News Law Society launches court action     canada.com   Thursday, June 27, 2002   CRANBROOK, B.C. - The Law Society of British Columbia is trying to have a local Workers Compensation Board consultant barred from advising clients in WCB cases. The Law Society argues consultant John Mandryk is not a lawyer and when he advises clients in WCB cases he's in contravention of the Legal Profession Act which only allows lawyers to provide legal advice in the province. Richard Gibbs, president of the law society, said the society's main concern is protecting the public from untrained and possibly incompetent or unscrupulous lay advocates. "We (the law society) say anyone who represents a client in a WCB case is practicing law and that is contrary to the Legal Professions Act,'' he said. But Mandryk called the law society's action "an obviously discriminatory attack on my business'' and said he will fight the move. Mandryk worked as a WCB claims adjudicator for eight years before becoming a lay advocate in WCB cases. He pointed to a report to the law society by former WCB Chief Appeal Commissioner Maureen Nicholls. She said non-lawyers can provide "excellent service'' to workers at a reasonable cost and that lawyers generally have no special expertise in WCB cases. Mandryk said the WCB hasn't acted to ensure non-legal representatives can work on behalf of clients. Mandryk said lay advocates such as himself have often challenged the WCB to improve service and cost-effectiveness. "But the WCB has apparently used this situation as revenge for our challenges to improve the system.'' WCB public affairs director Donna Freeman couldn't be reached for comment.  Gibbs said the law society is also concerned that lay advocates do not have an association that governs their activities. If they provide bad representation the public has no recourse. "All of these things are needed for the protection of the public,'' he said.  Mandryk accused the law society of trying to protect lawyers' turf.  But Gibbs said "anyone that calls this a turf war is out of their minds.'' © Copyright 2002 Canadian Press