Second

Session, 47th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2013

BILL 23

AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW

SOCIETY ACT, 1999

Received and Read the First Time ...................................................................................................

Second Reading .................................................................................................................................

Committee ............................................................................................................................................

Third Reading .....................................................................................................................................

Royal Assent ......................................................................................................................................

HONOURABLE

DARIN KING

Minister of Justice

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Law Society Act, 1999 to

clarify the definition of "law

firm" to exclude sole-member professional law corporations; and

expand the list of persons who

may hold non-voting shares in a professional law corporation to include the immediate

family members of the practicing lawyers of the professional law corporation.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND

THE LAW SOCIETY ACT, 1999

Analysis

S.2 Amdt.

Definitions

S.63.1 Amdt.

Definitions

S.63.4 Amdt.

Corporate license

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

SNL1999 cL-9.1

as amended

1. (1) Paragraph 2(1)(

e) of the Law Society Act, 1999 is repealed and

the following substituted:

(e) "law firm" means a partnership, a professional

law corporation that has 2 or more voting shareholders or another joint

arrangement carrying on, or holding out to the public its willingness to carry

on, the practice of law;

(2) Subsection 2(1) of the Act is amended by

deleting the word "and" at the end of paragraph (i), by adding the

word "and" at the end of paragraph (j), and by adding immediately

after paragraph (

j) the following:

(k) "voting shareholder" means a person

who has the legal and beneficial ownership of one or more voting shares.

(1) Paragraph 63.1(

a) of the Act is amended

by deleting the word "and" at the end of subparagraph (i), by

deleting the semi-colon at the end of subparagraph (ii) and substituting a

comma and the word "and", and by adding immediately after subparagraph

(ii) the following:

(iii) a child of whom a spouse or former spouse is a

parent;

(2) Section 63.1 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after paragraph 63.1(

a) the following:

(a.1) "immediate relative" means a spouse,

child, grandchild, father, mother, brother, sister or grandparent of a member;

(3) Paragraph 63.1(

b) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(b) "non-voting share" means an issued

share that is not a voting share;

(4) Section 63.1 of the Act is amended by adding

the word "and" at the end of paragraph 63.1(c).

(5) Paragraph 63.1(

d) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(d) "voting share" means an issued share

with the right to vote at a meeting of shareholders attached to it.

(6) Paragraph 63.1(

e) of the Act is repealed.

3. Paragraph 63.4(1)(

g) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(

g) satisfies the executive director that all the non-voting

shares of the corporation are legally and beneficially owned by and registered

in the name of

(

i) one or more practicing members in good

standing who are also voting shareholders of the corporation,

(ii) one or more immediate relatives of a person

described in subparagraph (i), or

(iii) a professional law corporation whose

(

A) directors and officers are practicing members

in good standing and also voting shareholders of the corporation that seeks to

be licensed,

(

B) voting shares are legally and beneficially

owned by and registered in the name of one or more practicing members in good

standing who are also voting shareholders of the corporation that seeks to be licensed,

and

(

C) non-voting shares are legally and beneficially

owned by and registered in the name of one or more voting shareholders, one or

more immediate relatives of voting shareholders or a combination of one or more

voting shareholders and one or more immediate relatives of voting shareholders;

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