TLA encourages all lawyers to cast a ballot in bencher elections

By Tony Poland, LegalMatters Staff • With Law Society of Ontario (LSO) bencher voting quickly coming to a close, the Toronto Lawyers Association (TLA) is reminding its members, and all lawyers in the province, of the importance of making their voices heard at the ballot box.

“Historically, voter turnout has been low during bencher elections so during the past year, we have taken steps to engage our members and encourage them to educate themselves about the candidates and the issues,” says outgoing president Erin O’Donovan. “We have a diverse membership and we want to ensure they are represented at Convocation.

“We cannot afford to sit on the sidelines,” she tells LegalMattersCanada.ca. “We need to help determine who represents us at the Law Society because it has a significant impact on the profession.” 

Voting closes at 5 p.m. EDT on April 28. Lawyers and paralegals can cast their ballots online or by telephone. Voting guidelines and information about the candidates are available at LSO.ca/BencherElection2023. The names of the 40 lawyers and five paralegals elected as benchers, whose four-year term begins on May 25, will be announced on May 1. 

In the 2019 election, there were 53,899 eligible voters, with 16,156 ballots cast, which equated to a 30 per cent turnout, according to the LSO. 

Efforts included educational program

O’Donovan says the Association’s efforts to get more lawyers to vote included an education program Behind the Scenes with Benchers in April 2022, which covered what benchers do, how you become a bencher and the commitment required to be a bencher. The program also addressed the implications of slates of candidates in the bencher election process and the challenge of running as an independent bencher. 

 “We wanted to provide those people who might be interested in running for bencher some insight on the work involved and the immense contribution that a bencher makes,” says O’Donovan. Click here to view the program.  

Most recently, to provide its members an opportunity to better understand some of the issues in this year’s election, the TLA hosted a Bencher Candidate Forum Q&A, which featured Philip Hogan, representing the FullStop team, Atrisha Lewis, representing the Good Governance Coalition, and two independent bencher candidates, Maxwell Radway and Jonathan Miller. To view the session, click here. 

The Federation of Ontario Law Associations (FOLA) circulated a questionnaire to all bencher candidates asking their positions on issues of importance to local law association. The TLA has published on its website the results of all Toronto bencher candidates who responded to the survey. Click here to see the Toronto bencher candidates responses to the questionnaire. 

TLA has long-standing policy to not endorse candidates

While the TLA has a long-standing policy to not endorse candidates, the Association has called on all bencher candidates to affirm the importance of a properly funded Ontario courthouse law library system. 

O’Donovan says she hopes voters and bencher candidates remember that stable law library funding is an access to justice issue.

In 2020, benchers voted to cut funding to Ontario libraries by 10 per cent in 2021. Fighting back, the TLA created a white paper with FOLA in an effort to sway the Law Society.

Funding was eventually restored, but O’Donovan notes that this year only $200 of the $1,981 annual fee paid by Ontario lawyers will be allocated to funding for county and district law libraries. By comparison, in 2001, lawyers in Ontario paid $210 each toward the cost of libraries from their LSO dues.

Libraries serve highly important role

For many lawyers, especially those in small and mid-size firms and sole practitioners, the libraries serve a hugely important role, providing essential support, she says.

“The TLA runs the courthouse library at 361 University Avenue and we know firsthand how important it is to have these services available,” says O’Donovan. “These libraries support the competence and quality of legal services provided by lawyers across the province and it is imperative that they remain viable.”

She says the Association is optimistic that their efforts, and the efforts of many other Ontario legal associations, this past year will convince lawyers to cast their ballot.

“I am hopeful that we have caught the attention of both our members and lawyers across the province,” says O’Donovan. “We hope lawyers appreciate the significant effort required for the proper governance of our profession and contribute to that effort by voting in this year’s election.”