Spotlight on Canadian Bar Review

  • September 13, 2017

This has been a busy time for the Canadian Bar Review, with four issues published since the new editors began working in December of 2015, and a new collaboration with the Canadian Association for Legal Ethics to provide a home for papers by junior scholars.

This summer has seen two special editions of the CBR, most recently articles stemming from a partnership with the CBA Legal Futures Initiative. In 2016 the CBR teamed up with Futures to host a workshop in Toronto titled Transforming Legal Education and Training in Canada: A Workshop to Inspire Change. The workshop brought together a representative group of law students, lawyers, legal educators and legal employers for facilitated discussions about innovation and strategies that can be used to better support lawyers throughout their careers. Building on the education recommendations of the Futures report, the workshop encouraged dialogue about how to ensure that tomorrow’s lawyers receive appropriate training for the future to become more effective and fulfilled.

The Futures issue opens Vol. 95 of the Canadian Bar Review. Vol. 94 – the new editors’ first full volume of three issues – was capped off by a special issue that was an homage to former Supreme Court Justice Louis LeBel. Authors wrote about Justice LeBel’s influence on administrative law, international private law, solicitor-client privilege, labour law, the law of obligations and to civil law.

One more special edition is planned: this one will focus on the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision not to allow the appeal of a Quebec court’s decision in the Latif case. Latif is a pilot of Pakistani origin who was denied training on certain planes in Texas after being ruled a security threat – for undisclosed reasons – by U.S. authorities. Manuscripts for the issue were received in April and are currently undergoing peer review.

Meanwhile, the CBR is collaborating with the Canadian Association for Legal Ethics for a contest where articles submitted by junior scholars will be eligible for publication in the Canadian Bar Review, which is the journal most often cited by the Supreme Court. The CBR editorial team welcomes the partnership as a way for the journal to continue shaping discussion on legal questions related to professional responsibility, ethics and legal governance.

Stay tuned for contest and publication details and more updates on the CBR.