Small and family business owners have unique challenges. As trusted advisers, lawyers are well-positioned to help address these challenges. Join us for Advising Small & Family Businesses on February 6 (Edmonton) or February 13 (Calgary), and investigate issues that small and family businesses face so you can more competently provide advice.
ABOUT
Do small and family businesses really have different challenges than other businesses? Though many businesses face similar issues, the nature of small, closely held, or family businesses are such that lawyers must often consider additional factors when advising clients.
Develop a thorough understanding of challenges common to small and family businesses. Explore strategies to address these challenges and learn practical tips, including how to broach trickier topics with clients.
Join program chair Rachel Woynorowski and faculty for an informative afternoon on legal support in property division matters.
Discuss key topics including:
The Nuts and Bolts of Property
Examine what is “property”, including real estate, bank accounts, businesses, and more. Delve into less common and commonly forgotten or overlooked types of property. Explore the role of legal support staff in property division matters.
Does It Make a Difference if They’re Married?
Review property division and the differences between separating common-law and legally married couples. Discuss additional documentary evidence and the information needed to establish a joint family venture and to prove unjust enrichment claims, exemptions, and tracing.
Evidence and Disclosure
Advance your understanding of financial disclosure and analysis. Explore evidence issues to help you complete undertakings and compile affidavits of records.
How to Get Stuff Done: A Review of Practical and Procedural Matters
Develop strategies to find information when your client cannot locate the answer. Investigate alternative evidence sources, including obtaining client authorizations, expert valuations, and expert opinions. Once a file is concluded, examine how to assist clients with protecting their property and realizing on judgments.
Matrimonial Property Top 10 Tips
Discuss tried, tested, and true tips, hints, and practical suggestions about property division matters from experienced family law legal support staff.
ONLINE REGISTRATION
Register online to reserve your spot in Effective Legal Support: Matrimonial Property.
Intellectual property rights can be found in nearly every transaction and are often the most valuable asset of any business. If your client has a business name, provides a product or service to others, uses a website or software, gets referenced on social media, creates or improves on technology, or has confidential business information such as customer lists and data, they have IP rights to consider. Join experienced IP practitioners and develop strategies to protect your clients.
Hear the Bench’s perspective on recent jurisprudential developments in the Alberta Courts regarding the law of summary judgment and summary dismissal. Brief Q & A session to follow.
Learn how the Civil Enforcement Act works with other legislation for the enforcement of distraint for rents, personal property seizures under security agreements, Notices to enforce security, and possession under Court Orders. Learn how distributions are determined and where priorities are given so you can provide proper advice to your clients about the costs/benefits of Civil Enforcement. Explore post-judgment enforcement and how to maximize your client’s return.
Wills and enduring powers of attorney are essential to an effective estate plan. Analyze common issues that arise in the drafting of these documents. Discover how to avoid these issues before they arise or deal with them if they do.
LESA is pleased to welcome Elizabeth J. Osler as the new Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Law Society of Alberta (LSA). Ms. Osler will begin in her new role on January 1, 2019.
Ms. Osler has been with the LSA since September 2012, first as the Director of Regulation and later as Deputy Executive Director. She oversaw several departments within the LSA including Governance, Communications, Human Resources, Counsel, Conduct, Investigations, Custodianships, and Trust Safety.
Prior to joining the LSA, Ms. Osler worked at the University of Calgary as Associate General Counsel & University Secretary. She has also worked as a securities lawyer in private practice and as corporate counsel and corporate secretary in-house.
Ms. Osler, born and raised in Calgary, received her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Alberta, and holds bachelor and master degrees in Canadian History from the University of Calgary. She received her ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors, and serves on the National Discipline Standards Committee for the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and as a Board member for the Canadian Society of Association Executives.
We are sad to say farewell to outgoing LSA Executive Director and CEO—and trusted LESA board member—Don Thompson, QC. His extraordinary leadership not only helped transform the LSA into a leading regulator of the legal profession, but also supported LESA in delivering exceptional educational programming for the Alberta legal community. We are excited to embark on a new journey with Ms. Osler and are confident that she too will excel in her new role as the LSA’s Executive Director and CEO.
Are you the parent of a child under the age of 5 who is juggling legal practice with new parenthood? If so, then please join Alberta Lawyers’ Assistance Society for their inaugural New Parents Practicing Law program, hosted and sponsored by Bennett Jones LLP.
Lawyers and articling students are invited to join Linda Parsons, Professional Coach and Practice Consultant, who will provide information and resources about practicing law as a new parent.
Linda is a parent with over twenty-five years’ experience as a lawyer in private practice, having been recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada in 2013 and 2014, and profiled in the April 2010 Lexpert health law cover story. She held a variety of leadership roles within her firm and the legal profession during her years of practice. Linda is certified in executive coaching through Columbia University and is a member of the International Coaching Federation, and provides parent, performance, leadership and business development coaching for lawyers. Linda has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with new parents practicing law.
REGISTRATION & DETAILS
Date: January 16, 2019 Time: 12:00 PM–1:00 PM Location: Bennett Jones LLP | 4500 Bankers Hall East, 855 2 St. SW | Calgary
LESA extends its warmest thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who have devoted their time and expertise to us and their profession this year. The commitment of our staff and volunteers has resulted in another successful year for LESA.
Since the beginning of the 2018/2019 educational year, we have overseen 18 continuing professional development programs across a variety of practice areas including business law, civil litigation, criminal law, family law, real estate, wills and estates, legal support, and more.
The ever-growing LESA Library continues to be in popular demand. In the last year we gained upwards of 150 subscribers, and uploaded more than $7,000 worth of resources to help you continue to improve your practice.
The 2018/2019 CPLED Program is also going very well, with 3 online modules and 3 face-to-face sessions complete so far and 471 registered students.
From all of us at LESA, thank you for your support in 2018. We wish you a happy holiday season and prosperous New Year!
LESA will close at 4:30 PM on Friday, December 21, 2018, and will reopen on Wednesday, January 2, 2019, at 8:00 AM.
We’re pleased to be your lifelong partner in continuing legal education. See you in the New Year!
Learn how the Civil Enforcement Act works with other legislation for the enforcement of distraint for rents, personal property seizures under security agreements, Notices to enforce security, and possession under Court Orders. Learn how distributions are determined and where priorities are given so you can provide proper advice to your clients about the costs/benefits of Civil Enforcement. Explore post-judgment enforcement and how to maximize your client’s return.
Presentations include:
Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork: Tips and Trade Practices for Bailiff Dealings
Non-Judgment Enforcement: Personal Property Collections
Post-Judgment Enforcement
Case Law Potpourri: Process and Practice Under the Civil Enforcement Act
Our primary mandate is the delivery of exceptional legal education and resources to the entire spectrum of Alberta’s legal community.
To uphold our reputation as one of Alberta’s leading providers of legal education, we pride ourselves in our mission, vision, and values.
Our mission, vision, and values allow us to provide support to the legal profession through ever-evolving content, delivery, and educational methodologies. Recently, we have embarked on a transition from print to digital resources.
Below is a list of FAQs that we hope will assist you in a smooth transition from print to electronic resource access.
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FAQ
WHAT ARE E-MATERIALS?
E-materials are LESA’s traditional program materials (formerly presented in a binder) now offered in an electronic format. When you registered for a program in the past, you expected to get a binder with papers, checklists, precedents, annotated statutes, PowerPoint slides, etc. E-materials are the same product presented in an electronic format.
HOW CAN I ACCESS LESA’S E-MATERIALS?
You can access program e-materials via a link emailed to all registrants a few days before a program runs. This link takes you to a secured login page that has hyperlinks to the program materials, which you can download onto your device or print if you choose.
WHY HAS LESA CHOSEN E-MATERIALS RATHER THAN HARD COPY BINDERS?
From an adult education perspective, we believe this is an effective method for both learning and educating. It gives you the opportunity to review content before the program, which will prepare you to be engaged at a higher level of learning during the program. We want to help you find practical ways to apply your education to your practices and areas of interest. When you can access your materials before the program, you have the chance to read the papers in advance, formulate questions, and come better prepared to engage.
We are a not-for-profit society. This shift helps us keep costs down so we can provide quality education at reasonable registration rates.
We hope that you will arrive at a program with a basic understanding of the particular topics for that program so our presenters can focus on helping you achieve deeper levels of learning and application. Ultimately, the shift to e-materials is not simply a change in format or a cost-saving measure. Rather, it is art of an approach to enhance the educational experience for all involved in a program.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ADDED BENEFITS OF E-MATERIALS?
Some of the feedback we have heard from people is that when they are referencing older program materials and looking for specific information, they have difficulty finding it. This is wasted time. E-materials facilitate ease of navigation and introduce a search functionality that would be difficult to achieve with printed materials. A CTRL+F or CMD+F search function saves you time.
We also want to help our volunteers. E-materials allows for greater flexibility to deal with changes to the law or to a presentation. As a result, you have access to higher quality materials that are as up-to-date as possible. You can also access up-to-date biographical information, registration lists, and faculty lists. We want you to have practical, useful information you can use in your day-to-day practice.
CAN I STILL PURCHASE PRINT MATERIALS FOR PROGRAMS?
No. However, we will continue to provide law libraries across the province with printed materials for select programs. For many years, we have been offering program materials in electronic format to those who were unable to attend programs. The shift to e-materials allows us to align our program content delivery methods before, during, and after a program runs.
AM I EXPECTED TO PRINT E-MATERIALS MYSELF AND BRING THEM TO THE PROGRAM?
You’re welcome to print the e-materials if you choose. The terms of use for our materials remain the same: LESA program materials are intended for individual use only and should not be shared with others. We recommend that you download a copy of the materials onto a laptop, tablet, or other device for use at the program and afterward.
ARE ALL LESA PROGRAMS SWITCHING TO E-MATERIALS ONLY?
While the vast majority of our programs will offer e-materials only, we will be offering hard copy materials for select LESA programs. Specific multi-day courses will continue to have hard copy materials (i.e. Interest Based Negotiations, Mediation of Family & Divorce Conflicts, Basic Collaborative Law, and the Annual Intensive Advocacy program).
From time-to-time, we will also offer programs that are presented in a technical training-style or workshop-style format. For these kinds of programs, it can be helpful to have workbooks or other kinds of material that facilitate the learning objectives. If we decide to offer hard copy materials for a program like this, we will let you know.
WHAT IS LESA DOING TO MAKE SURE THIS SHIFT RUNS SMOOTHLY FOR ME?
We appreciate that attendees have all kinds of different learning styles and preferences. Our recommendation is that when you receive your e-materials access link, you download the materials in advance and come with these on a device of your choice. Our on-site staff will be there to assist you if you are experiencing technical issues or having issues locating passwords or links to the e-materials. We also have staff at the LESA office that are able to provide support to registrants before the program runs. If you experience any issues regarding your e-materials, we encourage you to reach out for support.
Please come with your devices fully charged. Our AV providers, Seminars Techs, have very generously provided battery packs and other equipment for charging a variety of devices (iOS, Android, tablet, etc.), in case your batteries run low. If you prefer to take notes with a pen and paper, we also have complimentary note pads and pens available for you. We welcome you to visit the registration desk at any time.
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Thank you for your ongoing patience and support during this transition. If you have any additional questions regarding e-materials, or any other aspect of LESA products, programs, or resources, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
We look forward to continuing to work with you as your lifelong partner in continuing legal excellence.
Registration has re-opened, and only 10 spots remain. Register to secure your spot!
Appellate advocacy presents unique challenges and requires a different set of skills than those needed by trial counsel. This program explores various aspects of the craft of appellate advocacy in Alberta.
Advanced Estate Administration | SOLD OUT!
CALGARY (November 2)
Estate administration matters frequently involve complex and unique challenges. Discuss practical and philosophical issues that senior-level practitioners face.
Identify common points of contention, develop strategies to avoid or deal with them, and discover how to better advise your clients.
Junior Lawyer Series (Session #2) | SOLD OUT!
EDMONTON (November 8)
Explore essential topics in the field of personal injury litigation, and get answers to key questions such as: What is “The Fund”? What is the Crown’s “Right of Recovery” and why does it matter in personal injury litigation? What has changed to the Minor Injury Regulation?
Legal issues surrounding the legalization of cannabis abound. Explore the implications of legislative changes and related topics.
Mediation of Family & Divorce Conflicts |SOLD OUT!
CALGARY (November 19–23)
Mediation is increasingly important in the practice of family law. This in-depth program provides over 40 hours of intensive, hands-on skills training and is recognized by collaborative law associations in Alberta.
LEGAL COMMUNITY EVENTS
Law Society of Alberta
Indigenous Solutions for Environmental Challenges
Dates: November 10–12
Location: Banff, Alberta
Use the context of the historic Aguinda v. Chevron environmental case to consider the critical role of judicial remedies for violations of the rights of indigenous and other affected peoples and the leading systemic obstacles to the realization of remedies in particular cases, both in Canada and beyond. Learn more.
Mediation of Family & Divorce Conflicts | 