Ontario Law Society Makes Bar Discipline More Transparent

A nice web page redesign is introduced with a welcome that underscores the need for bar discipline transparency from Ontario Law Society Tribunal Chair David A. Wright

On behalf of our adjudicators and staff, I’d like to welcome you to the Law Society Tribunal’s website. Our commitment to transparency, laid out in our core values, is of the utmost importance to us, and nowhere is this better reflected than here on our website, where licensees and licence applicants, the public, and members of the media can learn about the Tribunal– from our cases to our processes to the principles that guide us.

As Tribunal Chair, I work to ensure the Tribunal team has the tools it needs to excel. Our adjudicators undergo comprehensive training, both upon their appointment and at regular intervals during their tenure. The staff in the Tribunal Office, too, work with dedication and conscientiousness to process cases and support the work of adjudicators, all with an eye to our core values of fairness, quality, transparency and timeliness.

We also strive to continually develop and refine our processes. The Chair’s Practice Roundtable, made up of representatives and duty counsel who appear frequently before the Tribunal, as well as Tribunal staff, facilitates dialogue and feedback from stakeholders. Weekly summaries of Tribunal proceedings ensure that public documents filed with the Tribunal are available and comprehensible to anyone who is interested. And the Tribunal Committee, made up of Law Society Benchers, meets regularly in order to review and enhance Tribunal rules and policies.

These are just a few examples of the Tribunal’s efforts towards continuous improvement. Explore this website to learn more, and check back regularly for updates.

Always appreciate the effort and execution that goes into real transparency. (Mike Frisch)