National Women Lawyers Forum

The National CBA has caught a B.C. wave with the inaugural meeting of the National Women Lawyers Forum held at the Annual Canadian Legal Conference in Vancouver on Monday, August 15th, 2005. The organizing of the National Forum saw the election of the first executive with powerhouse volunteers from across Canada: Chair, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, QC (B.C.); Vice-Chair, Kathleen Quigg (N.B.), Secretary/Treasurer, Sheryl Beckford (Ont.), Members-at-Large, Julia Cornish (N.S.), Noemi Gal-Or (B.C.), Joanne Horton (Ont.), and Sharon Pratchler (Sask.). Rounding out the present executive is Jennifer Conkie as Chair of the British Columbia WLF. As other Branch divisions are formed, each Forum Chair will join the national executive committee. Our first meeting was well attended with interested CBA members from virtually every Branch. We were also visited by Caroline Flanagan of the Law Society of Scotland, who wants to see our successes here replicated back home. B.C. Branch President, Meg Shaw, was there to express her support, as was Brian A. Tabor, QC on behalf of the national executive.

The first meeting went by far too fast after introductions and elections, mostly in discussion about our vision for the National WLF and how the B.C. experience can be copied and adapted in other jurisdictions. New Brunswick is first out of the gate. This year’s launch event in B.C. was on September 14th and was followed by New Brunswick’s first launch event on September 16th at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton. Connecting women in the law is what it is all about!

We have already heard from women lawyers in Alberta, Quebec and Nova Scotia who are interested in expanding upon local initiatives by participating in Women Lawyers Forum activities. Tell CBA women you know about the National Women Lawyers Forum and help us build a national momentum! Contact the Chair, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, QC at kfindlay@wgmlaw.com or 604-609-3066.

B.C.'s Legal Lights Shine at CLC

Caption with photo: Sholto Hebenton was honoured with the 2005 Louis St-Laurent Award of Excellence for a lifetime of dedication to legal research, scholarship and education.

West coast law practitioners were in the spotlight as five B.C. lawyers – four from Vancouver and one from Victoria – took home national awards during the Canadian Legal Conference.

Sholto Hebenton was honoured with the 2005 Louis St-Laurent Award of Excellence for a lifetime of dedication to legal research, scholarship and education. Hebenton served as chair for the Foundation for Legal Research in Canada from 1990-2003, and was a founding partner in Shrum, Liddle & Hebenton, which went on to become, after a series of mergers, McCarthy Tétrault.

Marcia Kran won the 2005 Walter S. Tarnopolsky Human Rights Award for her work with organizations dedicated to protecting human rights and the international rule of law, including the United Nations, over a 24-year career.

Victoria’s Professor J.P.S. McLaren, known as “Canada’s ambassador to the common-law world,” received the 2005 Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Law for his achievements as an author, scholar, and teacher. Professor McLaren’s son, Duncan, accepted the award on behalf of his father, who is travelling extensively.

Robin Bajer took home the 2005 Young Lawyers Pro Bono Service Award for his extensive pro bono work on the case of Christie v. the Attorney General of British Columbia et al. alongside his Miller Thomson senior partner Darrell W. Roberts, QC.

And recent UBC law school grad Arsen Krekovic was selected for the 2005 Edward K. Rowan-Legg Memorial Award honouring the contributions of a CBA student member for his efforts in planning, organizing, and directing events for B.C.’s Law Week between 2003 and 2005.

2005 CLC Headliners

United Nations Ambassador Allan Rock said the U.N. is at a crossroads in its evolution in light of recent events that have called its legitimacy into question. He said the U.N. can accomplish a great deal of positive work, and that the time has come to revisit what the founders had in mind when the organization was created.

Federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler called the judicial appointments process a “critical part of the administration of justice in this country.” He described the four steps in the appointment process to the Supreme Court of Canada: preparation of the short list, evaluation of individuals by an advisory committee, recommendation to the Prime Minister, and the appearance by the Minister before the Justice Committee.

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin called for improvements in access to justice for Canadians. Citing the rising number of unrepresented litigants, she decried the serious repercussions for both the justice system and the public. She called on judges, lawyers and governments to each play a part.

Vancouver 2005 CLC Roundup

CBA Futures Committee Report
A centre for information and expertise that would collect statistics, initiate surveys, track and analyse trends and their impact, and develop a corporate memory for the profession is an innovative proposal contained in the Canadian Bar Association’s report on its future, Crystal Clear: New Perspectives for the Canadian Bar Association.

“In the course of our deliberations, we realized that there is a dearth of reliable information about the profession,” noted Robert Patzelt of Halifax, Chair of the CBA Futures Committee, which released its report at the CBA Canadian Legal Conference on Aug. 14. “The centre would provide us with the necessary tools to understand the needs of the profession and how the CBA can position itself to meet those needs,” he said.

Recognizing that the legal profession is operating in a climate of profound and accelerating change, Mr. Patzelt noted: “Our Committee was created to study the challenges facing lawyers and the legal profession and to make recommendations about what kind of organization the CBA should be in 2015.”

Futures Web site and report: cba.org/CBA/futures/Main

Meet the National President

Brian A. Tabor, QC, of Halifax took over the reins of the CBA as National President on Aug. 16. He says lawyers must strive for improved access to justice and the protection of individual freedoms for the benefit of all Canadians. He adds that the CBA’s legal aid test case, challenging British Columbia’s legal aid plan, will be a top priority during his term.

Another focus for Mr. Tabor will be finding a balance between security and individual rights when assessing anti-terrorism measures. While the CBA understands the motives behind these measures, it argued for curtailing some of the proposed sweeping new powers for police and security agencies in its three-year review of Bill C-36, the Anti-terrorism Act. “As vigilant as we must be in preventing terrorism, we must be equally vigilant that we do not lose our own principles and freedoms in the process,” Tabor says.

The start of Mr. Tabor’s tenure coincides with the release of the Report of the CBA Futures Committee, which looks ten years into the future of the legal profession and recommends ways in which the CBA can prepare itself to be most relevant to its members. “We’ve got a great opportunity to engage each other in a dialogue about where we are and where we need to be as an association and as a profession,” he says.

Tabor brings CBA experience to his new role, having served as Branch President for Nova Scotia (2001-2002), Provincial and National Chair of the Real Property Section, and CBA Co-Chair of the National Real Estate Project. He was called to the Bar in 1987, after completing his education at the University of Ottawa (B.Sc., 1979) and the University of New Brunswick (LL.B., 1986).

Policy Resolutions

Highlights of this year’s CBA policy resolutions include the recognition of legal pluralism in judicial appointments, appointments of bilingual judges, and a statement of opposition to capital punishment. To view the resolutions, please visit: cba.org/CBA/resolutions/2005res/Default.aspx

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