CLE Update: Vouchers
Insured BC lawyers continue to take advantage of the Voucher Program, launched in January 2000 by CLE and the Law Society of BC. Every practicing, insured lawyer received two $150 vouchers for the year 2000; to date, over $390,000 worth of professional education has been subsidized by the initiative. Each $150 voucher can be applied for an instant credit towards a CLE course; both vouchers can be used towards those programs running over three days. CLE will also continue to offer bulk registration pricing for uninsured lawyers who have four or more people from their organization attending a CLE session.

Exceed
In August, BC lawyers will receive a new publication from CLE entitled “Exceed”. It is part of a new initiative to provide comprehensive information on CLE courses and publications within the major and specialized areas of practice. The magazine will be mailed five times per year, and will replace some of the familiar reference materials such as seasonal course calendars, publication catalogues, and distance education (video repeat) faxouts.

Family
Family Law Issues will be held in conjunction with the CLE Federal Child Support Guidelines workshop on October 19 & 20 in Vancouver, and October 30 & 31 in Victoria. For the benefit of lawyers on Vancouver Island or those from the mainland who are unable to attend the Vancouver sessions, the Victoria courses will be live repeats of the ones held in Vancouver. Family Law Issues will focus on spousal maintenance awards, family and civil Rules to help cases, and settlements that stand the test of time. The limited enrolment Federal Child Support Guidelines workshop was created in cooperation with the Federal Department of Justice to address practical and common issues in child support cases and how to develop skills around them. Attend both courses in Vancouver or in Victoria and save on the registration price.

Business
Buying & Selling A Business – Annotated Precedents – Work is nearly completed on this long-awaited collection of annotated precedents for business acquisitions. Sample asset purchase and share purchase agreements will be included, along with many other useful documents, all reviewed by our distinguished editorial board of Sholto Hebenton, QC, John O.E. Lundell, and Christine Elliott. Attend the Buying and Selling a Business course on October 27, 2000 when the authors will discuss a transaction from the beginning to the end, explaining key issues in practical terms. Benefit from their experience and learn to identify the key clauses in various agreements, the reasons that those clauses are so essential, when and why to use each kind of agreement and negotiation strategies and tips.


The Law Foundation of British Columbia
2000 Major Projects Initiative
The Law Foundation has established a budget of $5 million to support the 2000 Major Projects Initiative.

Purpose of the Initiative
Due to the fiscal restraint of the last several years, the Foundation has not had an opportunity to provide funding for major projects. The Foundation is now able to seek proposals of a significant size for time-limited projects, which will have a long-term impact. Examples of such proposals include multi-year projects that run over a 3 to 5 year period and endowments.

The Foundation encourages applicants to collaborate, to involve its community and stakeholders, and to rethink traditional approaches.

Who can apply?
Any incorporated non-profit organization in BC whose proposed project falls within one or more of the five statutory mandated areas of the Foundation: legal education, legal aid, legal research, law reform and law libraries.

The Foundation encourages applicants and projects which reflect the cultural diversity and/or geographic diversity of BC.

The Foundation also encourages applications for projects in the following areas, listed alphabetically: Aboriginal Justice, Family law, Professional Legal Education, and Seniors and the Law.

Grant Size and Process
Grants are between $50,000 and $500,000.

Proposal forms may be obtained from the Law Foundation at 1340 – 605 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 5J3, or please call (604) 688-2337 or fax (604) 688-4586. For an email copy, please email your request to lfbc@telus.net. Proposal forms must be submitted by 5:00 pm Monday, October 2, 2000.

Adjudication Date
Proposals will be reviewed at the November 25, 2000 meeting of the Board of Governors.

Grants Approved
The Law Foundation approved funding totaling $3,690,690 at its meeting on June 17, 2000. Funding totaling $2,982,013 was approved for the following 8 continuing grantees:

• Active Support Against Poverty (Advocacy Services 2000/2001) - $47,600
• BC Courthouse Library Society (Operating Grant 2000/2001) - $2,050,200
• BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre (Operating Grant 2000/2001) - $442,500
• Canadian Bar Association-BC Branch (Dial-A-Law and Lawyer Referral 2000/2001) - $219,655
• Mental Patients’ Association (Court Service Project 2000/ 2001) - $40,913
• MOSAIC (Paralegal Advocacy Project 2000/2001) - $67,035
• Together Against Poverty Society (Advocacy Project 2000/2001) - $49,510
• Yellow Page Ads (Advertisement of Public Legal Services) - $64,600
• Funding totaling $708,677 was approved for the following 25 new legal projects:
• Aboriginal Women’s Action Network (Violence Against Aboriginal Women and the Law Project) - $29,050
• BC Association for Community Living (Community Living and Disability Rights Legal Research Project) - $25,000
• BC Law Institute (Civil Remedies for Sexual Assault: Final Publication) - $5,000 (Law and the Elderly: Family Agreements – Avoiding Financial Abuse) - $45,000
• BC Persons with AIDS Society (Advocacy for the Community: Public Legal Education Resource Project) - $11,500
• BC Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse (Victim Assistance Manual) - $5,000
• Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges (A Study of Roles and Responsibilities of Chief Judges, Puisne Judges and Judges’ Associations) - $12,000
• Canadian Human Rights Reporter (Canadian Human Rights Reporter Online) - $22,867
• Centre for Restorative Justice, Simon Fraser University (Law Foundation Graduate Scholarship in Restorative Justice) - $50,000
• Christian Task Force on Central America (Preventing Child Apprehension in the Latin American Community: Workshops) - $27,560
• Continuing Legal Education Society of BC (CLE Web Project) - $50,000
• Environmental-Aboriginal Guardianship through Law and Education (EAGLE) (First Nations and Water Workshop) - $45,000
• Gerontology Research Centre, Simon Fraser University (Legal Information for Seniors in Care) - $19,765
• Habitat Conservation Trust Fund (A Guide to Conservation Giving in BC) - $5,000
• Institut de Droit International (70th Biennial Reunion) - $45,000
• Joint Committee of Canadian Bar Association–BC Branch and Law Society of BC (Pro Bono Forum) - $50,000
• La Boussole, Centre Communautaire Societe (“Your Welfare Rights: A User’s Guide to BC Benefits” Booklet Translation Project) - $14,705
• Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (Legal Resources and Training Project) - $47,800
• Representation Agreement Resource Centre Association (Community Education Resources and Workshops Project) - $46,700
• Salmo Community Resource Society (Salmo Advocacy Resource Development Project) - $11,083
• South Surrey/White Rock Women’s Place (Pro Bono Legal Services Project) - $15,472
• Vancouver Society of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women (Legal Education Workshops for Seniors) - $11,000
• Vancouver Status of Women (Single Mothers’ Resource Guide 2000) - $17,000
• West Coast Environmental Law Association (Forest Land Use Planning on Tsimshian Traditional Territory) - $47,175
• West Coast LEAF (Civil Legal Rights of Abused Women: A Transformative Public Legal Education Project) - $50,000

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