Discover how the Trial Lawyers Association of BC empowers legal professionals in Canada with resources, advocacy, and education
Litigation — which includes lawyering in and out of the court — is the bulk of the lawyer’s role for their clients, and even the public. To survive in this profession, it’s impossible to isolate oneself from the rest of the legal community.
One of the ways that lawyers do to receive support is by joining lawyers’ associations; in British Columbia, trial lawyers find refuge with the Trial Lawyers Association of BC.
In this article, which can be used by lawyers who are interested in joining them, we’ll discuss the advantages and benefits of joining this lawyers’ association, and a whole lot more.
The Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia (TLABC) is non-profit service organization of trial lawyers from different practice areas and expertise across the province. It was founded in 1980 and has now around 1,500 members.
Membership with the TLABC is voluntary. Members can receive a lot of benefits, including legal resources, interactive education services, and communication network. Through TLABC, trial lawyers in the province can network with one another, aside from providing mutual support.
This coming May 2025, it will be organizing its very first TLABC Convention to be held in Vancouver. It will be a two-day educational event, where speakers on diverse themes will also be invited.
Just like the other lawyers’ associations in Canada, bulk of the benefits that members have is accessing legal resources that can help them with their duties as a lawyer. This is apart from networking events with the other trial lawyers in the province. There’s also room for joining the public advocacies of TLABC.
For the most part, there are many member-only resources that you can have access to after applying for TLABC membership. These exclusive benefits include access to different listservs, legal education materials, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programs, and member savings.
TLABC offers trial practice and area-specific listservs for its members. Through these listservs, you will have organized access to your colleagues in the legal profession. Here, you can send the listserv your questions, which will be received by all the list members.
It’s a great opportunity for connecting with each other, getting answers to your immediate inquiries, and learning from the responses of other lawyers. Here are the following listservs by TLABC to choose from:
Trial Practice Listserv: complimentary with your TLABC membership; after your membership has been verified, you’ll be automatically added to this listserv
Paralegal & Legal Assistants Network: for TLABC paralegal members and support staff of TLABC members
Practice Group Listservs: need a separate annual subscription fee, with each practice group having their own eligibility rules; these groups include:
Your experience with a listserv can be customized, such as changing your preferences or controlling the volume of emails you’re receiving. You can also access and browse through TLABC listserv archives, which contain previous inquiries that were already answered.
Listservs are separate from the member directories, which can only be accessed by the lawyer-members of TLABC. This is another tool for you to use when looking for other lawyers to help you in any way.
TLABC is one of the providers of CPD programs for lawyers in the province. You can access these programs to earn CPD credits. Aside from these, there are additional resources that TLABC provides you with, such as:
The public have access and can purchase archived previous education programs through the Materials Store. But if you’re a TLABC member, you’ll have complementary access to all past seminar reference materials (i.e., reference papers and PowerPoint presentations) as one of your member benefits.
As TLABC’s very own publication, the Verdict brings news and information to its members. It includes articles, reports, products, and services related to the legal issues that BC trial lawyers may be concerned with.
Although subscription to the Verdict is complementary for the TLABC members, firms and non-members can also subscribe but subject to certain fees. As a sneak peak, below is the latest issue of the Verdict:
The Winter issue of the Verdict is here! Read about children's capacity to take part in legal matters, what to do when mediation fails, and more. TLABC members, read your copy here: https://t.co/tUZFOJvNme pic.twitter.com/pIB1zt2rxJ
— TLABC (@tla_bc) December 4, 2024
Check out our Special Report on The Top Litigation Law Firms in Canada, which lists some of the best trial lawyers and firms across the country.
Aside from professional development, becoming a member of the TLABC can save you some dollars through its member savings programs, such as:
Another member-only feature of TLABC is access to its classifieds and job board. In this part of their website, you can either post job postings if you want to hire another colleague or a paralegal. You can also look for job postings when looking for a job yourself.
To honour its members who have greatly contributed to the association and the public, the TLABC gives its own awards, which are presented during the annual Spring Soiree:
As one of the voices of lawyers in the province, TLABC is active in different advocacy work and engagement in many pressing legal issues and campaigns. Most especially, TLABC is involved in promoting positive changes, both in current laws and those which are yet to be passed, including the rules of court proceedings.
Below are just some of the issues that the TLABC has engaged with for the past few years:
advocated against the changing to a no-fault insurance system of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC)
challenged the 6% cap on disbursements on the Disbursements and Expert Evidence Regulation after it has been amended
promotion of legal aid activities through its members and partnerships with the Association of Legal Aid Lawyers and the Legal Aid BC
challenged the limits introduced by the minor injury caps of the Government of BC on the current tort system for auto insurance
Here’s a recent example of advocacy work of TLABC for its lawyer-members, when it campaigned against Bill 21 or the Legal Professions Act 2024:
“The dangers in this bill aren’t just the self-regulation of lawyers, it’s the powers that government now has over the legal profession.” Immediate Past President, Michael Elliott spoke to BC Today about the Legal Professions Act 2024. https://t.co/d8uULuocsB#bclegal #tlabc pic.twitter.com/khUSuJpS2j
— TLABC (@tla_bc) December 17, 2024
Get to know the trial lawyers who made it to our Special Report of The Best Law Firms in BC, Alberta, and the Northern Territories.
Generally, the TLABC does not get directly involved in individual lawsuits, act on behalf of a litigant, become their counsel, nor does it provide legal advice.
However, it may apply to intervene, or assist in certain cases and during appeals, if the case is of significant public interest and such a move is with the support of its members. Otherwise, the best it can do is refer a litigant who needs help to the Lawyer Referral Service, which is operated by Access Pro Bono.
This intervention by the TLABC is part of its advocacy since the results of these cases may become precedents in future ones with similar situations.
To support its advocacies and other public affairs programs, the TLABC’s PAC conducts fundraising activities. Its funds are used for non-operational expenses, most of which are used for programs that address justice-related issues as part of their advocacies.
To be a member of the Trial Lawyers Association of BC, you must either:
Upon submission of your application, it will be processed within one week. A confirmation will be sent to your email afterwards. The membership year is from July 1 of the current year, through June 30 the following year. Membership dues may be prorated based on your date of application (e.g., if you join TLABC mid-year).
Your membership with the TLABC will depend on the Membership Category that is appropriate for you. These categories will also matter as far as the membership dues you’ll have to pay.
Aside from the trial lawyers in BC, non-practising lawyers and even law students can join the TLABC, regardless of practice area. Below are the membership categories that you can choose from when applying for membership with TLABC:
Regular: for practising and licensed lawyers in BC, who mostly represent the plaintiff in civil and administrative cases (e.g., personal injury, insurance, wrongful death, medical negligence, employment) or the accused in criminal cases, or in any other legal practice areas
Associate: for practising and licenced lawyers in BC, but do not qualify for Regular membership, because they either represent the defence in civil and administrative cases, or they act for the Crown or agents in criminal cases, rather than the accused
Benefactor: a premium membership category with higher membership dues, but with additional perks, such as 50% discount on education seminars, and complimentary listserv subscriptions for themselves and their paralegal or legal assistant
Sustaining: another premium membership category with higher membership dues, with $50 discount for each education seminar, and two complimentary practice group listserv subscriptions
Out-of-Province: for lawyers who primarily live and practise outside BC, and are members in good standing with the Law Society or licensing body where they live and practise law
Articling Student: for law students who are currently completing their articles, they are free from any membership dues
Law Student: for full-time law students in an accredited Canadian law school, they are also free from any membership dues
Paralegal/Legal Assistant: for paralegals and legal assistants who are employed full-time by a lawyer member in good standing of TLABC
Retired/Non-Practising Lawyer: for lawyers who have fully retired from the legal practice, and/or temporarily not practising law, but want to maintain their membership and benefits with the TLABC
Non-Lawyer: for those outside of the legal profession, i.e., not lawyers in BC, but want to support the goals and purposes of TLABC
Regular members are the only voting members among these categories, while the rest are non-voting ones. As voting members, they’re also allowed to be elected to any office in the TLABC.
Both Benefactors and Sustaining members will be acknowledged in the Verdict, on signage during TLABC events, and on the TLABC website, plus other VIP experiences.
Your membership dues will also depend on the membership category that fits you:
The purpose of the Trial Lawyers Association of BC can be summed up in two ways: professional development of its members and advocating for the lawyers and the public. There are a lot of opportunities for its lawyer-members, especially its CPD programs and for networking. TLABC also engages with the wider community with its several advocacies.
Bookmark our page on Professional Regulation for more resources about the different lawyers’ associations, including the Trial Lawyers Association of BC.
