ARCTIC OBITER

THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR
M
y calendar tells me it’s supposed to be spring,
but the sun outside does not hide the –8
degree temperatures lowering to –17 and the nasty
wind that accompanies it. We try to take heart from
the fact that other areas of the country are enduring a
similar or worse fate, but, although some of the snow
is melting, it has not done a lot to improve my sunny
disposition as we process the last of the
annual renewals.
This is where the
cartoon comes into play as I climb on
my “administrative soapbox” and
preach. Unfortunately, in this forum,
the message aimed at a few gets
directed to the whole. Hopefully there
is something to be learned from it all.
RENEWAL FORMS
It may be easier to pass the renewal
forms to someone else to complete for
you, but it is not they who are a
member of the Law Society, or for
whom there could be consequences if
things are not done correctly. Too often
questions are left unanswered, forms are sent without
fees, fees are sent with no forms, et cetera. Then there
is the matter of timing. Canada Post cannot deliver
overnight to Yellowknife, especially on a four day
weekend.
To avoid the high costs associated with snail mail, the
Law Society starting using electronic mail a couple of
years ago. Members now receive an electronic notice
for the annual renewal of membership in mid-January.
Those who do not have email receive it by fax.
Renewal information is also posted on the Law Society
web site, and reminders go out with each weekly
bulletin.
Linda G. Whitford
The requisite forms and prescribed fee are due no later
than March 31 st . If we have not heard from you, a
targeted second reminder goes out at the beginning of
March. Finally, as a courtesy, when the deadline
draws nigh and we still have not heard from you, we
send out a personal reminder in the hopes that we can
avoid suspensions. There is nothing funny about being
told by the Judge in the middle of a trial that you have
been suspended by the Law Society.
The key to all of this working
effectively is our having a current e-
mail address, and you making sure our
emails do not redirect to a spam folder.
All that being said, mistakes do happen
and we work quickly to rectify any that
happen on our end and work with you
when the ball gets dropped on your
end.
INSURANCE CLAIMS
Rule 122 of the Rules of the Law Society
require a member to promptly notify
the Secretary and the insurer under the
group contract of any situation that
may result in a claim being made against the
Professional Liability Claims Fund, or the group
contract entered into by the Society under subsection
61(1) of the Act. In this case, the Insurer is CLIA, but
our claims administration is done by the Alberta
Lawyers Insurance Association. Information on filing
a claim report can be found on our website.
Quarterly, I receive a copy of the Claims Bordereau
listing all claims reported by insured members in this
jurisdiction. Invariably, there is a claim reported that
has not been reported to the Law Society. While our
protocol is to get in touch with the member in
question, there is precedence where members have
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