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Laura Bevan & Craig Ferris Quoted in Canadian Lawyer Magazine on the LSBC's Challenge of the 2024 Legal Professions Act
Lawson Lundell lawyers Laura Bevan and Craig Ferris, KC, FCIArb., were featured in an article by Canadian Lawyer Magazine on the Law Society of British Columbia's (LSBC) challenge to the constitutionality of the 2024 Legal Professions Act.
The piece discusses the issues at stake in the ongoing three week trial, which began on Tuesday, October 14, in which the Law Society of BC has challenged the 2024 Legal Professions Act on the grounds that it undermines the independence of the bar, limits the ability of the legal profession to regulate itself, and thereby opens the door to government control and interference. The LSBC is being represented at trial by Craig Ferris and Laura Bevan.
“An independent bar can only be preserved by structures that ensure appropriate distance from the state,” Craig said. “Without self-governance and self-regulation, there is an institutional opening of the door to government control and interference,” he added. “The manner in which lawyers are regulated impact the manner in which they carry on their duties to clients, courts, and the administration of justice.”
“This is the first step in the elimination of self-governance… of lawyers,” Laura said, adding that the Act “stands in stark contrast to how legal regulation has been approached in this province [historically].”
Read the full article here.