CLE Update

Annual Review of Law and Practice
CLE volunteer authors are working on the upcoming Annual Review of Law and Practice. Now in its ninth edition, the Annual Review provides an easy and affordable way to keep on top of pivotal issues and trends in BC law and practice. Each edition contains concise, accessible commentary about the main legislative, case law, and practice changes in BC. Written by leading commentators, this indispensable resource will be available in March.

Cle Programs
Save $150 on Course Registrations
Now, thanks to a cooperative initiative of the Law Society of BC and the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC, every practising, insured lawyer in BC receives two vouchers, each worth $150 towards the purchase of a course or video repeat. Take advantage of your vouchers. The Law Society and CLE are working together to make your learning more accessible.

CLE Spring Courses Start at 9:30 AM
CLE is pleased to announce a new 9:30 am start time for most of our Spring Courses (April to June) in Vancouver! Many of you have told CLE that a 9:30 start time will make it easier for you to participate in CLE courses. Victoria lawyers, Local & County Bar Presidents, and the CLE Board of Directors all support this effort to serve you better. Starting at 9:30 will give Victoria and Island lawyers a chance to catch a morning ferry and make it to the course on time. This is a pilot project, we would appreciate your feedback. Please call 1.800.663.0437 or 604.669.3544.

Litigation
Personal Injury Conference, May 12, 2000 will be a comprehensive update of legislative, regulatory, case law, and practice issues. The distinguished faculty will provide solutions from three valuable perspectives; Plaintiff, Defence and ICBC. Strategies for conducting your case, simplifying difficult issues and coverage of new developments are on the agenda.

Labour
Employment Law Conference on May 4 and 5, 2000 will update participants on current topics such as disability, conflict resolution, cross border issues, immigration, Wallace update, mediation, building successful Plaintiff/Defendant cases and many more. Our impressive speakers and faculty will conduct breakout sessions on both days for in depth discussion and skill building.


The Law Foundation of British Columbia
New Chair of The Law Foundation
The Law Foundation Board of Governors is pleased to announce that David Brine has been elected as Chair of the Law Foundation for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2000. Mr. Brine is a partner in the law firm McQuarrie Hunter in a general civil litigation practice. He has served as a Governor of the Law Foundation since 1992, and was Deputy Chair of the Foundation in 1998 and 1999. He was also Chair of the Law Foundation’s Finance and Administration Committee for three years. Mr. Brine has also served on both the BC Branch’s Executive Committee and on Provincial Council.

New Projects Funding
The Law Foundation of British Columbia has a budget of $400,000 available in June 2000 for New Projects. To be eligible for funding, a project must fall within one or more of the five program objectives of the Foundation: legal aid; legal education; law reform; law libraries or legal research. The proposal must be for a time-limited project only. There are no funds available for ongoing services in the community. The maximum amount available for each project is $50,000.

To be considered at this meeting, a grant application must be received by the Law Foundation no later than 5:00 pm on the date indicated.

LAW FOUNDATION BOARD MEETING
Saturday, June 17, 2000

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
Monday, March 20, 2000

Please contact Law Foundation staff at (604) 688-2337 to discuss your project prior to submitting your application. Application guidelines may be obtained from the Law Foundation at 1340 - 605 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 5J3.

There will be another $425,000 available for one-time project initiatives, to be adjudicated at the Law Foundation Board meeting held November 25, 2000. The application criteria will be available after the Law Foundation Board meeting held June 17, 2000.

Grants Approved
The Law Foundation approved funding totaling $5,536,676 for the following grants at its meeting on November 20, 1999, as well as $319,000 in one-time targeted grants for continuing grantees.

Funding totaling $5,111,865 was approved for the following 14 continuing grantees:

BC COALITION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
(Advocacy Access Program 2000) - $124,464

BC COURTHOUSE LIBRARY SOCIETY
(Special Grant Fund) - $500,000

BC FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PRIVACY ASSOCIATION
(Law Reform/Public Legal Education Program 99/2000) - $18,900

BC HUMAN RIGHTS COALITION
(Human Rights Advocacy and Education Project 99/2000) - $100,000

DEBATE AND SPEECH ASSOCIATION OF BC
(Law Foundation Cup Debates 2000) - $13,000

DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE RESIDENTS’ASSOCIATION
(Advocacy Services Project 2000) - $93,946

DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE WOMEN’S CENTRE
(Legal Advocate Program 2000/2001) - $27,000

GREATER VANCOUVER LAW STUDENTS’ LEGAL ADVICE PROGRAM
(Operating 99/2000) - $110,005

LAW FOUNDATION LAY ADVOCACY EDUCATION AND TRAINING FUND
(2000) - $31,450

LAW COURTS EDUCATION SOCIETY
(Northern Public Legal Education Programs for First Nations Communities 2000/2001) - $55,250

LEGAL SERVICES SOCIETY
(Operating 2000/2001) - $2,975,000
(One-time Projects) - $500,000

NORTH ISLAND CRISIS & COUNSELLING CENTRE SOCIETY - PORT HARDY
(Poverty Law Advocacy Program: Bridge Funding) - $4,000

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, FACULTY OF LAW
(Endowment Funding) - $165,000
(Graduate Fellowships 2000/2001) - $54,400
(Entrance Awards 2000/2001) - $12,250
(Undergraduate Scholarships 2000/2001) - $26,350
(Projects Grant 2000) - $25,000
(First Nations Clinical Program 2000/2001) - $59,500

UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA, FACULTY OF LAW
(Endowment Funding) - $165,000
(Entrance and Renewal Scholarships 2000/2001) - $26,350
(Projects Grant 2000) - $25,000

Funding totaling $424,811 was approved for the following 18 new legal projects:

ABBOTSFORD COMMUNITY SERVICES
(Legal Education and Outreach Project) - $75,000

BC DISPUTE RESOLUTION PRACTICUM SOCIETY
(Court Mediation Practicum Program – Stage II) - $27,637

CASTLEGAR & DISTRICT COMMUNITY SERVICES CENTRE SOCIETY
(Advocacy Training Project) - $8,926

CANADIAN ANTI-RACISM EDUCATION & RESEARCH SOCIETY
(Legal Information Pamphlet) - $14,800

CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING FEDERATION OF BC
(Legal Education Project) - $22,900

IMMIGRANT & MULTICULTURAL SERVICES SOCIETY OF PRINCE GEORGE
(Legal Education for Immigrant and Refugee Women) - $25,760

100 MILE HOUSE & DISTRICT WOMEN’S CENTRE SOCIETY
(Advocacy Workshops) - $850

LEARNING DISABILITIES ASSOCIATION, SOUTH VANCOUVER ISLAND CHAPTER
(Know Your Rights Booklet Project) - $19,000

LEGAL SERVICES SOCIETY ON BEHALF OF THE POVNET STEERING COMMITTEE
(PovNet: Electronic Legal Information Network) - $49,000

MOSAIC
(Working Group on Poverty, Law Reform Project) - $20,000

OPEN LEARNING AGENCY
(Viewers’ Guides and Videos: Ethical Challenges for Court Interpreters) - $25,000

PEOPLE’S HAVEN SOCIETY
(Legal Information Centre, Dease Lake) - $11,150

RUSSIAN CULTURAL ASSOCIATION
(Child Protection Translation Project) - $5,500

SOCIAL PLANNING & RESEARCH COUNCIL OF BC
(Impact of current Immigration Legislation and Policies on Sponsored Women) - $35,200

THE VOICE OF THE CEREBRAL PALSIED OF GREATER VANCOUVER
(Rights and Obligations of People Receiving Attendant Care Booklet Project) - $29,088

WEST COAST DOMESTIC WORKERS’ ASSOCIATION
(Domestic Workers’ Outreach Project) - $15,000

WEST COAST LEAF ASSOCIATION
(Equality Rights Millennium Initiative: Part III) - $15,000

WEST COAST PRISON JUSTICE SOCIETY
(Canadian Prison Law) - $25,000

These articles were published in the February 2000 issue of BarTalk. © 2000 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.