Legal aid lawyer David Dundee is reported as saying the Legal Services Society “has not been open with its accounting” (AG Meets With City Lawyers, Pushes For Cameras, March 17, 2010).

This is astonishing. There is no record at the Legal Services Society of Mr. Dundee or any other lawyer calling into question the society’s accounting practices. The Legal Services Society is rightly proud of its record of financial management, is committed to fiscal transparency, and is in complete compliance with the applicable Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

The society’s accounts are scrutinized by external auditors each year and these audited statements are both published on our website and tabled in the B.C. Legislature as part of our annual service plan report.

If Mr. Dundee or anyone else has any concerns about accounting practices at the Legal Services Society we would welcome the opportunity of addressing those concerns directly.

MARK BENTON, QC

Executive Director

Legal Services Society

Vancouver