Embrace the changes ahead

The Canadian Bar Association is a great resource for your continuing education.

By Rod Snow, Past CBA President

By now, most of you are eagerly anticipating the conclusion of your long years of study and your call to the Bar. Reaching these career milestones will rank among your proudest moments, and rightly so.

But your learning curve is far from over. It takes years to develop an expertise in law. And there is much about the business of law – dealing with clients, negotiation skills, time management – that you will learn on the job.

In fact, be prepared to learn throughout your career. Today’s lawyers must be nimble, adapt to technology, the growth of the information society, not to mention an increasingly complex regulatory environment.

And they must operate in a global marketplace. Canadian law firms are opening offices abroad to position themselves as providers of global and domestic expertise. These are also exciting times to be working in-house for global companies or international organizations, with career opportunities all over the world.

At the same time, globalization has fuelled competition. Clients expect efficiency. Their mantra: “Do more with less!” The result: the customization of certain legal services and in some cases, the end of the billable hour. A growing number of clients are even outsourcing files to cost-effective legal centres in countries such as India.

In this environment, young lawyers must keep an eye on the trends and developments in both substantive law and the legal industry.

And that’s where the CBA comes in. To be clear, our role is different than that of the law societies who regulate the profession. Our goal is to defend the interests of the profession and ensure that our members have access to the information they need to keep them on the cutting edge. We offer a wide array of quality professional development tools, as well as access to experienced practitioners.

The CBA is also a forum for lawyers who want to raise their profile by getting involved in matters that are important to the legal community and the broader public. Indeed, we are actively involved in the development of government policy and law reform. We will often respond to government initiatives that touch upon the law. This is how we wield influence among decision makers, and provide leadership opportunities for our members.

These are some of the many rewards of CBA membership. And it’s never too early to sign up. I sincerely hope that we, at the CBA, will get the chance to benefit from your many contributions.