JOB PURPOSE

Provides legal advice and operational support to the Manager & Senior Counsel, Professional Regulation, in the development and implementation of professional regulation operations, policies, and strategic initiatives. The role instructs external counsel, drafts division-wide policies, and delivers training to support policy implementation across the division.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum level of education required for this position is an LLB or JD, plus a class L1 licence* with Law Society of Ontario.
• Requires a minimum of 7 years’ experience working as counsel with a regulatory body/agency or in private practice with experience in the area of professional regulation.
• Professional Knowledge:

  • In depth understanding of the Law Society Act, and the regulations and bylaws made thereunder, the Law Society’s policies and the Law Society’s role as a governing body of a self-regulated profession.

  • In depth understanding of administrative law and administrative justice procedures.

  • Experience working on complicated legal matters that require consideration of compliance, litigation and business processes.

  • Strong and demonstrated understanding of alternative dispute resolution, prosecution and case management standards and best practices.

  • Thorough knowledge of project management principles and best practices, including group dynamics and management of cross-functional teams, alliance building, role modeling behaviour and building consensus among disparate perspectives and competing priorities.

• Technical Skills: 

  • Microsoft Office Suite / 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).

  • Broad understanding of technology, particularly applications of technical solutions to work process and procedure in a regulatory / legal environment.

• Competencies: 
  • Superior analytical and problem-solving skills. 
  • Strong project coordination, prioritization, and time management skills.
  • Effective interpersonal, oral, and written communication, and presentation skills.
  • Organizational and multitasking skills with attention to detail.
  • Proficient legal research and writing skills.
  • Sound judgment, ability to evaluate and weigh multiple inputs and impacts of decisions and courses of action.
  • Strong ability to develop relationships and associations of confidence, trust, and respect with colleagues and internal and external stakeholders.
  • Strong ability to anticipate legal issues and risks.
  • Strong ability to inspire others.

*By submitting your application for employment, you agree to a clearance check of your regulatory history with the Law Society, and to the use of this information in assessing suitability for employment at the Law Society.

*Please submit a cover letter with your application.

Client / Customer Service Planning:

• Conducts legal research to provide informed legal and strategic advice to the members in the Professional Regulation (PR) division.
• Implements operational, policy, and strategic initiatives for the PR division in consultation with senior management and other stakeholders.
• Provides information and analysis to the senior management regarding specific complaints, investigations and prosecutions (assessment of evidence, strategy, resolution), and analysis on specific stages of the regulatory process.
• Sets budgets for the outside counsel retainers for unauthorized practice and cases involving Law Society benchers and adjudicators, subject to the approval of Manager & Senior Counsel.
  

Client / Customer Service Delivery

• Prepares, reviews, analyzes, and summarizes Memoranda of Understanding and other transactional documents related to the work of PR.
• Instructs outside counsel on PR cases in consultation with the Manager & Senior Counsel. Reviews and advises the Manager & Senior Counsel on the direction or outcome of cases and the PR process.
• Participates in case management and evaluation on a case-specific and work process/procedural basis, and for long-term projects and initiatives.
• Supports the information management flow within the division (internal and external requests) and contributes to ongoing business processes such as PR’s End of Year Report, the Law Society’s Annual Report, annual business and priority planning.
• Prepares materials and engages with bencher committees, working groups, and task forces on policy matters relevant to PR’s work.
• Represents the Manager & Senior Counsel in meetings and ongoing issues, including process-related matters and complaints with internal and external stakeholders.
• Liaises with the Complaints Resolution Commissioner (CRC) and the CRC Office to ensure timely responses to referred cases by the Commissioner.
• Drafts division-wide policies and processes, reviews statistical reports, and maintains a list of divisional priorities for legislative changes.

Special Projects and Initiatives

• Provides leadership to the PR staff, task forces, working groups and stakeholders (e.g. counsel and seconded team members) on issues related to regulation, both on a project-specific and ongoing case management basis.
• Analyzes individual and groups cases, providing the Manager & Senior Counsel with insights on process, evidence analysis, strategy and resolution, while supporting cross-functional teams in case investigation and disposition of cases.
• Develops project specifications and recommends tools, methods, technologies, and resources to support the planning and implementation of division projects.
• Participates in the work and performance of working groups and case management teams associated with projects across the PR departments and assists with policy recommendation and implementation.

Research

• Conducts research, develops reports, and provides recommendations on issues in consultation with expert resources both within and outside the Law Society.
• Benchmarks professional regulation standards and best practices.

Team Membership

• Provides back-up for Manager & Senior Counsel.
• Establishes, communicates, and monitors compliance with targets and objectives for discrete and ongoing projects.
• Provides advice and coaching within the department and the division.

The Law Society has introduced a Distributed Workforce Model to leverage flexibility and agility, and to maximize employee productivity and engagement.  Work arrangements will be determined by role and departmental requirements. The working arrangement for this position has been classified as hybrid, where the employee will regularly flex their work location between home and office. The specific application of this will be communicated to applicants contacted during the recruitment process.

The Law Society of Ontario is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion. We welcome applications from persons representing the diversity of our community. We are committed to creating an accessible, barrier-free and inclusive workplace and are committed to continuing compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Please make any requirement you may have for accommodation during the recruitment process known when contacted.

If you are unable to apply to this position due to the requirement for an accommodation of any kind, please email us at hr@lso.ca or call 416-947-3475. We appreciate all interest and will directly contact candidates under consideration.