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GENERAL
20(1) Subject to any restrictions imposed by or under this Act, a practising lawyer may practise law in Manitoba.
20(2) Except as permitted by or under this Act or another Act, no person shall
(a) carry on the practice of law;
(b) appear as a lawyer before any court or before a justice of the peace;
(c) sue out any writ or process or solicit, commence, carry on or defend any action or proceeding before a court; or
(d) attempt to do any of the things mentioned in clauses (a) to (c).
Activities deemed to be carrying on the practice of law
20(3) A person who does any of the following, directly or indirectly, for or in the expectation of a fee or reward is deemed to be carrying on the practice of law:
(a) draws, revises or settles any of the following documents:
(i) a document relating to real or personal property,
(ii) a document for use in a proceeding, whether judicial or extra-judicial,
(iii) a document relating to the incorporation, administration, organization, reorganization, dissolution or winding-up of a corporation,
(iv) a will, deed, settlement, trust deed or power of attorney, or any document relating to the guardianship or estate of a person,
(v) a document relating to proceedings under any statute of Canada or of Manitoba;
(b) negotiates or solicits the right to negotiate for the settlement of, or settles, a claim for loss or damage founded in tort;
(c) agrees to provide the services of a practising lawyer to any person, unless the agreement is part of, or is made under
(i) a prepaid legal services plan,
(ii) a liability insurance policy, or
(iii) a collective agreement or collective bargaining relationship;
(d) gives legal advice.
20(4) Subsection (2) does not apply to the following:
(a) a public officer acting within the scope of his or her authority as a public officer;
(b) a notary public exercising his or her powers as a notary public;
(b.1) a district registrar or deputy district registrar under The Real Property Act acting within the scope of the duties of a district registrar;
(c) a person preparing a document for his or her own use or to which he or she is a party;
(d) a person acting on his or her own behalf in an action or a proceeding;
(e) an officer or employee of an incorporated or unincorporated organization preparing a document for the use of the organization or to which it is a party.
21 The benchers may make rules permitting and regulating the practice of law by students.
INTERJURISDICTIONAL PRACTICE
22 The benchers may do one or more of the following:
(a) allow lawyers or classes of lawyers who are authorized to practise law in a foreign jurisdiction to practise law in Manitoba;
(b) impose conditions or restrictions on their practice of law in Manitoba;
(c) make rules about their practice of law in Manitoba, including rules that
(i) set a fee for the permission to practise law in Manitoba,
(ii) set conditions, restrictions, rights, privileges, standards or duties that apply to them and their practice of law in Manitoba,
(iii) extend or limit the application of provisions of this Act and the rules to them,
(iv) provide for the release of information about a lawyer or student to the governing body of any jurisdiction in which he or she has sought or is seeking the right to practise law.
23 The benchers may make rules to permit and regulate the practice of law in Manitoba by law firms that have an office in Manitoba and an office in one or more foreign jurisdictions.
Members practising outside Manitoba
24 A member who practises law in a foreign jurisdiction must
(a) comply with the legislation, regulations, rules and code of professional conduct that apply to members of the legal profession of that jurisdiction; and
(b) on request by the authority that governs the legal profession in that jurisdiction, provide the authority with the names of all jurisdictions in which he or she is a member of the legal profession.
LAW FIRMS
24.1 The benchers may make rules respecting law firms that
(a) permit and regulate different types of arrangements to provide legal services, including arrangements between lawyers and between lawyers and non-lawyers, and that establish conditions and requirements for the arrangements;
(b) require law firms to register with the society;
(c) require law firms to designate a practising lawyer of the firm who is to receive official communication from the society;
(d) specify what information the law firms must provide and keep current with the society;
(e) set fees to be paid by law firms.
24.2(1) This Act and the rules apply to members despite any relationship they may have with a law firm.
Obligations to clients not diminished
24.2(2) The fiduciary and ethical obligations of members, and their obligations respecting confidentiality and solicitor-client privilege, to persons receiving legal services are not diminished by the fact that the services are provided by a member through a law firm.
LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIPS
Authority to practise in limited liability partnership
25(1) A person who is authorized by this Part or Part 4 (law corporations) to practise law in Manitoba may carry on the practice as a partner of a limited liability partnership to which Part III of The Partnership Act applies.
Rules re limited liability partnerships
25(2) The benchers may make rules that are not contrary to The Partnership Act respecting limited liability partnerships.
ENFORCEMENT
Employment or engagement of former or suspended member
26 No person shall employ or engage a former member or a member who is suspended from practice to perform, in any capacity whatsoever, services that constitute the practice of law, unless the employment or engagement is approved by the benchers.
27 No person shall falsely represent himself or herself, or another person, as being
(a) a lawyer or student; or
(b) authorized to practise law in Manitoba.
28(1) A person who contravenes any of the following provisions is guilty of an offence:
(a) subsection 20(2) (unauthorized practice);
(b) section 26 (employment or engagement of former or suspended member);
(c) section 27 (false representation).
28(2) If a corporation commits an offence under this section, a director, officer or employee of the corporation who authorized, permitted or acquiesced in the commission of the offence is also guilty of an offence, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted.
28(3) A person who is guilty of an offence under this section is liable, on summary conviction,
(a) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $6,000.; and
(b) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $30,000.
28(4) Every fine imposed under this section is payable to the Minister of Finance.
Prosecution by society or others
28(5) Anyone may prosecute an offence under this section, and the government may pay to the prosecutor, out of any fine recovered, an amount that the government considers an appropriate contribution toward the prosecution costs.
28(6) [Repealed] S.M. 2013, c. 47, Sch. A, s. 129.
Society may apply for injunction
29(1) The society may apply to the Court of Queen’s Bench for an injunction restraining a person from contravening this Part.
29(2) The court may grant the injunction against the person if satisfied that there is reason to believe that the person has contravened or will contravene this Part.
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