Team Manager, Trustee Services, Regulatory Services

Job Summary

Provides leadership and oversight into the day-to-day operations of the Trustee Services team. Serves as the legal authority for Trustee Services matters, delivering substantive legal expertise, legal counsel, guidance, and mentorship to staff to support the provision of expert advice, regulatory intervention, and complex case management aimed at protecting client property and safeguarding the public interest through the orderly wind-up of professional businesses. Oversees matters where the Law Society has agreed to become trustee or has been appointed by the court as trustee of the professional businesses of licensees, as well as matters where the Law Society has obtained a freeze order over bank accounts associated with the professional businesses of licensees.

Trustee Services involvement arises when a licensee dies, disappears, becomes incapacitated, abandons their professional business, or has had their license suspended or revoked, and inadequate provisions have been made to protect client property and the public interest. Trustee Services may also become involved where a licensee is under investigation for conduct that creates a risk to client property or the public interest. In addition, Trustee Services provides support and assistance to licensees in the area of succession and contingency planning.

Key Accountabilities

1. Client / Customer Service Planning

• Develops strategies for court proceedings, assessing the necessity of legal action and key considerations such as involved parties (e.g., licensee, corporation), service requirements, potential risks, and the most effective approach to achieving the desired outcome.
• Helps establish risk criteria and operational guidelines for matters such as initiating formal court action, and the timing, nature and extent of intervention into licensees' professional businesses, guidelines for the execution of Court orders in places of business and private residences, and rules directing the storage, destruction or distribution of property belonging to clients of licensees.

2. Client/Customer Service Delivery

Accountable for decisions regarding the orderly wind up of professional businesses. This includes:

Custodianships and Consulting Cases

• Oversees Custodianship cases, including formal agreements governing the Law Society's assumption of files and/or funds from licensees' professional businesses and matters involving the Law Society's de facto assumption of abandoned client property.
• Manages Consulting cases, including providing guidance and support to licensees, their families, staff, and representatives regarding the wind-up of professional businesses.
• Follows up on the disposition of practices of deceased licensees and provides support and guidance with respect to contingency and succession planning.

Counsel Services & Representation of the Law Society

• Develops case strategy and assesses complaints or evidence referred to Trustee Services, including potential risks to clients, the public, and the Law Society.
• Prepares materials for and obtains court orders, including trusteeship orders, freeze orders, motions for directions, variations of orders, interim reports, passing of accounts, discharges of trusteeships, and other orders under the Law Society Act and Trustee Act.
• Manages matters involving extraordinary or injunctive relief, including relief that may be obtained on an ex parte basis and that may significantly affect licensees' interests, clients' property, and the Law Society's responsibilities as trustee.
• Intervenes in formal proceedings where client or Law Society interests are at risk.
• Negotiates and obtains custodianship agreements and undertakings with licensees or their representatives.

Practice Recovery & Response

• Pursuant to a court order or agreement, supervises the recovery of professional businesses and client property, including attending at offices, residences, and other locations, and coordinating with police, landlords, locksmiths, and others where required.
• Supervises the handling, security, and inventory of client property, and conducts file review and risk assessment to determine urgency and required action on client matters.
• Determines the proper disposition of client files and documents, including client notifications, delivery of materials to clients or successor counsel, assistance from local licensees, reporting of potential negligence claims to LAWPRO, and referrals to the Law Society's Compensation Fund.
• Intervenes or communicates with courts, agencies, administrative bodies, or opposing counsel where necessary to protect clients' interests.
• Responds to inquiries from the public and the profession related to trusteeships, including the location of client files, records, and trust assets.

Administration of Trust Monies

• Supervises the recovery of trust monies from financial institutions and others, with respect to the analysis and disposition of client trust monies.
• Engages in analyses of books, records, and other accounting data to assist in the reconciliation of trust accounts, determination of trust entitlement, and proper disposition of trust funds.
• Provides accounting of trust funds to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and makes recommendations concerning the appropriate distribution of funds.
• Provides information to clients who are victims of licensee dishonesty about possible claims to the Compensation Fund.

Carriage of Cases and Administration of Trusteeships/Custodianships

• Represents the Law Society in Ontario Superior Court of Justice proceedings related to freeze orders and trusteeships under ss. 49.44 to 49.52 of the Law Society Act and relevant sections of the Trustee Act.
• Negotiates custodianship arrangements with licensees or their representatives.
• Supervises the administration of assigned trusteeships and custodianships, including on-site practice recoveries, review and triage of client files, and identification of active and urgent matters.
• Analyzes books, records, and accounting data to determine entitlement to trust funds and ensure the proper distribution of funds recovered from professional businesses.

Divisional Activities

• Participates in committees and conferences to coordinate case strategies with other departments.
• Provides evidence before Hearing Panels of possible misconduct.

3. People Leadership

• Manages direct reports, including recruitment, onboarding, work assignment, performance management, employee relations, and professional development, in accordance with organizational policies and human resources best practices.
• Establishes performance expectations, monitors results, provides ongoing coaching and feedback, and conducts performance evaluations to support individual accountability and team effectiveness.
• Leads and develops the Trustee Services team by building technical capability, identifying development opportunities, supporting career growth, and fostering a collaborative, high-performing work environment.
• Oversees workflow, caseload allocation, resource requirements, and operational priorities to ensure services are delivered effectively, consistently, and in accordance with departmental objectives.
• Promotes continuous improvement by setting team goals, implementing performance standards, and identifying opportunities to enhance processes, service delivery, and operational effectiveness.
• Provides functional leadership, legal expertise, and operational guidance to Trustee Services and other Regulatory Services staff, as appropriate, including coaching, mentoring, training, and providing input on performance, development, and staffing decisions for employees who do not directly report to the position.
• Acts on behalf of the Director, Regulatory Services, as delegated, to ensure continuity of operations and effective management of Trustee Services activities.

4. Policy, Standards and Process Improvement

• Acts as a subject matter expert, educator, and advocate for Trustee Services, promoting its mandate and services to licensees, Law Society staff, and other stakeholders.
• Communicates program objectives and services to licensees and members of the public, fostering confidence in the Law Society and supporting its public interest mandate.
• Identifies areas requiring policy development or revision, conducts research on priority issues, and contributes to policy initiatives and continuous process improvement.
• Participates in the development and implementation of policies, procedures, operating frameworks, and practice standards for Trustee Services and Professional Regulation, including those governing court proceedings and interventions into licensees' professional businesses.
• Establishes and monitors procedural and quality standards to ensure services are delivered consistently, effectively, and in accordance with Law Society objectives, regulatory requirements, and Convocation directives.
• Supports the development and administration of policies and procedures with significant external impact, including those affecting licensees, clients, court processes, and the protection of the public interest.
• May take a leadership role in special projects, working groups and committees related to the work in the Regulatory Services department and the Professional Regulation Division.

5. Financial Responsibility

• Collaborates with Trustee Services staff regarding the disposition of client property, including trust monies, and, when required, prepares materials and appears before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to obtain directions regarding the disbursement of funds.
• Acts as a signing authority for Trustee Services mixed trust accounts and makes decisions regarding the investment of funds recovered from professional businesses.
• In conjunction with the Director, Regulatory Services, the Team Manager, Trustee Services, is responsible for maintaining Trustee Services mixed trust accounts, investment accounts, and financial records in accordance with Law Society By-Law 9 and internal audit controls.
• In conjunction with the Director, Regulatory Services and the Administration Manager, the Team Manager, Trustee Services, contributes to the development and maintenance of the Trustee Services budget, including the management and approval of staff expenditures.
• Makes significant expenditure decisions with minimal oversight, including expenditures related to practice recovery operations throughout Ontario and the storage and destruction of client property.

Qualifications

• Requires an LLB/JD and class L1 licence with the Law Society of Ontario in good standing.
• Requires a minimum of 7 years' related experience of legal experience as an advocate, preferably in a professional regulatory body, or a legal environment with an extensive civil litigation practice.
• Requires a minimum of 3 years' supervisory / leadership experience.
• A valid class "G" driver's license is required.

Professional knowledge:

• Experience gained as a sole practitioner or in a small firm environment is an asset.
• Experience in estates court is an asset.
• Legal areas of practice (e.g., wills and estates, real estate, family, corporate and criminal law).
• Law office accounting requirements.
• Current trends and developments in the legal profession (e.g., practice management, accounting and bookkeeping, etc.).
• A variety of dispute resolution techniques.

Technical skills:

• Microsoft Office Suite / 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).
• The broad application of technical in a regulatory / legal environment.
• Accounting and bookkeeping software.
• Case management applications.

Competencies:

• Customer service skills
• Negotiation skills with tact and diplomacy
• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Project coordination, prioritization, and time management skills
• Interpersonal, oral, and written communication, and presentation skills
• Organizational and multitasking skills with attention to detail
• Relationship Management

Working Conditions / Travel:

• Works at a computer desk in a hybrid arrangement at the office and at home.
• Travels periodically throughout the GTA and Ontario, on short notice, and occasionally overnight, to perform and/or oversee trusteeship interventions and practice wind-up activities, with the potential for extended periods of travel when dealing with practice wind-ups in remote locations. May also be required to travel to conduct office visits or investigations related to compliance with orders and undertakings. May travel to attend conference and training programs.
• Working on the licensees' premises will occasionally require the incumbent to lift and carry a weight of 30 pounds, as well as stand for extended periods.
• Occasionally work at external locations that are uncomfortable and may be hazardous. Premises where seizures occur are unclean, unsanitary, and subject to excessive temperatures and certain hazards (insects, molds, enclosed spaces, offensive odours, etc.).