BCLMA | Human Resources Subsection | Activity

Tania Coull replied to the topic AI Tools and Access in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:09:39 -0700

On a related topic, how do those using AI handle the client disclosure and/or consent?

Tania Coull replied to the topic Managed IT Services in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 21:03:53 -0700

Our firm uses BMC and since being taken over by Telus we find the support service level and technician knowledge have declined and projects are poorly planned/communicated/managed. CSM’s are responsive and sympathetic, but it’s frustrating, especially when they provided us with such good service in the past.

Kirsten Whitley replied to the topic Pay Transparency Reports in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 17:24:47 -0700

Management is currently reviewing our report and communications. We will likely post by early next week

Kirsten

Melissa Nichol replied to the topic Pay Transparency Reports in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 23:42:14 -0700

Hi Christin!

We haven’t completed the reports quite yet. We are still allowing employees to update their gender (should they choose) but we don’t anticipate that we will have any trouble meeting the November 1 deadline.

If you have a publicly accessible website, you do have to publish it there. If you don’t have a publicly accessible website,…Read more

Karen Vandervoort replied to the topic Pay Transparency Reports in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 23:41:34 -0700

Hi Christin. I am in the process of preparing our report. The legislation required the report to be posted on a website or other location where it is publicly available, and not just accessible to employees.

Christin Tschacher started the topic Pay Transparency Reports in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 23:35:19 -0700

Hi there,
With the deadline approaching, have any of you posted reports publicly on their website?
Are we permitted to distribute copies of the report directly to our employees instead?
Thanks!

Robyn Benjamin replied to the topic Birthday Recognition in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 17:23:20 -0700

As a small firm, we have capacity to give everyone a birthday card and a group treat of their choice to be shared with in one in office that day. We also provide a paid day off to everyone on their birthday as a thank you/wellness perk. There are a few parameters to the birthday day off to make sure the practice meets the intentions of offering…Read more

Jennifer Funk replied to the topic Birthday Recognition in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:32:20 -0700

We celebrate staff birthdays monthly with a pizza lunch and cake, and a $50 gift card for everyone who has a birthday that month.

Kim Bates replied to the topic Birthday Recognition in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 20:44:26 -0700

Hi – we are a mid sized firm. We send an email out at the beginning of each month recognizing the bdays. We also give a card with a $25 GC on the actual day. We usually also do a monthly lunch and celebrate everyone but we will be stopping the lunches and carrying on with the rest. Hope that helps!

Alison Fletcher replied to the topic Birthday Recognition in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 23:55:03 -0700

Thanks very much everyone!

Alison

Michelle Yang replied to the topic Birthday Recognition in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 23:35:21 -0700

Boutique firm — we do an announcement on teams, a birthday card, and a giftcard (usually Amazon).

We talked about doing monthly cake days but maybe next year.

Claudia Mendoza replied to the topic Birthday Recognition in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 23:13:30 -0700

At the beginning of the month, we send all staff with upcoming birthdays a survey where they can choose a $25 gift card (Sephora, Cactus Club, Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Chapters etc). They also have the option of making a donation to a charity of their choice for $25 instead of the GC.

Rubyna Jinnah replied to the topic Birthday Recognition in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 22:08:34 -0700

We celebrate our birthdays quarterly with cake. At the celebration, we have cake and wish everyone a happy birthday. It gives people a chance to mingle with each other if they don’t necessarily see each other daily due to being on another floor. HR will also send a birthday email to people on their birthday.

Cadence Konopaki replied to the topic Birthday Recognition in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 22:05:19 -0700

We have an internal announcement on the day of someone’s birthday, but that’s it.

Alison Fletcher started the topic Birthday Recognition in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 21:23:31 -0700

Hello all,

We are re-looking at our staff birthday recognition and are interested in what other firms do, if anything, in this regard. Currently we provide a gift card of staff’s choice on their birthday. In the past we have had a monthly birthday cake however moved away from that around Covid time. I’m also noticing people don’t necessarily…Read more

Emma Chen replied to the topic Health Benefits during Mat Leave in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 22:50:41 -0700

We take out the premiums on the year end bonus and top ups.

Michelle Yang replied to the topic Managed IT Services in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 21:11:30 -0700

We currently use Nucleus. They are ok in terms of managed services and cost. Their level of support is not more or less than BMC though.

Trisha Reid replied to the topic Staff Christmas Gift Ideas in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Wed, 23 Sep 2026 23:49:59 -0700

Hi Arishma

For the main gift from the firm, we do visa gift cards each year. If we decide to do additional prizes which are more personal, we have a wheel they spin with the prizes listed on it and then host a game and the 1st place spins first, 2nd place spins second etc. The staff seem to enjoy it and get excited now when they see the wheel…Read more

Arishma Sharma started the topic Staff Christmas Gift Ideas in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Wed, 23 Sep 2026 23:11:27 -0700

Hi everyone,
I’m interested in hearing what other firms are doing for staff Christmas gifts this year. We typically hold a Christmas luncheon and would like every staff member to leave with a small gift. In the past, we have also included two or three higher-value prizes, such as an Apple Watch or iPad. Separately, each staff member receives a…Read more

Kathleen Brett replied to the topic Managed IT Services in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Wed, 23 Sep 2026 20:52:54 -0700

We use Cloud Collective and generally happy with the service we receive for day to day and project work. Happy to provide an introduction for anyone. We moved away from BMC (pre Telus merger) to Cloud Collective due to service issues and are more satisfied with the team at Cloud Collective. We’ve also been relieved that they have no plans to merge…Read more

Cadence Konopaki replied to the topic Health Benefits during Mat Leave in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 22:31:29 -0700

Thanks everyone! Don’t now how I’ve gone this long without ever having to deal with the details of a mat leave haha Your comments align with that I was thinking but I wanted to make sure I was inline with standards. Always grateful for this forum and your support!

Rubyna Jinnah replied to the topic Health Benefits during Mat Leave in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 20:39:23 -0700

We do the same as Nina, but we are on the way to a no-cheque firm, so we ask for an etransfer. Some like to pay monthly, and some will opt to pay it all at the outset.

Karen Vandervoort replied to the topic Health Benefits during Mat Leave in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 18:42:06 -0700

We do the same. If we are providing a top up, we take the premiums out of that but if not, we ask that they arrange for monthly E-transfers for the first of each month. Best not to wait until after incase they don’t return.

Andrea Russell replied to the topic Health Benefits during Mat Leave in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 18:41:33 -0700

Hi Candance, we do the same as Nina with the post dated cheques. I have also (in agreement with the employee) used vacation time to offset the costs. Rather than taking accrued vacation, the time is essentially paid out and used toward LTD.

Nina Astle replied to the topic Health Benefits during Mat Leave in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 18:35:54 -0700

Hi Cadence, we require post-dated cheques or e-transfer of the monthly LTD premiums (the only portion the employees are responsible for paying under our package).

Cadence Konopaki started the topic Health Benefits during Mat Leave in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 18:33:07 -0700

I feel like I should know this after all these years but I’ve never had to directly organise it before: We have co-pay on our extended health benefits. Normally the employee portion is taken off of a paycheque. When someone goes on mat leave and they want their benefits to continue, how does that work with regard to their portion of the co-pay?

Cadence Konopaki replied to the topic Managed IT Services in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 20:23:32 -0700

We use Opus Consulting Group. While they are fine for day-to-day needs, there needs to be additional support for project management, AI implementation, etc. Basically, they cover the reactive, not proactive needs.

Leslie Green replied to the topic Managed IT Services in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:12:37 -0700

I previously used ComPro (now NextGen), and was very happy with their service, but cannot speak to if things have changed since their merger. We are currently with i-Worx, but are also looking at alternatives at this point.

Aninder Sandhu replied to the topic Managed IT Services in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:58:45 -0700

Hi There,

We are currently with BMC too and feel things have not been the same since they were bought out from Telus Fully Managed.

Farhana Rasiff replied to the topic Managed IT Services in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:50:19 -0700

Hi Lindsay,

Our firm IT is outsourced with BMC Networks for our MSP and Azure management. We have not enjoyed their services as much as we used to ever since they were bought over by Telus Fully Managed. We are also looking at alternatives currently so thank you for raising this post!

Nina Astle started the topic Managed IT Services in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 23:45:57 -0700

Hello everyone,

If your firm outsources IT, which Managed Services Provider do you use? And would you recommend them?

Michelle Yang replied to the topic 2027 December holidays in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 22:08:42 -0700

Any stat holidays that fall on weekends would be taken on the next business day. Sat or Sun –> Monday off.

Marie Haughian replied to the topic 2027 December holidays in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 19:04:11 -0700

Thanks, Tania!

Tania Coull replied to the topic 2027 December holidays in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 18:24:34 -0700

We usually follow the court schedule, which shows closure on Dec 27 & 28 in 2027.

Marie Haughian started the topic 2027 December holidays in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 17:12:13 -0700

Hi all,

Looking ahead to the holiday period next year (December 2027) – Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall on a weekend. I am wondering what days you would plan to close the office in lieu.

Thanks!

Cadence Konopaki replied to the topic Handling Requests for Time Off Beyond Vacation Entitlements in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 18:37:59 -0700

Our is on a case-by-case basis and discretionary. Very much depends on why they need the extra time, what time of year it is, if there’s additional coverage, if they’ve asked before, how much time they need, how long they’ve been at the firm, etc. If we can make it work, we do. We haven’t found anyone abusing this and have kept some great…Read more

Christine Edelmann started the topic Workplace accommodation in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 23:08:57 -0700

Hello everyone,

I am reaching out to see if anyone has a workplace accommodation form that they would be open to sharing. Specifically, we have someone who was diagnosed with ADHD and we would like to provide them with a form to request functional limitations and associated accommodation requests.

Much appreciated,

Tania Coull replied to the topic Professional membership in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 23:52:13 -0700

In addition to those listed, for Asscoiates we pay for any law society memberships (fees & insurance) where they are a practicing member as well as bar associations applicable to our practice.

Michelle Yang replied to the topic Professional membership in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:30:42 -0700

Hi Nina!

Thank you! That makes a lot of sense 🙂

Hope your boys are doing well!

Stella Nillas joined the group Human Resources Subsection

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:51:12 -0700

Karen Vandervoort replied to the topic Office First Aid & Emergency Preparedness in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:06:01 -0700

We also have just purchased an AED. It will be mounted adjacent to reception. We have 2 staff the need to be recertified for first aid, so the trainer will also provide AED training for anyone that wants to attend. As a mid sized firm, we don’t need a full first aid station, but have kits in 3 separate areas (kitchen and coffee stations) and…Read more

Sandra Lowe replied to the topic Office First Aid & Emergency Preparedness in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:36:08 -0700

Hello Claudia,

All of the topics you mentioned fall under our Health and Safety Committee (which follows all the regulations as set out by Worksafe BC).

Thanks.

Sandra

Claudia Mendoza started the topic Office First Aid & Emergency Preparedness in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:28:07 -0700

Curious what other firms are doing for first aid and emergency preparedness in their offices.

We just installed an AED on each floor of our office in addition to the regular first aid cabinets, and I am curious to hear about what other firms have in place.

For those who are willing to share, I’d be interested to hear what your setup looks like (…Read more

Stacey Poole replied to the topic Professional membership in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:35:48 -0700

Same for us. We do check in annually with people to make sure they are still receiving some value from their memberships, making use of the benefits, sharing resources etc.

Karen Vandervoort replied to the topic Professional membership in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 22:18:22 -0700

The same for us!

Leslie Green replied to the topic Professional membership in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 17:59:01 -0700

We pay for a similar list. Once in awhile a lawyer will have a special membership that they want to join for networking purposes and it would be approved on a case by case basis.

Lori Hart replied to the topic Professional membership in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 17:42:58 -0700

Hi Michelle. We’re the same as Lindsay Kenney.

Lori

Nina Astle replied to the topic Professional membership in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 17:39:03 -0700

Hi Michelle!

We pay for Associates’ memberships (CBA/TLABC/VBA/etc.), and limited staff memberships (BCPA and BCLMA primarily).

Michelle Yang started the topic Professional membership in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 17:28:24 -0700

Hello!

Relatively new to legal so not entirely sure what is the “norm”.. For associates and support staff, is it industry norm to pay for their professional memberships?? What memberships are firms paying for typically??

Tahmineh Mohammadi started the topic Paralegal Billable Targets + Non-Billable Work in the forum Human Resources Subsection

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 19:58:04 -0700

Curious what other firms are doing for paralegal billable targets.

-Do your paralegals have annual billable hour targets? If so, what are they?
-Are targets tied to compensation, bonuses, or performance reviews?
-Do you factor non-billable work (training, mentoring, admin, etc.) into those expectations?
-Are there any other metrics or factors you…Read more