They aren't our advocates and they don't report to the board. Well, they report to the board in the sense that they're officers of the court.
Often advocates will try to talk to board members about how they present their cases, how they could do better. Board members will tell them maybe they shouldn't concentrate on certain areas, or don't worry about this, we've read the files. There is a conversation between most advocates and board members on how to carry the business through the day. That's a good thing. There's a dynamic relationship there, and they learn to work with each other. There's a working relationship.
What sometimes happens when there are a lot of files is that clients call in asking where their file is or when their case will be presented. We can't manage that for the lawyers. They have to learn that for themselves. We don't get involved in the lawyer or client relationship.
Could the board help the lawyers manage their files better? Of course we could. But they don't necessarily want the boards to tell them how to manage their cases. What can I say? We can sit down with them and try to to work things out, but ultimately they're the ones who are managing their caseload.