Discipline Committee

Committee Officers 2023-2024

  • Craig Boyer 
  • Keith Cruz
  • Erin George
  • Shayne Kert – Chairperson
  • Thomas Lemon
  • Stephen Mansell
  • Meghan K. O'Brien
  • Jane O'Neill
  • Sarah White

Read the 2022-23 AGM Committee Report in English or Inuktitut

Mandate

As a self-governing profession pursuant to the Legal Profession Act, the legal profession carries out its statutory mandate to protect the public of Nunavut by regulating its lawyer-members through the Law Society. The vehicle by which the Law Society manages the conduct of lawyers is through the Discipline Committee. The Discipline Committee is a standing committee of the Law Society and is the only one that requires that its members have a minimum length of experience as lawyers in order to be appointed to serve. Their experience permits the Committee to receive well-reasoned advice and knowledgeable opinions about matters of considerable importance to the member and the public.

National Discipline Standards

History and Context

In April 2014, the Council of the Federation of Law Societies of  Canada adopted new National Discipline Standards  These standards have been referred to the law societies for adoption and implementation effective January 1, 2015 including the updated 2018 version. 

A core function of Canada’s law societies is to hear and investigate complaints about member conduct and if necessary, to impose disciplinary sanctions.

The Federation of Law Societies of Canada worked with Canada’s law societies to develop high national standards for how they handle complaints to ensure that members of the public are treated promptly, fairly and openly wherever in Canada they have used the services of members of the legal profession.

These national standards establish appropriate timelines for investigations, citations and hearings; to provide for greater transparency, public participation and accessibility to ­information in the discipline process.