I am proud to be a lawyer.

The demands on our professional time are increasing. We now all require mandatory CPD; we are requested to do more pro bono work; we have a society requiring more affordable legal services. Yet we are still trying to raise families, participate in our communities and, all the while, retain some level of sanity! For sole practitioners and those in small firms, these demands can be even more overwhelming. There also needs to be greater focus on ensuring women remain in the profession. My wife also has a busy legal practice. Trying to balance the needs of our profession and our family is a daunting task. How one practises is an individual choice; nonetheless, the Law Society needs to continue to explore ways to ensure more women continue to practise their chosen profession.

Thankfully our profession has some say in how we govern ourselves. We need to protect the independence afforded by our self-regulated status. To do so, I believe:

• benchers must govern in a manner that enhances the public’s perception of lawyers and engenders pride in our profession
• we must stand independent of government
• our independent profession must be an affordable profession
• future fees must be manageable for all our members
• we must closely monitor LawPro’s and the Law Society’s operations to ensure that our members receive the best possible value for their money
• the legal aid system must be properly funded
• sole practitioners and small firms in rural and urban areas must be supported
• efforts should be enhanced to provide mentoring to young and mid-level lawyers practising on their own
• the Law Society must continue to deliver a transparent and effective discipline process and consider more diversionary resolutions

If elected, you have my commitment to work hard on your behalf.

© 2012 John Callaghan