658 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 79 PART 5 SEPTEMBER 2021
Each of the Law Society’s 12,682 members contributed the following
amounts to the following organizations in 2019:
ORGANIZATION TOTAL PER LAWYER
Courthouse Libraries Society $2,775,015 $218.81
Lawyers Assistance Program $791,161 $62.38
CanLII $484,063 $38.17
Federation of Law Societies $365,915 $28.85
Pro Bono $355,733 $28.05
The Advocate $331,487 $26.14
Maybe you accessed some or none of these organizations or their services.
In any case, the benchers deemed it in the public interest for your fees
to go to these entities. You paid the least for the Advocate. Six issues of the
Advocate in 2019 cost you $26.14 in 2019. That is $2.18 per month. We have
been using the “less than the price of a cup of coffee” argument with the
Law Society for at least five years. This is mainly because, while the price
of a cup of coffee goes up, we work mighty hard at the Advocate to keep the
subscription rate exactly the same.
We have made written submissions3 and verbal presentations to the Law
Society’s Finance Committee over the past several years. We have explained
at length how our mandate helps them fulfil theirs. We have provided 20
years’ worth of articles and covers clearly showing the Advocate’s commitment
to diversity. Ludmila Herbst, Q.C.’s article “Advocate Articles: Judicially
or Otherwise Considered” (2018) 76 Advocate 279 is a non-exhaustive
review of 209 cases referencing Advocate articles in case law up to 2018.
This past July, we provided a list of additional cases from the Supreme
Court of Canada, courts of appeal and superior courts across Canada citing
Advocate articles.4 The Advocate helps develop the law.
The benchers have all the facts from us. But we feel that what they really
need is to hear from our readers. So over to you. If you choose to voice your
support for the Advocate, you will be in good company. Here is a fraction of
what some of our readers have told the Law Society about why they think
the Advocate should continue to be fully subscribed by all members of the
B.C. bar:
• “At a time when the virtues of collegiality and intellectuality are
under siege, I would strongly urge the Law Society to redouble its
support for the Advocate and to view the publication through a lens