For Immediate Release
August 14, 2005
VANCOUVER – A centre for information and expertise that would collect statistics, initiate surveys, track and analyze 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,” said 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.”
The report is the culmination of more than two years of consultations, surveys, and analysis. The impetus for the report came from the realization that there was a major shift taking place in the demographics of legal profession. As it began its work, the Futures Committee identified three demographic influences that appeared to be dominant: the influx of more women into the profession, the increasing diversity of the profession, and the difference in attitudes and expectations between younger and older lawyers.
Work-life balance played a role in all of these trends. “The leading factor that will emerge to change the legal profession over the next ten years is the increasing importance associates will place on their personal and family time – the work-life balance issue,” said Kelly Smith of Rogers Moore in Toronto, the young lawyer representative on the Committee.
“Associates will shun enormous billing pressure. Greater importance will be placed on interesting work, flexible work environments and alternatives to hourly billing, with the end result being more free time,” Mr. Smith added.
The Committee also noted the influence of other factors (defined as “drivers of change”), including fragmentation due to increased specialization, diversity and variation in income, competition in the marketplace, globalization, technology, and new service models such as ADR.
The Committee made 11 key recommendations, categorized into four groups:
- Creating internal strength that includes building membership, promoting advocacy and equity, and helping members achieve economic success.
- Reaching out and creating a sense of “connectedness” with members.
- Developing new cooperative arrangements with existing and new partnerships and alliances.
- Protecting the profession by introducing environmental scanning, risk assessment and futures analysis to all planning activities.
The Committee concluded that there is an “enduring need for an Association to advocate on behalf of the legal profession’s fundamental values and principles, to manage its evolution and to champion the rule of law and defend the independence and integrity of the legal and judicial systems.”
The report was released to CBA Council during the Canadian Legal Conference in Vancouver, Aug. 13-16, 2005. It can be viewed online at:
www.cba.org/futures
Sessions at the Conference are open to accredited media. Most programs take place at the Vancouver Convention Centre and the Fairmont Waterfront. A Media Centre is located in the Vancouver Convention Centre, 999 Canada Place, Room 20, 2nd level. Accreditation may be obtained by contacting the CBA National Office in Ottawa at (613) 237-2925, ext. 146/155 until Aug. 11. The Media Room will be open on Friday, Aug. 12 beginning at noon, until Tuesday, Aug. 15 at noon. The full program for the CBA Canadian Legal Conference can be viewed at:
http://www.cba.org/cba/annualmeeting/pdf/vancouver.pdf
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 34,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, Tel: (613) 237-2925, ext. 146; E-mail: hannahb@cba.org. Aug. 12-15: (604) 647-7408.
