Canadian Legal Conference 2009
Do you like to plan ahead and avoid the last-minute rush? Then be sure to guarantee your place at the CBA’s Canadian Legal Conference in Dublin, Ireland, August 16-18, 2009.

Take a moment to check out the draft program, then book your accommodation online. The schedule has been structured with business and professional development programs in the mornings, with afternoons free for sightseeing. Then round out the day with receptions, dinners and entertainment at the National Concert Hall, Dublin Castle, and Guinness Storehouse.

Brochure: www.cba.org/cba/dublin2009


CBA Online Store
Looking for materials from a past CBA National Continuing Legal Education program or access to a past online CLE session? You can find them, and much more, in the CBA store. Search by subject, author and keyword to find exactly what you are looking for. Order online, then download immediately in PDF format. It couldn’t be easier!

Visit the CBA store: www.cba.org/store


Equity and Diversity Guide Available Online
The CBA’s Equity and Diversity Guide – a first of its kind in the legal profession – is a resource manual for the legal profession that offers practical advice to help law firms promote diversity and equity, leadership for recruitment efforts, and mentoring for lawyers.

“The business case for diversity is already made,” says Mary Jackson, chief legal personnel and professional development officer with Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto, and a member of the guide’s advisory panel. “This guide speaks to how you actually do it. It is the first step in thinking about and analyzing your approach to diversity.”

Developed by the CBA’s Standing Committee on Equity, the guide directly meets the strategic objective of promoting equity and diversity in the legal profession. “We are trying to assist law firms and organizations so that they can become leaders within their fields, by achieving and promoting diversity within so that they become part of the core business plan,” says Janet Oh, immediate past Chair of the Equity Committee.

The guide is being distributed throughout the profession alongside the CBA’s “It’s About Respect” video series on gender, race and disability discrimination. The video series presents three very short stories to open a discussion about the biases and prejudices that may be present in law firm situations. By exploring assumptions and increasing self-awareness, lawyers will be able to recognize ways in which they can contribute to a discrimination-free workplace.

“The ultimate goal is to try and achieve diversity within the legal profession, so it is reflective and inclusive of the population and of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented, excluded and discriminated against within the profession itself,” says Janet Oh.

The CBA’s Equity and Diversity Guide: www.cba.org/cba/equity

These articles were published in the December 2008 issue of BarTalk. © 2008 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.