BarTalk February 2005
Volume 17, Number 1

Sections Count for Professional Development

The Law Society now requires lawyers to report annually on their professional development activities. Benchers recommend 12 hours of formal education and 50 hours of self-study.

Attendance at Section meetings counts toward this requirement, and review of Section minutes/materials is reportable as self-study hours (as long as it is not for the purpose of research for a file/case). Registered Section members, who are also CBA members, can peruse or download any archived materials at www.cba.org/bc.

Victoria Section Puts “Santa” on the Line

Victoria young lawyers increased the magic factor this Christmas by establishing a “Santa Calling” program. Organized by members of the Young Lawyers-Victoria Section, interested parents and grandparents paid a minimum $5 donation to have a “Santa” from the Victoria Bar call the children and impersonate the jolly old elf himself.

Waddell Raponi was very supportive of the service, with both John Waddell, QC and Eugene Raponi making Santa calls. “The child I spoke to was four and it was hard to understand what he was saying. He was very excited,” said Eugene. After one call, John marveled, “I’m sure that kid believed I was Santa.”

Santa Calling donations benefited the Mustard Seed Food Bank, Vancouver Island’s largest food bank. The Section hopes to build on the service’s success and deliver Santa Calling to many more children in 2005, with increased donations to the Mustard Seed.

If your Section would like to try “Santa Calling” for Christmas 2005, please contact Sarah Klinger at sklinger@waddellraponi.com (to properly advertise, planning should start by mid-November).

Section Members Win CLE Prizes

The Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C. (CLE) offered CBABC members an extra incentive to join Sections this year. In addition to the educational and social benefits of Sections, members who registered for three or more Sections were eligible to win a CLE prize. The CBABC thanks CLE for donating these prizes! The winners’ names were drawn from a pool of 1,174 eligible Section members. The four winners and their prizes were:

Manjeet Kaur Chana of the Legal Services Society-Vancouver won a $700 gift certificate to be used toward any CLE product;

Patrick John Field of Shook, Wickham, Bishop & Field won complimentary registration to a regular, one-day CLE course (approx. value $375);

Stuart J. Lein won complimentary registration to a regular, one-day CLE course (approx. value $375); and

Dominique Ariea Nouvet of Cook Roberts won a $300 gift certificate to be used toward any CLE product.

Help for Tsunami Victims

The CBA’s national Immigration Law Section is offering to review immigration applications at no charge for Canadians and permanent residents in Canada who want to sponsor family members living in areas affected by the recent tsunami in the Indian Ocean. For details, please visit www.cba.org/cba/tsunami.

These articles were published in the February 2005 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2005, all rights reserved.