The Law Society of Alberta is pleased to announce that, effective January 1, 2017, Clio was approved for our Electronic Trust Transaction Report (ETTR) Program.

In 2011, the Law Society introduced the ETTR Program that enabled lawyers to electronically submit their trust accounting data through our secure file sharing site, Accellion. Through this automated program, the Law Society can audit 100 per cent of accounting transactions of any law firm utilizing approved law firm accounting software. The data from the ETTR uploads allow us to analyze transactions much more quickly, which is a vital part in catching frauds early.

Previously, LexisNexis PCLaw and ESILaw were the only two approved software vendors used for the data upload. Alberta lawyers have raised concerns regarding the limited options of available approved trust accounting software. The Law Society is helping progress the practice of law by expanding the types of trust accounting solutions lawyers can use.

Over the last year, the Law Society’s Trust Safety department worked with software vendors to standardize the format of their software’s trust accounting data to ensure compatibility and compliance with our requirements. The Law Society will continue working with other software vendors to provide lawyers with more options to upload their trust accounting data.

FAQs and user guidelines are available for lawyers interested in using Clio for their data uploads. An overview of Clio’s trust accounting features is available here.

Technical questions regarding the software should be directed to Clio’s technical support. If you have any questions about the Law Society’s ETTR Program and available software, please contact our Trust Safety department.

The interest rate for awards under section 4(2) of the Judgment Interest Act has been set at 0.53 per cent for the period of January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017.

The Assessment Review Board (ARB) is looking for Calgarians to serve as members of the Board. The ARB hears formal complaints from the public who disagree with the assessed values of property and business, as determined by The City of Calgary. If you are interested in joining the ARB, you should have a background in law, assessment, real estate, property management, property development or property appraisal. Learn more about how you can make a difference to the Calgary Community or watch this video. The application deadline is February 3, 2017.