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NATIONAL NEWS
Catherine Cummings Named CCCA Executive Director
 Catherine Cummings of Toronto has been named Executive Director of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association (CCCA). “Cathy brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position,” says Robert Patzelt, QC, Chair of the CCCA’s Executive Committee. “She is a skilled leader, strong communicator and well versed in change management and process improvement.”
Her first priority is a full analysis of the results of the recent member survey. “The survey tells us what our members are thinking and what they want,” says Cummings. “The outcomes will guide and inform our decisions in the coming months, as CCCA moves forward on a solid foundation.”
According to the survey, CCCA members indicated that they consider professional development the Association’s most valuable service, along with protecting core values of the profession and advocacy to governments to promote the interests of lawyers. The CCCA National Spring conference, the Annual Conference and networking opportunities are also highly rated.
The CCCA has a number of initiatives on its plate. The CCCA Annual Conference takes place in Halifax August 14-16, 2011 in conjunction with the CBA’s Canadian Legal Conference. “We are offering our members 12 accredited professional development programs over two days,” says Cummings, “on topics ranging from disaster planning to litigation on a budget.
Read more
www.cba.org/CBA/news/2011_Releases/2011-06-30-cathycummings-eng.aspx
CBA Announces Exclusive Preferred Provider of Disability Management Services
The CBA is pleased to announce our newest Preferred Supplier, Assessment Rehabilitation Services Inc. (A.R.S.) as the exclusive preferred provider of Disability Management Services to the Canadian Bar Association and its member organizations. A.R.S. is a nationally established, industry-recognized provider of Disability Management, Vocational Rehabilitation and Occupational Medicine solutions across Canada. Established in 1999, A.R.S. has grown to be a steady and prominent pillar in the insurance community with experience in the Employer Market Sector, Health, Disability and Casualty Insurance industries and Workers Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).
Read more
"Mega Trials" Bill Receives Royal Assent
On June 26, Bill C-2, Criminal Code amendments (mega trials) received Royal Assent. The CBA’s National Criminal Justice Section had presented a submission to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on June 22 welcoming the legislation to promote the effective and efficient use of resources, and calling for some priority improvements to make the Bill more operationally effective.
The CBA recommended that a definition of “mega trial” be included in the legislation to avoid overuse of case management, and suggested that criteria be established to ensure that resources are used most appropriately. Suhail Akhtar of Toronto, a member of the National Criminal Justice Section Executive, presented the CBA submission to the Senate Committee.
News release
Submissionwww.cba.org/CBA/submissions/pdf/11-31-eng.pdf
CBA calls for Open and Transparent Appointment Process
Following the announcement in May that Supreme Court of Canada Justices Binnie and Charron were retiring, CBA President Rod Snow issued a statement to media that called for an open and transparent judicial appointment process, identified the CBA’s merit criteria, urged changes to the Official Languages Act, and supported the criteria put in place by the Prime Minister for Mr. Justice Rothstein’s appearance before a Parliamentary Committee in 2006.
Rules with Respect to Representation at a Mediation Session
The Honourable Thomas J. Crabtree, Chief Judge of the B.C. Provincial Court, has issued a new Notice to the Profession regarding mediation of claims for more than $5000 or for personal injury claims. Rules 7.2 and 7.4 of the Small Claims Rules governs these mediations.
Details
Following the release of the Foundation for Change Report, CBABC hosted a Legal Aid Roundtable meeting on May 25, 2011 to reconnect with participants of a 2009 Roundtable held after a town hall meeting, which resulted in the passage of a resolution about legal aid by many of our organizations. The groups – too numerous to name, but broadly
grouped under the Public Coalition for Legal Services, Bar Associations and Educators, Legal Services Society and the Law Society of British Columbia – met to discuss the recommendations and to what use they planned to put them.
The input and discussion was energizing and productive, with a promise to regroup and continue with the momentum that has been developed by the Public Commission on Legal Aid.
Some of the key points raised were:
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there is an overarching theme and goal that Legal Aid is an essential service to British Columbians;
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there is a need to expand the public engagement and educate the public about the role of Legal Aid in their communities;
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there are a number of short and mid-term goals that must not be forgotten while we look at the larger picture and they should be integrated as much as possible in a collaborative, consistent way;
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cooperation in allocation of existing resources and partnerships is key;
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there is a need for work and research on the relationship between spending on legal aid and economic benefits in other parts of the justice system and in other areas of government spending, particularly health.
CLEBC UPDATE
CLEBC has redesigned its online practice manuals and added a new search engine.
The new online manuals are:
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Speedy in loading content.
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Quick and easy to navigate. The expandable table of contents remains visible when navigating through the content of a practice manual.
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Interactive. In early
release, CLEBC editors will add comments to update online practice manual content; within a few months, subscribers will also be able to leave comments.
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Rich. CLEBC’s online manuals include links to all cases and legislation cited in the manuals; searchable case and statute tables; downloadable forms and precedents; linking between manuals; and CLEBC’s “cases and legislation considered” feature, with references to our entire
online library.
The new search engine is:
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Fast.
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Comprehensive, searching all CLEBC online content, the website and Canadian case law on CanLII.
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Flexible. Allowing searches
by product type or practice area only.
Subscribers to a print practice manual have access to the online version. If you haven’t set up your username and password, contact customer service at 604-893-2121. We welcome your feedback during this early release; please call customer service, or email us at custserv@cle.bc.ca.
KUDOS
Jerry McHale, QC - New Appointment
After 10 years as Assistant Deputy Minister of the Justice Services Branch at the Ministry of Attorney General, Jerry McHale, QC, has stepped down to pursue an opportunity in academia. On July 1, Mr. McHale began a two-year appointment as the Lam Chair in Law and Public Policy at the University of Victoria. He will teach in the Faculty of Law and the Master of Arts in the Dispute Resolution Program of the School of Public Administration. He will lecture on access to justice, dispute resolution and public policy. During his public service career, Mr. McHale served as Director of the Dispute Resolution Office and was B.C.’s representative during the development of the dispute resolution chapter of the Nisga’a Final Agreement.
Jay Chalke, QC - New Appointment
Public Guardian and Trustee Jay Chalke, QC, is taking on the leadership role of the Justice Services Branch, effective August 2. Mr. Chalke has served as the Public Guardian and Trustee for the past 12 years where he has guided a range of law reform and organizational changes. Previously, Mr. Chalke served as Deputy Public Guardian and Trustee in Ontario, where he played an instrumental role in the implementation of guardianship legislation. He also served in various positions in the Ontario Ministry of Attorney General and was head of the Review of Certain Practices in New Brunswick Correctional Institutions.
Mentoring Awards
A big congratulations to Morgan Camley (left) and Elizabeth Yip (right), the 2011 recipients of the Vancouver office, McCarthy Tétrault Mentoring Awards. The awards are the firm’s national initiative to encourage exceptional mentoring and more than 200 nominations were received from across the firm this year. Winners were selected for “formally or informally” being positive influences on students and associates. They demonstrate genuine interest in another’s career development, facilitate opportunities, and provide constructive feedback and coaching. Ms. Camley won the award for Student Mentor of the Year, and Ms. Yip was honoured for being the Associate Mentor of the Year.
AWARDS
John-Paul Boyd receives the 2011 Harry Rankin, QC Pro Bono Award from CBABC President Stephen McPhee.
Jennifer Conkie receives the 2011 CBABC Equality and Diversity Award from CBABC President Stephen McPhee.
CBABC President Stephen McPhee presents the 2011 President’s Medal to Leonard T. Doust, QC.
Left to right: Stephen McPhee, Lee Akazaki, Leonard T. Doust, QC and Analea Wayne were all part of the Legal Aid Panel.
For more info:
www.cba.org/bc/Initiatives/main/awards.aspx
MENTORING
Lawyer Alert for this Year's Mentorship Program
The CBABC mentorship program is recruiting again this year at the three law faculties in B.C.
Every year lawyers old and young join this exceptional roster; leading new law students into the maze of legal life in the role of mentor. This is one of the most sought-after programs on campus and depends wholly on lawyers volunteering to be mentors. If you are interested in participating, please contact the UVic student rep at uvic.mentorship@bccba.org, the UBC student rep at
ubc.mentorship@bccba.org or the TRU office at Apappas@tru.ca and you will be matched with a student in time for the mentoring receptions at each university in October.
Organizing TIPS
At the Office
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Control your time instead of letting it control you. Have a plan every day. Make a to do list. You’ll accomplish more.
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Schedule appointments and meetings with both beginning and ending times. People are more “to-the-point” when they are up against a deadline.
SURVEY
Lawyers' Attitudes to Dispute Resolution – John-Paul Boyd
Do family law lawyers sue as a first resort and negotiate as a last? Do we promote needless litigation for the sake of our bottom lines?
The notion of lawyers as uncritical, profit-seeking litigators seems implicit in the prefatory remarks to the Attorney General’s 2010 White Paper on family law reform and the 2005 final report of the Family Justice Reform Working Group.
Within a few weeks, family law lawyers will be invited to participate in a survey intended to test the accuracy of these assumptions and poll our actual attitudes toward dispute resolution. The survey will take 10 to 15 minutes to complete and the participation of the Family Law Bar is greatly appreciated.
These articles were published in the August 2011 issue of BarTalk. © 2011 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.
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