CBABC/VBA 12th Annual Golf Tournament
The Canadian Bar Association and the Vancouver Bar Association and are pleased to once again join forces to announce the 12th Annual Golf Tournament for the legal profession! The tournament will be held in Vancouver on June 19, 2008 at the University Golf Club, 5185 University Boulevard. Registration will begin at 11:30 am and tee time is at 1:00 pm.

Join us in this fun-filled day of golf and prizes, the proceeds of which fund an annual award for both a UBC and a UVic student who best exemplify the ideals served by the CBA.

Purchase your tickets early as this event is sure to sell out.

Early Bird Registration (before May 2): $160 (incl. GST)
Late Registration (May 2-30): $180 (incl. GST)

The Women Lawyers Forum Has Done It Again!
On February 13th, 2008, WLF hosted a sell-out crowd of more than 300 people at the Four Seasons Hotel for the second Signature Event Luncheon which featured an inspiring and thoughtful speech by Maureen McTeer.

Maureen described a fascinating life in the law while raising her daughter and supporting her husband, the former Prime Minister and Conservative Leader, Joe Clark. She reminded us about how much has changed for women and women lawyers from the not so long ago days when she was criticized for daring to keep her own name and not take on her husband’s.

Maureen’s remarkable legal career of research, teaching, international advocacy (especially on issues relating to women’s health), the intersection of biotechnology, and ethics and the law were an inspiring example of what one woman lawyer can achieve.

While these vignettes resonated with the women attending, the most important message was that barriers facing women in our profession still exist. Ms. McTeer referred to the “maternal walls” that she said were “to keep us inside the box – even when we thought we had cracked the glass ceiling.”* We were all exhorted to stand together “as we did in the late 1970s to protect and promote the values on justice and fairness that are at the heart of s.15 and s.28 of the Charter.”* Ms. McTeer was not projecting a message of gloom, but of energy and inspiration. Many guests appeared to be moved by her message to rally and engage in positive action.

Maureen McTeer was a most delightful guest. She was gracious and personable to all who spoke with her after the luncheon, and was quick to share laughter and insights with all of us.

* cited from Ms. McTeer’s speech reproduced in full in The Vancouver Sun, February 29, 2008 at A-15.



Featured event speaker Maureen McTeer mixes and mingles with attendees of the Women Lawyers Forum Signature Event Luncheon.

The Women Lawyers Forum Presents the 2008 Education Day: What Women (Lawyers) Want
This series of documentary shorts, featuring a high profile cast, will provide you with valuable tips on how to achieve a happy family life, strong mentoring relationships, leadership skills, new opportunities through volunteering, prosperity, and a collegial workplace.

Friday, April 25 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Metropolitan Hotel in Vancouver.

For more information, contact Angela Dunn, WLF Education Committee Co-Chair at 604-901-1262 or Fran Hodgkins, CBABC Sections Coordinator at sections@bccba.org.

For B.C. lawyers, participation in this program can be listed as up to seven hours of continuing education in completing your Annual Report to the Law Society.

Women’s Law, Women’s Rights, Women’s Issues: An African-Canadian Dialogue
Co-sponsored by the CBABC Women Lawyers Forum, Law Courts Education Society of B.C., and West Coast LEAF
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Law Courts Inn Restaurant
800 Smithe Street, Vancouver
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
$20/person for CBA/West Coast LEAF members
$30/person for non-members

Join us for a rare opportunity to hear from African and Canadian women lawyers about women’s law, women’s rights and women’s issues. Speakers include: Ms. Mahdere Paulos, Executive Director of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association; Adv.Tsidi Kambula, National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa; Ms. Nytia Iyer; Ms. Jennifer Conkie, QC; and the panel will be moderated by the Honourable Judge Shehni Dossa, Provincial Court of B.C. For more information or to register please contact: info@lawcourtsed.ca.

CBABC Women Lawyers Forum Award of Excellence
WLF announces a unique award to recognize an exceptional woman who has taken risks, fostered change, and ultimately opened doors for women lawyers. Nominations must be submitted before April 15, 2008. Nomination forms are available from the CBABC at 1-888-687-3404 or 604-687-3404 or www.cba.org/bc.

2008 Golf Tournament
The 2008 New Westminster/Fraser Valley Bar Associations’ Golf Tournament will be held on Thursday, July 3 at Guildford Golf Course in Surrey. Stroke play or Texas Scramble, at your option. For information, contact Richard Molstad at 604-526-1821.

The Lawyers Show April 18th & 19th, 2008
Jim Poyner (Poyner Baxter LLP) and Scott Johnston (Koffman Kalef LLP) practise different law but both have something in common, having both performed in all six of the Lawyer Shows, an annual fundraising event for two charities – the Arts Club Theatre Company and Touchstone Theatre. In April, they will once again join other Lower Mainland lawyers to perform in Once in a Lifetime, a fast paced, screwball comedy of 1920s Hollywood. The Lawyer Show runs two nights only on April 18th & 19th at 8:00 p.m. Tickets include the show, a post show reception and a tax receipt. For further information call 604-687-1644.

   

BLSAC 17th Annual National Conference
The Black Law Students’ Association of Canada held their 17th Annual National Conference in Vancouver on February 22 and 23. More than 250 participants and speakers attended. For the first time in the 17-year history of the Conference, BLSAC encouraged their members to participate in the Diversity Moot. The Diversity Moot was created to be a stimulating and didactic way for students to engage in legal issues relevant to the black community, and to enhance the litigation abilities of BLSAC members.

As a sponsor to the BLSAC National Conference, the Canadian Bar Association B.C. Branch was invited to donate a gift, but the CBABC decided instead to donate a multi-year trophy cup to be awarded to the winner of the moot. Nicole Holas, a member of the CBABC presented the CBABC Patricia DeGuire Diversity Moot Cup Award to Michelle L. Velvet, a law student at Windsor Law School. Patricia DeGuire is a co-founder of BLSAC and CABL, the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1993, and is known for her commitment to public service, legal education, and social justice.



Left to right: Nicole Holas presenting the CBABC Patricia DeGuire Diversity Moot Cup Award to Michelle L. Velvet.

These articles were published in the April 2008 issue of BarTalk. © 2008 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.