About

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The County & District Law Presidents' Association was incorporated by letters patent issued in 1990.

The members of the corporation are the current Presidents of the 46 County or District Law Associations in the Province of Ontario.

EXECUTIVE

The Executive of the Association is composed of 13 individuals - most elected for 18 month terms. Long before the judicial regions were identified by the Province in the Courts of Justice Act, the Executive reflected those regions. In 1992, the by-laws were amended to formally provide for the regional election of 8 Executive members with each region voting only for its own representative.

Subsequent by-law amendments have provided for the appointment of individuals onto the board to specifically tackle issues of real estate concerns and legal aid.

Previously, the Toronto Region as represented by the Toronto Lawyers Association (TLA) was  not a formal member of the Association, and the Executive position reserved for the Toronto Region (York vacancy) was filled by election from the membership at large. Regardless, the TLA continued to participate in the regular executive meetings and semi-annual plenaries.  The TLA provided regular voluntary financial contribution to CDLPA in recognition of their  valuable work performed on behalf of lawyers located across the province, including the greater Toronto area.  In 2008, a Memorandum of Understanding was entered into between CDLPA and the TLA which solidified the cooperative relationship between the two organizations.

The remaining two positions on the Executive are reserved for the Chair of the Association and the immediate Past Chair.  The Chair of the Association is elected to an 18 month term. To provide for continuity, it has been traditional that the vice chair of the Association will run unopposed for the position of Chair.

EXECUTIVE MEETINGS

The Executive meets monthly in Toronto on Law Society Committee day to permit the Executive to meet with Benchers of the Law Society of Upper Canada. Frequently, the Executive will meet the evening before in order to complete all of the issues on the Agenda.

Two Plenary Sessions of the Presidents of the County & District Law Associations are conducted semi-annually in May and November to discuss, debate and form resolutions on issues affecting the profession. These meetings coincide with meeting day for the Benchers who are encouraged to attend the Plenary Sessions. The May Plenary Session coincides with the annual meeting of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Since 2003, the Executive of CDLPA have arranged to perodically hold plenary in centres around the province outside of the City of Toronto.  These changes of venue have been well received and have allowed host associations access to various plenary events.

DIRECTIONS

The Mission and Vision statements, to a considerable extent, reflect the origins of the Association. Our focus is on issues affecting the practising Bar and local Law Associations.  CDLPA is the only legal organization dedicated to being the Voice of the practicing Bar in Ontario.

The Executive members are all volunteers who do not receive any compensation for their efforts. For this reason, the Association has necessarily taken an issues-oriented approach and relies extensively on an ability to attract strong people to speak on individual issues on behalf of the whole. The ability to reach a consensus on these same issues has long been a strength of the Association.

For many years, the Association has had an Executive member sitting on the Libraries and Reporting Committee. That same individual has acted as Chair of a Library sub-committee of CDLPA which meets semi-annually prior to the Plenary Sessions.  With the creation of LibraryCo, CDLPA became one of the two shareholders, along with the Law Society of Upper Canada.  CDLPA remains committed to ensuring that lawyers across the province have ready access to the legal information necessary to practice.

There are a number of other Standing Committees of the Executive including Legal Aid, Courthouse facilities, Real Estate, Civil, Family and Criminal rules and practice issues, LSUC governance issues and Emerging Issues .  All Committees are chaired by a member of the Executive.

The activities of all Standing Committees of the Law Society are monitored by the Chair and the Executive, and there have been many instances in which CDLPA has been granted membership on sub-committees and special committees. Submissions are regularly made to all Committees of the Law Society as issues affect the profession.  In addition, the Chair of CDLPA regularly attends at meetings with the Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada to discuss issues of concern to the profession.

CDLPA will continue to fulfill its Mission and Vision Statement by active representation to or on the various Committees of the Law Society that affect the practice of law in the Province of Ontario.  CDLPA has and will continue its efforts to advocate on behalf of the practicing bar through communication with the Attorney General of Ontario, and other branches of government as necessary to meet the needs of the Bar.

FUNDING

There are two primary sources of funding. The first is from membership dues paid by each County and District Law Association.

The second source of funding is through the Law Society of Upper Canada. Most of the budgeted amount is used to reimburse Presidents for the cost of travel to the semi-annual Plenary Sessions and to reimburse the Presidents for a portion of their accommodation expense.

LOGO

The original logo was designed by the founding Chair of CDLPA, Willson McTavish, Q.C. Willson's concept and design is described by him as follows:

"It was important to convey an image of Ontario. This was especially so in that the word Ontario is not contained in the name of the Association. For this, the image of the Great Lakes was chosen. The choice of bird, an Osprey, picks up the theme of the Gryphon which was used by the Advocates' Society on their logo. The Osprey is depicted within the borders of Ontario, flying over the Great Lakes, as a protective and vigilant symbol. It is a bird known for its fearlessness and is a hunter of fish in thousands of Ontario lakes. Symbolically, this "sea-hawk" represents a freshness; movement; and an ability to search out and protect interests of mutual concern.

In 2009 the logo was updated to the current form.

CDLPA PAST CHAIRS