Bhatia lauded licensees for completing administrative requirements within deadline
Priya Bhatia, the acting chief executive officer of the Law Society of Ontario, has acknowledged the “steep learning curve” for licensees, licensing candidates, and its employees following the implementation of the LSO Connects portal last year.
She lauded the majority of licensees for completing administrative requirements by March 31, the first administrative deadline set since LSO Connects debuted. She noted that compliance rates were similar to previous years’.
“I appreciate that this has been a steep learning curve for licensees, licensing candidates, and our employees, but we’ve made it through the hurdle of our first March 31 administrative deadline. Creating and populating accounts for approximately 71,000 licensees and 8,000 licensing applicants in nine months, is no small feat. I thank all participants for your patience and cooperation,” Bhatia said in a statement.
She conceded that the volume of inquiries to the Law Society had “understandably” risen this year, with licensees contacting the organization over difficulties in navigating LSO Connects. Recently, a number of lawyers voiced their concerns with the portal – and with the LSO itself.
“This is the single largest project that the Law Society has ever undertaken, both from a budgetary standpoint, and from a human resource standpoint,” Bhatia explained. “The LSO team kept the mandated regulatory work of the organization going while working to build this new system, migrate masses of data, test processes, communicate with licensees and stakeholders, and respond to an elevated number of queries post-launch, many of which resulted in updates to functionality.”
She assured system users that the LSO was taking feedback into account and working to enhance LSO Connects.
“Regular updates are being made to resolve issues and enhance functionality, and we will continue to refine and evolve the system based on the feedback we receive. We are looking to create more opportunities to hear from you to inform ongoing enhancements to the system,” Bhatia said. “At the end of the day, our goal is for you to be able to self-serve as much as possible in your interactions with us, so you can spend your valuable time competently serving the needs of your clients and attending to the many demands of your law practice.”
She explained that the LSO had a team dedicated to helping licensees navigate the LSO Connects system, along with resources on its website. She urged those who needed assistance to contact the LSO via LSO Connects, email, or phone.
Bhatia also noted that as of April 2, 93 percent of lawyers and 86 per cent of paralegals met their annual fee requirement; 92 percent of lawyers and 86 per cent of paralegals met their annual report requirement; and 98 percent of lawyers and 96 percent of paralegals met their Continuing Professional Development requirement.
