Resources Online

by Patricia Jordan

The CBA offers many benefits to its members, such as professional development through Sections and CBA National CLE programs. Sections are practice-focused groups designed to meet the educational, advocacy and professional needs of lawyers. No other legal organization in Canada has the scope and depth of experts influencing legislative reform, contributing to legal education, and exchanging practical advice. Section membership provides you with an excellent means to enhance your legal expertise, network, and contribute to your profession.

Enrolment in Sections offers you quick updates in your area of practice and is a great way to stay current and satisfy the Law Society’s minimum expectation for professional development. In 2006, many Section meetings will be held by teleconference, making it easier for you to attend. Section members have online access to meeting notices, minutes, executive contact information, and more at cba.org/bc in “Sections & Groups.”

Many interesting and informative papers are presented to members of various Sections and are distributed to Section members. To assist you in receiving these papers if you are not enrolled in specific Sections, the Branch publishes quarterly lists of all available Section Papers. As a benefit of CBA membership, Section Papers are published online in “CBA Publications.”

Special-interest groups are also an excellent resource for professional development. The very successful B.C. Women Lawyers Forum (WLF) promotes the stature and interests of women in the legal profession through programs for education, mentoring, and networking. The recently created National WLF provides a forum for sharing resources with other legal jurisdictions, women in the judiciary, other professions, and organizations of professional women. For more information about the WLF visit cba.org/bc/sections_groups.

The CBA MLA Network, under the jurisdiction of the Government Relations Committee, plays a pivotal role as the profession’s first line of contact with elected provincial officials. The MLA Network pairs members of Provincial Council with each of B.C.’s MLAs at a local, or constituency level. Network members work to foster dialogue and consultation between government and the Bar, and to advance the profession’s position on key issues and legislation. Learn more about the Network and its objectives at cba.org/bc in “Sections & Groups.”

The CBA offers a full range of national conferences that provide a valuable skills-improvement forum and an opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues and Bar leaders from across Canada and around the world. With your conference membership, you’ll enjoy many advantages such as referral networks, mentoring programs, and networking opportunities with colleagues, governments, and related national and international organizations. National conferences also provide leading-edge bulletins and programs on practice tips, substantive legal developments, and coming trends in practice and in the law. Newsletters, handbooks, videos, and other products to assist you in your day-to-day practice are also available. For more information, visit cba.org/CBA/groups/main.

Patricia Jordan is the CBABC Manager, Interactive Media. She welcomes your comments, questions and suggestions. Tel: 604-646-7861, Email: pjordan@bccba.org

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PracticeLink Quick Tips
Managing the security and privacy of electronic data in a law office
Read the 13 steps you should take to systematically protect the electronic data in your firm against the most common threats. cba.org/cba/PracticeLink/tips/datasecurity.aspx.

This article was published in the August 2005 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2005, all rights reserved.