I had no earlier intention of publishing my planned Statement to the Law Society’s Annual General Meeting but it was open to the public to observe and licensees should have been able to speak to it and vote on it.

Unfortunately many of us who had bothered to register properly weeks ago, were unable to participate, myself included, as the tech was bad and we could not be heard. Bizarrely, despite that many who had registered their intent to address the AGM were clearly not being permitted to speak – by the faulty tech — the meeting was not stopped to address the issue.

As a result, I had to text Maya Shukairy who had registered to second the motion, the text below.

She did a beautiful job of reading it out – having never seen it before, but this wasn’t fair to either of us.

Here it is in case you missed it.

On the upside, Treasurer Wardle pronounced my name perfectly.

Too bad I couldn’t be heard thanking him for that either.

I did, however, take the opportunity after the meeting to address him directly by email, with my concerns about how the meeting was conducted and suggested if there is extra cash, spend it on IT!

MY REMARKS INTRODUCING MY MOTION FOR FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE BY THE LSO

• Thank you Treasurer and Good Afternoon to All
• The last time I brought a motion to the LSO’s AGM was in 1994
• What I wanted then was mandatory minimum compensation for articling students
• I was trying to stop the reprehensible practice of students working for free
• I was pleased to see the Society implement my motion
• Albeit some 30 years later
• it took 3 decades for the Law Society to listen to me that time
• I am really hoping for a faster turn-around now
• Today
• My motion asks you to tell us what you’ve done with our money
• Specifically what the CEO salary scandal or CEOSS – pronounced “chaos”
• has really cost us
• It’s our money you’re spending
• It’s our hard-earned money
• And we are entitled to know how you spend it
• In this case, the Law Society agreed to pay an absurd amount to its CEO
• And the entire profession woke up and rose up with understandable fury
• There are 77 thousand legal professionals in Ontario
• The Law Society is our governing body
• We all pay dues
• The Society’s primary function is protecting the public
• But it has other mandates
• Including access to justice
• And it owes a fiduciary duty to its members
• The profession faces a mental health crisis
• It has a crisis of joblessness among students and young lawyers
• There is a crisis of young women leaving areas of practice such as criminal defence
• New parents need support to save their law practices while taking a bit of time with baby
• Legal Aid does not have sustained enduring adequate funding
• Those of us who work in social justice
• Mostly or exclusively on legal aid
• Are already donating our time to serve vulnerable people
• At the expense of our families and struggling to pay the bills
• There is so much that the Law Society could be doing to help us
• Much of which would have the side-benefit of improving services
• and minimizing risk to the public
• There is so much that the Society could and should do
• But is not doing
• Because instead, it’s focused on imaginary problems that preoccupy only the rich and privileged
• Like how to get another few hundred thousand dollars into the hands of a CEO who is demanding more money to manage the stresses of her position
• It’s spending money it has squirreled away from our 2500 dollar annual fees
• on things that help none of the decent, honest,
• hard-working lawyers and paralegals in the trenches
• When my bar found out what the Law Society purported to pay to Diana Miles
• More than a million all told
• Every single one of us was livid
• Some people cried
• Cried with tears
• Out of frustration, hurt, disappointment, anger and shock
• Because so many of us are exhausting ourselves into an early grave
• While our Benchers in Convocation don’t think twice about bypassing their own Rules
• And squandering big buckets of cash in cavalier, indefensible ways
• The cost of this fiasco went well beyond the compensation paid or payable to the CEO
• And that’s the real ticket price we want to know now
• Because licensees have not forgotten this incident
• No matter how much Convocation wishes we had
• And that anger and frustration lingers
• In fact, the Law Society has lost whatever trust or confidence members had in it before this shameful episode
• Next, wanna know how to fix this mess?
• It’s not rocket science
• Show us that you’re actually prepared to be transparent and accountable
• Don’t just pay lip service to such lofty ideals
• Show some genuine humility, and some concrete TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
• Treasurer you’ve been clear that you accept the trust and confidence of licensees was shaken if not destroyed by this CEO mess
• And you intend to gain it back
• Here is your chance
• Show some real, meaningful transparency and accountability.
• Tell us what you’ve done with our money.
• It should be easy as pie to find the receipts
• In fact I’ve given so much notice of this motion, you should have it ready now
• Share your screen with the total amount for the things you’ve already bankrolled
• Advice from law firms
• The cost of the O’Connor report
• The cost of the image consultants to manage the LSO’s reputation
• The cost of the governance expert to review by-laws
• Let’s see it all
• And by the way,
• The Law Society really didn’t need a PR firm to address the scandal effectively
• Because 77 thousand lawyers and paralegals gave you free image management advice when the CEO scandal broke
• We all clearly and repeatedly identified what you need to do to try to re-establish some trust and confidence in the Law Society
• And that is being transparent and accountable
• Stop hiding things and keeping them from the profession
• That is the road to entrenching bad feelings and exacerbating the current crisis
• Listen to the membership
• The people you govern are not simple-minded
• We are not unsophisticated
• We are 77 thousand legal professionals
• Treat us like the capable, intelligent and thoughtful professionals we are
• – be open with us, don’t treat us like irritants,
• Show us the respect we deserve
• There is no principled reason to deny us access to this information
• There is every reason to share it
• If the Society is at all serious about regaining our trust and confidence
• By acting in a transparent and accountable manner
• Use this opportunity to put your money where your mouth is
• Show us the money!
• Thank you