AUTHORITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND DEMOCRACY IN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ONTARIO LEGAL PROFESSION

Abstract

The Law Society Act of 1970 subjected the government of the legal profession in Ontario to systematic scrutiny for the first time in half a century. H.W. Arthurs studies the powers and functions of the Law Society and its form of governance, and concludes that the new Act moves the regulation of the legal profession beyond mere accountability to representative or even participatory democracy. Moreover, the introduction of public accountability through the Act is itself a major advance. At bottom, scrutiny of the legal profession is here to stay.