TLA helps members get a jump on next year’s bencher elections

By Tony Poland, LegalMatters Staff • The Law Society of Ontario’s (LSO) bencher elections may be a year off but the Toronto Lawyers Association (TLA) has plans to ensure members are “informed and engaged,” says president Michael White.

“In contemplation of historically low voter turnout and engagement the TLA will need to get ahead of this campaign. Although it may be a year away, we will be going into election mode by the fall and before you know it, we will be voting early in 2023,” White tells LegalMattersCanada.ca. “The TLA has formed a committee and we will be looking at ways to keep our members involved. One of the big challenges with bencher elections has been the fact that there has been very low voter turnout. That low turnout tells us that there was little engagement.” 

He says improving turnout takes a concerted effort on behalf of the association and its members.

‘Historically there appears to have been a lack of interest’

“Historically there appears to have been a lack of interest because people either felt that their interests were being adequately served or they didn’t believe the decisions made by benchers impacted them,” White says. “A significant portion of the profession didn’t feel the need to become involved.

“We want to get a better understanding of our members’ concerns. So as much as we plan to provide our members with bencher election resources, we are also hopeful that they will be sharing their views and becoming more involved in the process as the date for the election approaches.”

He says it is likely that issues from the past relating to the breadth of the LSO’s role and whether it was too big or too small will be revisited.

“It is likely that the issues that dominated the last election will persist into this election,” White says. “Many of the benchers appear to have been of the view that members fees were too high and that the Law Society was bloated, while other members do not want to see funding cut to the various programs and supports that the LSO provides. Again, that comes back to education so that lawyers and paralegals may consider the role of the Law Society and the corresponding importance of these programs and supports.

Budgetary issues expected to be at the forefront

“It may not be easy or meritorious to go about cutting the budget,” he adds. “I believe budgetary issues will be at the forefront, as well as some of the older issues related to serving the public interest which was visited the last time around.”

White says he fears that the persistence of candidate ‘slates’ and the potential deepening of party politics may be detrimental to LSO governance.

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“You may end up having a competing slate of candidates running, which would, in effect, deepen a party system within bencher elections,” he says. “The point has been effectively made that it would not be in the best interests of the Law Society to have party politics.”

White referred to a Canadian Lawyer column written by bencher Joseph Groia who noted that in the past, bencher candidates ran independently without a political party or slate affiliations. He urged the legal profession to examine the impact political parties would have on law societies.

‘Political parties limit individuality’

“A key benefit of electing independent benchers is the diverse perspectives and experiences they bring. Political parties limit individuality by prioritizing group interests at the expense of the individual and the communities they represent,” Groia wrote. “Traditionally, benchers in Ontario have been elected based on their credentials, experiences, and perceived ability to positively contribute to the legal profession, rather than their stated adherence to an ideology or political alignment.”

With a diverse membership, the TLA is hoping to get members interested in the election to ensure their concerns are being addressed, says White.

“We are just in the early stages of determining how the Toronto Lawyers Association can best serve our members,” he says, “We will have a program that will allow people to learn more about the role of benchers.

“We have invited a number of current benchers to speak to the association and we are hoping that it will not only provide insight into the significance of the decisions that benchers make but also encourage members to consider running in the upcoming election,” White adds. “But, most importantly, we want to get people to start thinking about the importance of their participation in the process.”