BarTalk June 2003
Volume 15, Number 3

Law Week 2003: Activities Throughout BC

National Law Day celebrates the anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Across Canada, Law Day 2003 celebrations attracted record media attention. In Manitoba, events were covered on radio and television; and in Ottawa, the French-language daily, Le Droit, published a special supplement. In Atlantic Canada a seven-minute ATV news special compared Canadian courts to those portrayed on American TV, using clips from the popular Law & Order series. Activities in Yukon were highlighted in a newspaper supplement. In B.C., where Law Day has expanded to a full Law Week, a full page column by Ian Mulgrew in The Vancouver Sun on April 12 described B.C.’s roster of activities.

The CBABC Law Week Committee, a powerhouse of ideas and action, planned the CBA events that swept across B.C. – many of which were made possible by the financial support of the Law Foundation of B.C. and the Vancouver Bar Association.

“Law Week is meant to communicate with a wider audience than the legal community and it does this very well,” says Stephen Cooke, Law Week Committee Chair. “It increases the awareness in the minds of the general public as to what justice-related institutions are available, how they can be accessed by everyone, and what role lawyers play in the system.”

Activities included province-wide public speaking, short story and photo contests. This year, 17 lawyers spoke at schools and reported very positively on the experience. This activity may have a greater role in future Law Weeks. The student mentor program had mixed results. In all, 107 students were matched with lawyers for half a day, but student interest levels and suitability were inconsistent and this activity may be re-evaluated in future.

Open Houses
With the goal of bringing the justice system to the public, the CBABC held an Open House at the Vancouver Public Library on April 12. Along with esteemed guest speakers, more than 20 presenters displayed information on the legal system and law-related topics to a crowd of more than 150 people.

An Open House was also held on April 12 at the Cowichan Valley Independent Living Resource Centre. Members of the public were given demonstrations on how to use the Legal Information Network Kiosk (LINK) to find the answers to legal problems using the Internet.

Dial-A-Lawyer
The CBA held its “Dial-A-Lawyer” program on April 12. Between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., 375 people phoned the CBA to speak with a lawyer about a legal problem. Of the calls received, 129 were Chinese-language calls, answered by SUCCESS volunteers. Thanks to the many volunteers who helped make this event successful: Fiona Anderson; Barbara Bergen; Danielle Bretton; Helen Chiu; Michael Dunn; Brent Ellwyn; Mark Epstein; Nancy Harold; Cindy Henderson (UBC Law Student); Beverly Hoy; Shannon Kwok; Judith Lee; Richard Lee; Carla Lewis; Valerie Little; Paul Mendes; Grant Meng; Matthew Nathanson; Dana Neilson; Jeffery Oliver; Kathleen Packard; Sonny Parhar; Allan Parker; Greg Samuels; Helena Shum; Bonnie Teng; Kenneth Thornicroft; Ivan Tse; Eva Un; and Lawrence Wong. Thanks also to reception volunteers Sandra Li and Albert Ng and to The Vancouver Sun for its support.

Mock Trials
In Kamloops, the trial of Regina v. Brogue was staged and in Nanaimo, elementary students took part in the Peter Pan “abduction” mock trial. The Vernon Bar Association performed a mock trial of Regina v. Arthur of Logres to educate the public about the services available within their community

Student Contest Winners
Short Story Contest: Winner: A Silver Lining, by Jessica Doherty (Seaquam Secondary, Delta); Second Place: A Delinquent’s Reform, by Shazia Khan (L.A. Matheson Secondary, Surrey); and Third Place: A Plea of Help, by Tiffany White (Seaquam Secondary, Delta). The winning entries are posted at www.bccba.org.

Photo Contest: Winner: D.A.R.E., by Andrea Haugen (Kamloops Secondary); Second Place: Lack of Help, by Keri-Rose Thiessen (St. Thomas More Collegiate, Burnaby); and Third Place: A Little Piece of Paradise, by Katrina Wojcik (St. Thomas More Collegiate, Burnaby)

Public Speaking Contest: Winner: Kelsey Wheelhouse (W.L. Seaton, Vernon); First Runner-up: Adam Schneider (Brentwood College, Mill Bay); Second Runner-up: Michaelene Dustin (Elkford); and Third Runner-up: Jared Faber (Oak Bay, Victoria)

Twenty students from throughout B.C. participated in this contest. Thanks to the public speaking judges: Madame Justice Heather J. Holmes; Moncrief John Carstairs, QC; Professor Elizabeth Edinger; Anna Kelly Fung, QC; Kitty J. Heller; Terence E. La Liberté, QC; Bruce Quayle; Elizabeth J. Rowbotham; and Catherine F. Wangler.

Law Week 2004
The future looks grand for Law Week! “The Law Week Committee is already planning Law Week 2004 which will include exciting new activities such as a five km run/walk,” says Stephen Cooke. “With increased funding and effort, Law Week will help us shine a spotlight on the law and educate the public about the justice system and the role of lawyers within it.”

Law Week 2003 Committee Members
Stephen Cooke (Chair)
Madame Justice Laura Gerow
Sabrina Ali
Vivian Chiang
Michael Dunn
Joel Gold
Barbara Sage
Shelley Smith
Rose Fabbro (CBABC staff member)

Excerpt of Winning Short Story “A Silver Lining”
By Jessica Doherty, Seaquam Secondary, Delta

“You haven’t gotten child support from Sam in six months?” She could hear Colleen’s voice as they ate their lunches in the staff room today. Sarah, with an apple and a peanut butter sandwich, Colleen with one of those new microwavable meals. It smelt so good. “You should sue,” Colleen continued, between bites. “That’s what I did when the barbeque almost exploded in my backyard.”

“I don’t exactly have the money to sue, Col…look at me. I’m eating a peanut butter sandwich for the twentieth day in a row.” A bitter chuckle escaped her.

“You don’t necessarily need money. Have you ever thought of legal aid?” She actually hadn’t, but only people with no money were that desperate. Surely there could be some other way, she thought. But now, lying on her couch at home, listening to her boys argue over the volume of the radio, a broken spring digging into her lower back, she knew that she was “people with no money”. And there really wasn’t some other way. Tomorrow, she thought, looking up at the clock. For now, she had to get ready for work.

“Welcome to BC” Luncheon For UBC Law’s New Dean

On July 1, 2003, Mary Anne Bobinski will succeed Joost Blom, QC as Dean of the UBC Faculty of Law.

To welcome the new Dean, the Law Courts Inn and the UBC Law Alumni Association are co-hosting a “Welcome to B.C. Luncheon” on June 11, 2003, where Dean Blom will introduce Professor Bobinski, currently the John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Law and Director of the Health Law and Policy Institute of the University of Houston Law Center, Texas.

There will be a reception at 12 p.m. at the Law Courts Inn followed by the program from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Tickets cost $38 ($20 for students). Law Courts Inn members may buy tickets at a discount.

To reserve your tickets, make payment by cheque or credit card to the Law Courts Inn, 5th Floor of the Courthouse, 800 Smithe St., Vancouver, BC V6Z 2E1. Tel: 604-684-8818; Fax: 604-689-5274; E-mail: lawcourtsinn@telus.net. At time of booking please specify any special dietary requirements.

Lawyers Assistance Program Luncheon

The Lawyers Assistance Program invites lawyers to attend their third Annual Gratitude Lunch at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, June 27, 2003 at the Law Courts Inn, 800 Smithe Street, in Vancouver. The LAP luncheon will honour Judge Mario Mondin with the ‘Lawyers Helping Lawyers’ award.

Tickets are $50 each or $400 for a table of eight people. Please call LAP directly to purchase tickets, at 604.685.2171 or toll free 1.888.685.2171.

These articles were published in the June 2003 issue of BarTalk and are subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2005, all rights reserved.