billed on an hourly basis.  My files are paperless. I will be moving my practice completely to the Cloud by year’s end with a SaaS element.  I have worked with LPOs and I closely follow innovative ways to deliver legal services which I blog, tweet and write about. The fact that the American Bar Association is publishing my book on innovation in legal practice, The Profitable Law Firm, is a strong indication that my ideas are well thought-out and relevant.

But legal innovation is not the only reason I am running for Bencher.

My practical board experience with Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC) together with my ICD.D designation in corporate governance, have enhanced my natural drive for better, more efficient and more transparent entities.

Financial transparency is a particular problem at the Law Society; there is no reason why financial information should be hidden from members.

The Law Society has also shown little appetite for finding efficiencies within the organization in order to freeze or even lower annual dues. This needs to be a priority. Increases to annual dues should not be taken as cavalierly as they have in the past. All Law Society initiatives need to prove value for money.

The Law Society seems disinterested in reining costs at our own captive insurance company. As a result, premiums continue to rise.

The Law Society has also done very little to provide the public with quality, low cost legal representation; again, innovation, not regulation, is the key here.

Being elected Bencher is not in itself a personal goal of mine; it is merely a platform from which to effect needed change; a way for me to use my skill and knowledge to make the Law Society accountable to members and to ensure that our profession keeps step with the changing needs of society.

I ask for your vote.

Look for me on Facebook.  Search: Kowalski for Bencher 2011

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