by Tim McGee
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Law Society of BC

I want to thank BarTalk for this opportunity to introduce myself and to talk about the Law Society and the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association.

I am a native of Victoria who went east for high school and university. Between my undergraduate days at Harvard and law school at the University of Ottawa, I spent two years as the executive assistant to B.C.’s Attorney General Allan Williams, QC.

I was called to the Bar in 1987 and began my legal career with the Toronto law firm now known as Torys LLP. I later became Chief Legal Officer of Bell Canada and most recently I was President of Bell ExpressVu, Bell Canada’s digital television provider. I jumped when the opportunity arose to return to B.C. to head up the Law Society.

I’ve always thought of the CBA and the Law Society as being complementary. We are the regulatory body and the CBA is an advocacy group. But I think it is most helpful if we view the public interest in the administration of justice as a common ground for us.

The CBA, as an advocate for the profession and as an organization that benefits the profession, has, I believe, the primary goals of helping the public better understand what lawyers do and helping lawyers deliver better services to the public. While we at the Law Society must look at these issues from a regulatory perspective, it is the Canadian Bar Association that looks at them from the business and member services perspective.

Since arriving at the Law Society, I have been impressed by the dedication and work of the Law Society’s Benchers and staff. There is a strong commitment to and focus on regulating the profession in the public interest and, as part of this, to helping demystify the important role that lawyers play in our society.

I recognize that the relationship between the B.C. Branch and the Law Society has changed over the past few years and continues to evolve. One of the first things I did as Chief Executive Officer of the Law Society was to meet with Frank Kraemer, the B.C. Branch’s Executive Director. Frank is very passionate about what the CBA can do and takes his role very seriously. Managing our respective organizations through the changing landscape will be a challenge but I look forward to working with Frank and the CBA to ensure the public are well served by a legal profession that is competent, honourable and independent.

This article was published in the October 2005 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2005, all rights reserved.