Author: Erin Jeon, University of Manitoba Law Student
The Law Society of Manitoba is extending its part-time practicing fees pilot. The pilot began on April 1, 2022, and will now run until March 31, 2027.1 The Law Society also expanded eligibility for the pilot to include serious chronic illness and disability.2 Previously, the program was only open to parents, guardians, and caregivers who needed accommodation for their caregiving responsibilities.3 Part-time lawyers in the pilot program must work in private practice.4 They also must not exceed 750 billable hours, and their gross billings must total no more than $80,000 annually.5
The part-time practicing fees program allows eligible persons to pay half of the required practicing fees to the Law Society ($1,323, down from $2,645), making part-time work more affordable.6 However, part-time lawyers must still pay the full cost of practicing insurance.7
Currently, about 30 lawyers are enrolled in the program, only one of which is due to illness.8
Private practices are having difficulty retaining female lawyers, particularly those with young children. Of lawyers called to the bar in 2003, only 66% of women were still practicing in 2008, compared to 80% of men.9 One of the key reasons women are leaving the legal profession at a higher rate is childcare responsibilities. Women still tend to be the primary caregivers in their families.10 In 2015, the average Canadian mother spent about 52 hours a week caring for children, while the average father spent about 30 hours a week doing so.11 Because women typically carry the bulk of the childcare load, they often feel unable to manage full-time work on top of these responsibilities, demonstrating the importance of providing part-time accommodation in the legal profession.12
The Law Society and the wider legal profession must work together to accommodate lawyers who wish to practice part-time. Law firms must allow lawyers to work part-time and must establish a culture in which part-time work is acceptable.13 Additionally, the practice insurance fees for part-time lawyers should be reduced to increase the affordability of part-time work. Part-time practice insurance is not a novelty in Canada: British Columbia has had part-time indemnity coverage in place since 1992.14
In providing accommodation for part-time lawyers, and specifically those who are mothers of young children, the Law Society is helping the legal profession grow in inclusiveness and better reflect the population it serves.15 Efforts must not stop here to accommodate lawyers who are unable to fit the traditional full-time lawyer model.
- The Law Society of Manitoba, “Part-Time Practicing Fees” (last visited 12 August 2024), online: <lawsociety.mb.ca/about/lsm-initiatives/equity-and-diversity/part-time-practising-fees/> [The Law Society of Manitoba, “Part-Time”]. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Terry Davidson, “Manitoba Regular Extending Part-Time Fees Pilot”, Law360 Canada (7 August 2024), online: <law360.ca/ca/accesstojustice/articles/1867198/manitoba-regulator-extending-part-time-fees-pilot>. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- The Law Society of British Columbia, Retention of Women in Law Task Force, The Business Case For Retaining and Advancing Women Lawyers in Private Practice (The Law Society of British Columbia, 2009) at 4. ↩︎
- The Law Society of Manitoba, The Retention and Advancement of Women in Manitoba’s Legal Profession: Next Steps (The Law Society of Manitoba, 2022) at 2 [The Law Society of Manitoba, Advancement of Women]. ↩︎
- Wulong Gu, The Value of Unpaid Childcare and Paid Employment by Gender: What are the Impacts of the Low-Fee Universal Childcare Program? (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2022) at 7. ↩︎
- The Law Society of Manitoba, Advancement of Women, supra note 10 at 2. ↩︎
- Ibid at 2; Joan Brockman, “Leaving the Practice of Law: The Wherefores and the Whys” (1994) 32:1 Alta L Rev 116 at 50. ↩︎
- Brockman, supra note 13 at 50. ↩︎
- Davidson, supra note 6. ↩︎
The views expressed in these blogs do not necessarily reflect the views of the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba and should not be construed as legal advice or endorsement.