About the Benchers

The Law Society is governed by a 24-member Board, also known as Benchers. Of the Benchers, 20 are lawyers elected by the profession every three years, and four are public representatives appointed by the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General. The Benchers provide strategic direction, focusing on goals that demonstrate our values and help achieve our vision and mission.

Candidate Eligibility

Eligibility to stand for election is set out in section 13 of the Legal Profession Act and Rule 10 of the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta. All candidates will be assessed for each of the noted items upon receipt of a nomination.

Districts

In accordance with the Rules, there are three districts in Alberta:

1. Northern District: That part of Alberta lying north of the 53rd parallel of latitude but excluding the City of Edmonton
2. Central District: That part of Alberta lying between the 51st and 53rd parallels of latitude but excluding the City of Calgary and the City of Edmonton
3. Southern District: That part of Alberta lying south of the 51st parallel of latitude but excluding the City of Calgary.
4. City of Edmonton
5. City of Calgary

To ensure Benchers are elected from outside the City of Calgary and the City of Edmonton, a minimum of one Bencher will be elected from each of the Northern, Central and Southern Districts when at least one candidate has been nominated in the district.

Nomination

The 2023 Bencher Election nomination process will be conducted entirely online. The nomination form will open on Oct. 3 in the Lawyer Portal.

All candidates must comply with Rule 10 of the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta when submitting their nomination.

Each candidate must provide the following information via the online webform:

• Legal name
• Preferred name, if different from legal name
• Member ID
• Firm, organization or practice setting name
• Location of practice
• Location of residence
• Year of call
• Practice area(s)
• Photograph (to be used on Bencher Election website), in jpg, png or gif format
• Candidate Statement, no more than 500 words in length

Additionally, each candidate will be required to collect the certifications of two active lawyers in Alberta to serve as their nominators. The certification process is completed via the nomination form.

Nominations must be complete by midnight on Oct. 17 to be eligible for the election.

Nomination Assessment

An assessment will be made to ensure that the nomination information:

1. Shall not contain any statement that:
   • constitutes a campaign promise or similar comment, or
   • is libellous, in breach of the Code of Conduct or in bad taste.
2. The photograph submitted is proper and does not bring the profession into disrepute.

In conducting this assessment, the guidelines below will apply. These guidelines are intended to assist the Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director in the exercise of discretion to determine compliance with Rules 10.1(2), (3) and (4). The decision of the Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director is final.

Guidelines for Statements

A statement shall not:

• contain offensive, derogatory, discriminatory or profane language or content;
• be libellous or defamatory;
• contain a campaign promise;
• set out an election platform;
• breach the Code of Conduct; or,
• refer to another candidate.

Guidelines for Photographs

• The only person appearing in a photograph shall be the candidate;
• A candidate shall be appropriately attired;
• Photographs depicting activities are acceptable as long as the activity and/or photograph does not bring the profession into disrepute;
• No alcohol, cannabis or illegal substances shall appear; and,
• No offensive or profane wording, slogans or images shall appear.

A candidate whose biographical statement or photograph is found to be impermissible may submit a new biographical statement or photograph for assessment. For an example of a candidate statement, CV and photograph, refer to the Candidate Nomination Guide.

The Law Society is not responsible for any candidate’s failure to meet the publication deadline for any reason and once candidate information is formatted for online publication, no additions, deletions or amendments may be made.

Filling a Bencher Vacancy

Throughout their three-year term, members of the Bencher table may vacate their position. In those circumstances, the Benchers will review the current composition of the Bencher table against a skills matrix. Once that work is done, they have two options available to them to fill the vacancy. They can either appoint the individual who is next in line in the election results, or they can appoint a member of the Law Society who did not run in the election. In either case, the goal is to appoint the individual whose skills are needed at the Bencher table at that particular point in time.

This process to appoint a Law Society member into the available position is defined in the Law Society’s Rules. The purpose of these Rules is to give the Benchers the ability to assess the required skills in accordance with governance best practices.