Greater Emphasis on Sections

by Frank Kraemer, QC

Following decisions taken at the Branch’s Annual Planning Meeting in April, President Frits Verhoeven is leading a major project to strengthen the work of the Branch’s 66 Sections.

On September 7, 2006, Section Chairs or their designates attended an orientation session in Vancouver and seven other locations connected by teleconference around the province. During that session, President Verhoeven reviewed four major objectives of Sections; namely: regular meetings, adequate notice of meeting, quality content at meeting and regular and timely minutes. He also pointed out that in this year’s Branch budget, additional funds have been made available to increase the staff resources to assist Sections in carrying out their programs. The orientation also included a panel discussion led by five current and past Section Chairs who discussed their “secrets of success” in operating effective Sections. Sections Coordinator Fran Hodgkins and I also presented information on Section budgets and administrative arrangements for Sections.

One of the topics of discussion was the value of Section Listservs. These are available to any Section where a sufficient number of Section members express an interest in participating. For more information contact webmaster@bccba.org. There is no question that many CBA members value Sections as an effective way of staying current with law and practice. It is also a real benefit to be able to report Section attendance and review of minutes as part of the now mandatory reporting to the Law Society of British Columbia of one’s continuing legal education activities.

Viva Lex Vegas
I am equally excited to report that under the leadership of Executive Committee Officer James Bond, the Branch will be presenting a weekend professional development opportunity in Las Vegas, Nevada November 17-19, 2006 called “Viva Lex Vegas.”

The overall scheme is to have educational sessions between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Friday, November 17, 2006 and Saturday, November 18, 2006 with plenty of free time to explore Las Vegas in the afternoons and late evenings. There will be luncheon speakers both days, a welcoming cocktail reception at the Liberace Museum on Friday, as well as a closing dinner on Saturday evening. There will also be an opportunity to attend a performance of Cirque Du Soleil.

This is a wonderful opportunity to get out of town in mid-November and to participate in a variety of professional development educational opportunities. For example, there are sessions entitled “Why Law Firms Fail, Why Law Firms Succeed,” and “Top Ten Practices for Developing Business: From Solo’s to Large Firms” to name a few.

We have been able to negotiate very competitive room rates at the Mirage Hotel as well as discount parking at Park & Fly at the Vancouver International Airport. A detailed brochure and registration form are included as an insert in this issue of BarTalk or find it online at www.cba.org/bc/pdf/events/vegas_schedule.pdf.

Hope to see you there!

This article was published in the October 2006 issue of BarTalk. © 2006 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.