Notices to the Profession

NOTICE

Section 48 of the Legal Profession Act

TO:      All Members of the Law Society of the Northwest Territories

Pursuant to Section 48 of the Legal Profession Act, members are reminded that:

…Every member shall deliver to the Secretary on or before September 1 in each year certificates of the member and of a chartered accountant or certified general accountant, which shall be in the form set out in the rules and made up to the end of a 12-month fiscal period ending no earlier than June 1 of the previous year.

If you or your firm are not resident in the NWT and not insured under the Law Society of the NWT mandatory insurance program:
You must complete and file a Lawyer’s Undertaking.

If you or your firm are resident in the NWT or insured under the Law Society of the NWT mandatory insurance program, and do not maintain a trust account:
You must complete and file with the Law Society a Law Firm Self-Report.

If you are resident in the NWT or insured under the Law Society of the NWT mandatory insurance program, and maintain a trust account and are a sole practitioner:
You must complete a Law Firm Self-Report and Accountant’s Report, and file both forms with the Law Society.

If you are resident in the NWT or insured under the Law Society of the NWT mandatory insurance program, and work for a firm that maintains a trust account:
Your firm must complete Law Firm Self-Report and Accountant’s Report and file both forms with the Law Society.

A reminder that all law firms practicing in the NWT or insured under the Law Society of the NWT mandatory insurance levy must designate a Responsible Lawyer. If you have not designated a Responsible Lawyer please contact the Law Society to obtain a designation form.

TAKE NOTICE THAT members failing to file either a Law Firm Self-Report and an Accountant’s Report , if required, by September 1, 2021 shall be automatically suspended from membership without further notice.

DATED at Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, this 4th day of January, 2021.

Glenn Tait

Executive Director

[Deputy Secretary-Treasurer]

2020/2021 PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY NOTICE

Insurance coverage for lawyers in the Northwest Territories is provided through the Canadian Lawyers Insurance Association (CLIA). The Professional Liability Claims Fund receives money collected from members for the payment of premiums payable by the Law Society under a group insurance contract entered into by the Society under subsection 61(1) of the Legal Profession Act. An annual assessment shall be levied on active members an amount fixed by the Executive of the Law Society under Rule 119(2) to maintain and augment the Professional Liability Claim Fund.

The Executive, on April 22, 2020, determined that the annual assessment for the $1,000,000 mandatory coverage through CLIA for the July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021 policy year, including GST, is $2100.00 per member.

The levy may be paid two ways:

1. all at once before June 15, 2020, or
2. in two instalments, as follows:

• $1050.00 (tax included) on or before June 15, 2020, and
• $1050.00 (tax included) on or before December 15, 2020.

Members are reminded that every member enrolled in the mandatory insurance plan at the July 1, 2020 commencement of the policy year is personally liable for payment of the whole of the insurance levy, even if the member’s circumstances may change so that they may not be required to be enrolled in the insurance plan at the time the second instalment comes due.

Members are also reminded that, pursuant to the Rules, a member who fails to pay a levy instalment on its due date is automatically suspended from membership. There is no grace period and no reminder notice will be issued.

Cheques can be made payable to the Law Society of the Northwest Territories, or you may complete the attached credit card authorization form.

Glenn Tait

Executive Director