Practice Checklists Manual

The Law Society’s Practice Checklists Manual is a professional reference for BC lawyers, maintained with the assistance of the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC.

Highlights of the 2023 Practice Checklists

The Law Society would like to thank the 2023 contributors who helped develop the practice checklists.

Unless otherwise stated, each checklist is current to approximately September 1, 2023.

Client identification, verification and source of money

Client Identification, Verification and Source of Money, current to April 1, 2024 Word | pdf

Client file opening and closing

Client file opening and closing Word | pdf

New and notable

Law Society Notable Updates List 2023 Word | pdf

Corporate and commercial

Criminal

Criminal Procedure Word | pdf
Judicial Interim Release Procedure Word | pdf
Sentencing Procedure Word | pdf
Impaired/Over 80 Trial Examination of Witnesses Word | pdf

Family

Litigation

Real estate

Residential Conveyance Procedure Word | pdf
Mortgage Procedure Word | pdf
Mortgage Drafting Word | pdf

Wills and estates

Human rights

Human Rights Complaint Procedure Word | pdf

Immigration

Protection Claim Word | pdf
Appeal Against Deportation Word | pdf

Use of the checklists

Although the checklists are the result of a careful consideration of each area of the law covered, they are not intended as a substitute for the professional judgment of a lawyer. An attempt has been made to be comprehensive, but the checklists are not exhaustive. Nor are they intended to impose mandatory guidelines for practice in any of the areas covered. In many cases, it will not be necessary to carry out all the activities outlined in the checklists; in other cases, alternative procedures may be more appropriate. The checklists are intended primarily to assist in the organization of a matter and to suggest things that a lawyer should consider.

We suggest that, when opening a file, you place copies of the relevant checklists to place in the file folder. When you first review a “procedure” checklist for a file, assign a responsible individual and due date for each relevant item, and mark inapplicable items with an “X” in the NA (not applicable) column. When you deal with the file subsequently, you will not have to re-read each item on a long checklist; you may concentrate on the applicable items only. It may be prudent, however, to make a final review of all checklist items before finalizing the file in case an item originally marked “NA” has become relevant in the interim.

Some checklists, such as the “drafting” ones, appear in a slightly different form than the “procedure” checklists. They have a column for recording notes.

You may find it useful to customize some of the checklists for use in your particular areas of practice.

Caveat

The authors of the checklists have assumed that lawyers will exercise their professional judgement respecting the correctness and applicability of the material. Checklists and forms should be used only as an initial reference point. Reliance on them to the exclusion of other resources is imprudent, as conduct of each file depends on its own particular circumstances and instructions of the client.

The practice checklists should be used only as a secondary reference. For definitive answers, lawyers should refer to applicable statutes, regulations, practice directions and case law.

The Law Society of British Columbia, the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia and the authors and editors of the manual accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions, and expressly disclaim any such responsibility.

All references to statutory amendments, new case law and changes in practice are current to the date indicated at the beginning of each checklist.