Office of General Counsel

The Office of General Counsel is responsible for managing the legal affairs of the University, which includes:

• Providing legal and strategic advice and direction to the University, its Board of Governors and Senior Administration;
• Acting as the central contact for legal inquiries and assistance;
• Managing the University's legislative compliance program;
• Managing and providing advice on legal matters for the University, including in relation to contracts, legal risk/liability, and administrative law;
• Informing management, Board of Governors, faculty and staff of laws and legal issues that affect operations of the institution;
• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating agreements, and advising on template agreements for use in academic and service areas to standardize contract formation activities;
• Drafting and advising on all manner of documents that represent the University’s position on legal and governance matters;
• Instructing and managing external legal counsel on behalf of University officers and monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of external legal services;
• Overseeing the University's compliance with CASL (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation) and FOIP (Alberta's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act).

The Office of General Counsel represents the University and cannot provide legal advice or services relating to personal matters.

The University's General Counsel (in-house legal) reports to the Vice-President, Finance & Administration. The General Counsel provides legal advice and related legal services directly to the University, its Board of Governors and Senior Administration.The Office of General Counsel delivers legal information sessions and CASL (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation) awareness training for the University community. To contact the General Counsel/legal department, or to schedule a legal information session or CASL training for your area, please contact the general counsel office at general.counsel@uleth.ca.

The University's Privacy Officer reports to the General Counsel. The Privacy Office provides institutional advice on privacy-law related matters and manages FOIP (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy) compliance at the University. The Privacy Office delivers information sessions and FOIP awareness training for the University community. To contact the Privacy Office, or to schedule a privacy-law session or FOIP training for your area, please contact the privacy office at scott.harling@uleth.ca.

The Office of General Counsel represents the University and cannot provide legal advice or services relating to personal matters or in regards to non-University business. Information and assistance for such matters may be available from the resources listed below:

• Lawyer Referral Service: sponsored by The Law Society of Alberta, recommends lawyer with general experience or with expertise in particular areas.
• Lethbridge Legal Guidance: with the support of members of the Lethbridge Bar Association, provides free legal advice, information and education.
• Legal Aid Alberta: a publicly funded not-for-profit organization, provides a broad range of legal information and representation services

NOTE: These links are provided as a courtesy and for reference and general informational purposes only. The content of this page or the linked pages should not be construed as legal advice from the University of Lethbridge or its Office of General Counsel.

The General Counsel Office provides commissioner and notary services to University of Lethbridge staff and students for matters related to University business. Inquiries can be sent to general.counsel@uleth.ca or call 403-332-4417. Some examples of matters related to University business are:

• taking declarations to support financial aid applications for students;
• taking declarations to support passport applications for staff and students who need to travel in the course of their employment or studies at the university;
• taking declarations to support immigration/visa applications for staff and students to enable such persons to work or study at the university or go abroad in connection with their work or studies at the University;
• witnessing signatures on agreements related to University business; and
• notarizing or certifying documents, provided the documents are related to University business (please note: the originals must be provided).

Any matter that is not related to or in support of University staff or students working or studying at the University is not University business. Examples of non-University business matters include: documentation for personal travel (passport/visa applications, consent to travel for minors travelling with only one parent or a non-parent); and documentation for personal legal matters (e.g. family law proceedings, real estate matters, personal business transactions). For matters of a personal nature, please consult a telephone or internet directory for notaries and commissioners in your area.