Law Societies and the Crisis of Confidence: Protecting the Public and Supporting Lawyers

Law societies across Canada are facing a growing crisis of confidence, driven by their failure to effectively protect the public and support the lawyers they regulate. Recent reporting in the Toronto Star has shone a spotlight on multiple cases of misconduct, particularly involving sexual harassment and unethical behavior by lawyers, where victims were left uninformed while the accused continued to practice.

This failure to communicate with those harmed by lawyer misconduct undermines public trust in our profession. The victims and others affected by unethical or even criminal behavior are left in the dark, unable to protect themselves or take legal action. In many cases, law societies do not notify victims they identify during an investigation, further perpetuating a sense of neglect. This leaves the public wondering whether the law societies are truly prioritizing their protection.

In British Columbia, the provincial government has already acted, citing a lack of public confidence as the reason for passing a law to take over the governance of the practice of law. Though this law has been passed, its implementation is still underway and will be rolled out by regulation. The government's move is a direct result of the legal profession’s failure to evolve and address the issues undermining public trust.

But this problem doesn’t just affect the public—it affects lawyers too. Lawyers under investigation, even if the allegations are unsubstantiated, face years of uncertainty and crippling legal fees, often in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. For lawyers trying to earn a living while defending themselves, this process is not only financially devastating but emotionally exhausting. There is little to no support for these lawyers, and the process, even for baseless complaints, can leave a lasting mark on their careers.

The public sees law societies as failing in their core duty to protect them, and lawyers see a system that does little to support them when they are under investigation. This dual failure is at the heart of the crisis of confidence we now face. The reluctance to change and the lack of transparency in the discipline process have eroded trust on both sides.

As lawyers, we must recognize that if we don’t take steps to restore this confidence, others will continue to step in and impose changes on us. There may still be an opportunity to push back against the government’s takeover in BC, but we can only do so if we acknowledge that this crisis stems from our own failure to act.

The message is clear: the public deserves to know when they are at risk, and lawyers deserve a fairer, more supportive system when facing allegations. We have squandered public trust over the years, despite warnings. If we lose our independence as a profession, we will have ourselves to blame for not addressing the eroding confidence by making the necessary changes.