Law Society of Ontario approves budget increase for law libraries

By Tony Poland, LegalMatters Staff • Law libraries will get a huge financial shot in the arm after the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) reversed a 10 per cent budget cut, approving the spending of more than $8.5 million to bolster services across the province.

“This is fantastic news,” says Michael White, president of the Toronto Lawyers Association (TLA), which helped campaign for the restoration of the funding. “This is a validation of the important role that courthouse libraries play in the lives of all our members and it was recognized, obviously, by Law Society benchers.”

Joan Rataic-Lang, TLA executive director/library director, echoed those thoughts. 

Many lawyers depend on local libraries

“I am thrilled to hear that courthouse library funding has been restored. We all know that legal research tools are expensive, and there are many lawyers across the province who depend on their local library,” she tells LegalMattersCanada.ca. “In Toronto, we have many people who come into the library and even more who rely on our assistance virtually. We are happy to provide such a valuable service and with increased funding, know that we are making available a wide variety of resources.”

Faced with the uncertainty brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, the LSO reduced 2021 operating grants to the LiRN network, which governs the delivery of library services and legal information and oversees Ontario’s 48 county courthouse law libraries.

“One year ago, we were in the position of having to reduce our budget, which was quite scary because we did not have any room to cut,” says White. “This is a big difference from where we were 12 months ago.”

He says the budget to libraries last year was slashed to $7.2 million and left libraries across Ontario scrambling to serve members.

“Libraries serve a hugely important role in providing continuing legal education programs,” White said earlier. “They also provide space within the courthouse where you can have privacy with practical requirements for things such as conducting research or robing. 

“Libraries are places for mentorship, connecting with colleagues, taking breaks during appearances in court. They contribute to the mental well-being of lawyers.”

LSO set aside $900,000 in transitional funding

Along with approving an $8.5-million budget, the Law Society also set aside $900,000 in transitional funding for the expansion of electronic services across the LiRN network.

“That was delightful news,” says White. “These electronic resources are hugely important and this will ensure that everyone has access to the same services.”

• Justice Act amendments come up short on judiciary selection
• ‘It’s not a pirouette’ but our justice system pivoted in a new direction
• A 25% cut to LSO licensing fees could prove to be costly

In its efforts to restore funding, the TLA created a white paper with the Federation of Lawyers Association (FOLA) in an effort to sway the Law Society. 

“We worked closely with FOLA to advocate and to highlight the importance of Ontario’s 48 courthouse law libraries,” says White. “It was a real team effort in terms of getting the word out to our members and also making sure that our outreach to benchers was heard.

“Highlighting the importance of these spaces really resonated with benchers on the lawyer competency issue.”

Many people were ‘on the same page’

While there is no doubting the value of law libraries, he says it was never assumed that funding would be restored.

“If you had asked me six months ago what I thought was going to happen, I might have said this budget is a huge surprise because we really went into it thinking that we had our backs up against the wall,” White says. “We reached out to our members and to the benchers and we were really pleased to find many more people were on the same page than we initially believed. Everyone pretty much across the spectrum recognized the significant role that the county law libraries play.”

He says the resource is “particularly important to solo and small firms who don’t necessarily have the huge libraries that some of the downtown firms have,” ensuring access to justice regardless of the socioeconomic status of a client or their lawyer.

“Libraries serve as an equalizer and also play a vital role in lawyer competency,” White adds.

He says what he also found interesting is that the LSO voted to increase library funding while reducing annual fees to lawyers and paralegals.

“To me, that is a really good sign in the sense that it highlights just how essential county law libraries are,” says White. “It is nice to have some good news in a pandemic.”