Part 1 – Definitions and General

1.1 Interpretation

1.1.1 In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires

(a) “approved principal” means a practicing lawyer or a law firm that has satisfied the requirements of sub regulation 3.5.2;

(b) “articled clerk” means a person enrolled in the Society’s bar admission program and registered on the register of articled clerks;

(c) “articling agreement” means the form that outlines the contractual relationship between a principal and an articled clerk;

(d) “articling plan” means an outline that shows how an education plan will be applied to an individual articled clerk;

(da) “certificate of legal effect” has the same meaning as s. 18 of the Land Registration Act;

(e) “caution” means a determination that a member of the Society has breached the standards of legal ethics or professional conduct expected of members but in circumstances where such breach does not constitute
professional misconduct, conduct unbecoming, professional incompetence or incapacity;

(f) “certificate of standing” is a document from a law society in a foreign jurisdiction which discloses the current standing, the professional responsibility, discipline and insurance history of the member in that jurisdiction and any other information that may be required by the Society;

(fa) “Code of Professional Conduct” means the Code of Professional Conduct adopted by Council and effective on January 1, 2012;

(g) “counsel” means a determination that a member of the Society could benefit from professional guidance from the Society with regard to the subject matter of the complaint in circumstances that do not constitute
professional misconduct, conduct unbecoming, professional incompetence or incapacity, and “counseling” has a similar meaning;

(h) “credentials appeal panel” – means a panel established to hold appeal hearings and make orders, including orders as to costs, concerning the admission and reinstatement of persons as members of the Society in each of the categories of membership pursuant to subregulation 3.11;

(i) “discipline” includes a finding by a governing body of any of the following:

  1. professional misconduct,
  2. incompetence,
  3. conduct unbecoming a lawyer,
  4. lack of physical or mental capacity to engage in the practice of law, or
  5. any other breach of a lawyer’s professional responsibilities;

(j) “discipline record” includes any of the following, unless reversed on appeal or review:

  1. any action taken by a governing body as a result of discipline,
  2. disbarment,
  3. a lawyer’s resignation or otherwise ceasing to be a member of a governing body as a result of disciplinary proceedings,
  4. restrictions or limits in a lawyer’s entitlement to practice, other than those imposed as a result of failure to pay fees to a governing body, insolvency or bankruptcy or other administrative matter,
  5. any interim suspension or restriction or limits on a lawyer’s entitlement to practice imposed pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing;

(k) “education plan” means a plan prepared by a principal to outline the means by which an articled clerk will receive training and education in the core lawyering skills and attributes which are prescribed by the Credentials Committee;

(l) “fee” includes any amount that a member is required to pay to the Society pursuant to s.15(2) and the regulations made pursuant to s. 15(2);

(m) “form” means a standardized document prescribed for purposes of providing information or making an application to the Society;

(ma) “foundation documents” means information on which a practicing lawyer relied in support of the exercise of professional judgment in rendering an opinion of title or certificate of legal effect, and includes an abstract of title, searches, documents, notes, survey fabric, or other title information, whether prepared by the lawyer or others and all information required to be kept pursuant to the Land Registration Administration Regulations;

(n) “foreign legal consultant” means a person qualified to provide legal services in a jurisdiction other than Canada who practises the law of that foreign jurisdiction in the Province;

(o) “internal review” means a review of a decision of the Executive Director made pursuant to subregulations 3.10;

(p) “judgment” includes a Consolidation Order issued pursuant to the provisions of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada) respecting orderly payment of debts;

(q) “LRA Agreement” means the Agreement between the Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations and the Society dated March 7th, 2003, regarding the relationship, duties and responsibilities between the Society and the Minister in relation to Land Registration Act, S.N.S. 2001, c. 6 as amended;

(r) “law firm” includes a sole practitioner, partnership, law corporation, any other joint arrangement, or any legal entity carrying on the practice of law;

(s) “life member” includes a sole practitioner, a person who has been a member for at least 50 years, is no longer engaged in the practice of law and is exempted from the payment of fees to the Society;

(sa)”opinion of title” means a practicing lawyer’s or law firm’s opinion on the title to or interest in land.

(t) “money” means currency, cheques, drafts, money orders, credit card slips and electronic funds transfer received by a practising lawyer;

(u) “non-practising member” means a person who has been called to the bar but does not hold a practising certificate and is not a retired or life member;

(v) “practising lawyer” means a lawyer who holds a practising certificate;

(w) “reciprocating jurisdiction” means a law society in another province or territory of Canada which has executed and implemented the National Mobility Agreement, as amended from time to time, of the Federations of Law Societies of Canada;

(x) “remedial agreement” means an agreement approved by the Fitness to Practise Committee setting out the terms and conditions to be met by a member to address issues of incapacity;

(y) “retired member” means a member of the Society who is no longer earning employment income.

(z) “review subcommittee” means a subcommittee of the Credentials Committee established to conduct an internal review

(aa) “trust account” means a general trust account or a specific trust account;

(bb) “trust money” includes:

  1. money received in trust belonging in whole or in part to a client, or to be held on behalf of the client, or at the direction or order of a client or another, and
  2. money advanced to a practising lawyer for fees for services not yet rendered or for disbursements not yet made;

(cc) “trust property” includes

  1. any property of value belonging to a client, other than trust money, received by a practising lawyer in trust, or to be held on behalf of or at the direction or order of a client, or another person, or
  2. money held by a practising lawyer, belonging in whole or in part to a client or another person, which is held under escrow conditions;

(dd) “visiting lawyer” means a lawyer who is entitled to practise law in a Canadian jurisdiction other than the Province;

Interpretation Act

1.1.2 Except where a contrary intention appears, the interpretation provisions of the Act and the Interpretation Act shall apply to these Regulations.

Days Excluded from Time Requirements

1.1.3 The period of days in these Regulations that permits or requires something to be done in a number of days does not include any of the following:

  1. the day the period begins;
  2. a Saturday or Sunday in the period;
  3. a weekday the office of the Society is closed during the period;
  4. the day on which a thing is required, or first permitted, to be done.

Delivery when Office is Closed

1.1.4 A document delivered on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a weekday that the office of the Society is closed is considered to be delivered on the next weekday when the office of the Society is open.

Delivery after 4:30

1.1.5 A document delivered after four-thirty on an afternoon is considered to be delivered on the next weekday when the office of the Society is open.

Day Defined

1.1.6  A day is the period between midnight and the instant before midnight marking the beginning of the next day.

Time Definition Act

1.1.7  For the purposes of Section 3 of the Time Definition Act, a year is the 365 days from midnight of a day on the Gregorian calendar to the instant before midnight marking the beginning of the same numbered day, in the same month, in the following year, except a year that starts on the twenty-ninth day of February ends on the first day of March in the following calendar year.

Forms

1.1.8  Unless otherwise required by these Regulations, forms to be used for various purposes will be prescribed by the Executive Director and shall take effect when they are published as a schedule to these Regulations.

Seal of the Society

1.1.9   The seal of the Society shall contain the name of the Society in English and in French surrounding an image of scales of justice balancing on the tip of a sword and the Latin phrase “ubi jus ibi officium” which means “where there is right, there is duty”.