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ANNUAL REPORT
[CAIWDWI BAH ASSOCIATION (B.C. BKAHOI)
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 1990-1991
BRITISH COLUMBIA BRANCH PROVIN CIAL COUNCIL ELECTED MEMBERS BY COUNTY 1990/91 CARIBOO: Michael Brecknell, Wayne Plenert, Ken Repstock, Peter Warner KOOTENAY: Richard Ellsay, Sandra Smaill, Peter Somerville, Kenneth Wyllie NANAIMO: Douglas Cowling, Andrew Croll, Parker MacCarthy, Richard Swift PRINCE RUPERT: Edmond DeWalle, Mark G. Takahashi, Fraser Wilson VANCOUVER: Murray Clemens, Sandra Cunninghan, William Everett, Peter Fairey, Felicia Folk, Robert Gourlay, Thomas Gove, Georges Goyer, John McIntyre, David Mossop, Glen Orris, Marina Pratchett George Reilly, Eric Rice, Phillip Scarisbrick, Jeffrey Scouten, Daniel Steinberg, Colin Sweeney, Bruce Woolley VICTORIA: Ronald Cook, Richard Margetts, Martha McNeely, Anthony Palmer, John Waddell
B.C. Branch Executive Committee 1990/91 [from left, front row]: Eric Rice (Member at Large); Wendy Baker (Vice-President); Terry La Liberte (President); Robert Gourlay (Secretary-Treasurer). [Back row]: David Brine (Member at Large); John Waddell (Member at Large); Russell Lusk (Immediate Past President); Parker MacCarthy (Member at Large). Robert Smethurst, Q.C., Executive Director
President's Report (continued) the Branch in various activities. Without doubt, our ability to respond in a coordi nated manner to legislation and law reform has increased significantly with the as sistance of Ann. I would also like to thank Bonita Thompson who as chair person of the committee was instrumen tal in refocusing and redirecting these activities. Communications An expanded Law Week program in 16 locations also included two major open houses at Vancouver Provincial Court and the Law Courts. The Law Week Committee, chaired by Colin Sweeney and Sandra Cunningham, encouraged thousands of volunteers to become in volved in a variety of activities which allow the public to visit our courts and to receive information about the justice system. The extremely popular mock trials continue to be a learning experi ence for participating students. As well, the provincial essay and public speaking contests continue to be well received. The Branch's Mentor program, which pairs a Law 12 classroom and law firm, has been operating in 10 locations. An evalu ation of the program is underway and expansion will be considered for next year. Our members are called upon by the media to provide comment on a va riety of issues. The News Contacts Bro chure was again published and is re garded as a valuable resource by the media. The Communications Committee, chaired by Parker MacCarthy, has com pleted an extensive review of all Branch
communications and has provided rec ommendations to the Executive for con sideration. Lawyer Referral/Dial-A-Law: The Lawyer Referral program which is providing referrals in record numbers has been computerized so that it is now able to handle referrals more quickly and efficiently. The Dial-A-Law program also has been computerized with 24 hour, 7 day a week access to the system from touchtone phones. Well over 6,000 calls each month are received by the new system. M em ber Services: This Committee continues to evaluate, endorse and monitor a variety of mem ber services providing direct benefits and savings for members. This past year, agreements were entered into with Uniglobe Advance Travel and Corpo rate Couriers. Other successful programs include the Branch Directory, with some 9,200 copies sold; CBIA Insurance Plans, LawPac, Progroup Car Purchase, LegalSave, the Counsel Network, Section Papers, VALA/CBA C om pensation Survey, and Unibind. Branch Activities: Provincial Council has met five times and the Executive Committee has met twice each month. Many of the commit tee chairpersons have also met with the Executive to discuss programs and ac tivities. The annual Section Chairpersons meeting as well as the Local and County Bar Presidents meeting were once again organized by the Branch. A special presentation on how to deal effectively with the media was also presented to the
WESTMINSTER: Therese Alexander, David Brine, Craig Goebel, Ravi Hira, Grant Taylor, Wendy Young YALE: Kenneth Christensen, Glenn Einfeld, James Horn, James Horne, Howard Pontious
Local and County Bar presidents. The Bench and Bar dinner was again sold out. Winter Convention '91 featured an outstanding substantive and social pro gram. Unfortunately, the number of registrations was down from projections this y e a r.' A binder of fourteen papers presented at the Convention has been made available to members. Special ac knowledgement is certainly due Winter Convention Chair Eric Rice and his hard working committee. The many visits to Local and County Bar Associations during the year have been both informative and pleasurable. As the Branch representative, I also had the pleasure of attending numerous swear ing-in ceremonies, the Alberta Branch meeting, and several other meetings and functions. Conclusion: While this report provides you with only the highlights of the Branch activities, hopefully it serves to emphasize the variety and scope of activities that are under taken. I am extremely grateful for the hard work of the Executive Committee mem bers who have spent long hours in estab lishing and implementing policy. I am also gratefu l to P rovincial C ouncil members, including the Section chairs, who attend meetings and so readily answer our call for assistance on a vari ety of issues. On a final note, I would like to thank the entire Branch office staff for their assistance during the year. Terry La Liberte President 1990/1991