Dear members,
Welcome to the CBA Young Lawyers Section! I am honoured to serve as Chair of the Young Lawyers Section for 2017/2018 and fortunate to have an engaged group of executive committee members to work with over the coming year. Together we hope to serve the interests of young lawyers across Canada: we will advance advocacy issues that matter to you; ensure the CBA is focused on your needs and desires as you advance from a first year to a nine year call; and enhance the CBA’s offerings to increase your membership value.
I have been involved in the CBA provincially and nationally for 10 years, particularly with young lawyers, SOGIC and the CBA Legal Futures Initiative. I am from the prairies, but attended law school and practice in Vancouver. Over the years I summered, articled and practised across a variety of areas. I experienced work in a large regional firm, a well-established 11-lawyer litigation boutique and a brand new start-up firm. These experiences gave me a broad perspective on legal practice early in my career. Since 2013, my practice at Overholt Law has been focused on employment, labour, privacy, human rights and related workplace law issues.
My involvement with the CBA has allowed me to engage in professional issues that go beyond my practice areas and connect with like-minded colleagues and contacts from coast to coast to coast. This year I look forward to tackling big picture issues faced by young lawyers and the profession in general. I hope to hear from you throughout the year on how we’re doing. Let’s do great things together!
In May 2017, the Young Lawyers executive met in Montreal to share information on what was happening across the country, and to brainstorm for the future. We were joined by Jonathan Pierre-Etienne, Vice-President of the Young Bar of Montreal who provided updates on the significant work being done on behalf of young lawyers in Quebec, and the executive had an opportunity to meet both Justice Côté and Justice Moldaver from the Supreme Court of Canada. Check out the Section galleries page for some highlights.
We recognize that young lawyers across the country are a diverse group with a variety of interests, concerns and career priorities. To start, we would like to hear from you about what we can do, from a national perspective, to address professional issues that matter to you. Please complete the following short survey to provide your input on several priorities that were identified at the meeting in May.
The next executive meeting will take place on October 26-28, 2017, in Toronto. We will be joined by the Chair of the ABA Young Lawyers Division who will provide an update on work being done on behalf of young lawyers south of the border.
Sincerely,
Preston Parsons
Chair, CBA Young Lawyers Section
GET INVOLVED
The success of the Section comes from the dedication of our volunteers and Section members; we invite you to engage with the Section:
- Contact the CBA Young Lawyers Executive
- Are you interested in working with us on advancing a particular initiative? Let us know!
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- Submit an article for publication.
- Have you checked out CBA Connect? It’s a dedicated micro-site specifically populated with information for young lawyers at various levels of practice. Need wellness resources or practice tools? Got it.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
There is still time to register for the upcoming Solutions Series webinar on November 7 - Overcoming the Fear of Failure: Being Resilient and Leaving Pessimism Behind. Don’t miss out!