TORONTO, June 28, 2018 /CNW/ - Malcolm M. Mercer has been elected to lead the Law Society of Ontario as its 67th Treasurer. The Treasurer is the top-elected official of the Law Society, which regulates Ontario's lawyers and paralegals in the public interest. He succeeds former Treasurer Paul Schabas.
"I am extremely honoured to be elected by my fellow Benchers to lead the Law Society," says Mercer. "The Law Society has a responsibility to maintain the public interest by ensuring that competent and appropriate legal services are accessible — and that our professions are inclusive and reflect the diversity of our society. I look forward to working in partnership with Benchers and other justice system partners to advance our goals."
The Treasurer presides over Convocation, the Law Society's governing board and is elected by the members of the board, known as Benchers.
Mercer was first elected Bencher in 2011 and was re-elected in 2015. He has chaired the Law Society's Advertising and Fee Arrangements Issues Working Group and served as Vice-Chair for the Professional Regulation Committee and the Alternative Business Structures Working Group.
He also served on the Access to Justice Committee, Paralegal Standing Committee, Priority Planning Committee, and Summary Disposition Committee — as well as the Compliance-Based Entity Regulation Task Force, the Real Estate Working Group and the Challenges Faced by Racialized Licensees Working Group.
As well, he has chaired the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), and was a member of the CBA Task Force on Conflicts of Interest. He served as a member of the National Committee on Accreditation of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada (FLSC) and is also a director of Pro Bono Law Ontario and the Victorian Order of Nurses Canada.
Mercer was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1984 after receiving an LLB from the University of Toronto in 1982. He also holds a BSc, in systems design and engineering (1977).
The new Treasurer is a partner in McCarthy Tétrault LLP's Litigation Group in Toronto, with a focus on commercial and corporate matters and professional negligence. (Full biography is available online.)
The Law Society of Ontario is the governing body of lawyers and paralegals in Ontario. The Law Society has a duty to protect the public interest, to maintain and advance the cause of justice and the rule of law, to facilitate access to justice for the people of Ontario, and to act in a timely, open and efficient manner.
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SOURCE The Law Society of Ontario
Media Contact: Susan Tonkin, Senior Communications Advisor, [email protected], or 416-947-7605
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