What Are Lawyers Capable Of? Judge For Yourself
The CBABC Communications Committee, with the support of Provincial Council and the National Office, has been active in the past two years, working on initiatives to address the public image of the profession. Public perceptions about lawyers was identified by members in a national Ipsos Reid poll, as being one of the top two priorities for CBA action.

One of the initiatives undertaken in BC was a province-wide poster and ad campaign. The campaign focused on educating the public about the ways in which lawyers work with their clients to solve common life problems and prevent future legal difficulties. BC led the rest of the country in researching and developing this campaign, based on a similar concept used in Virginia.

The ads provoked a lot of positive feedback, particularly from lawyers. On a very frugal budget, ads were placed in targeted local papers, and the posters were distributed throughout the province, for posting in community centers, libraries, and law firms.

This year, with the support of the National Communications Committee and Senior Director of Communications Stephen Hanson, the next phase of the campaign has been developed. The campaign is designed to make people re-think their perceptions about lawyers, and to think about the attributes they admire in famous people who also happen to be lawyers. Posters have been developed, as have short, effective radio ads.

People who are featured include:

• Mahatma Gandhi;
• Nelson Mandela;
• Peter Tchaikovsky;
• Anne Montminy;
• William Deverell; and
• Ken Dryden.

Before BC undertakes this campaign, the Communications Committee would like to hear from you. Examples of both the new and old posters are shown on the Web site, at www.cba.org/BC. We ask that you take a few moments of your time to give us your feedback on both. Once you have signed in, click on the “Your Voice Counts”.

If this is your first time signing in, use your CBA member number as your user name and welcome as your password.


Notes from UBC and UVic
The CBABC had an active season at both UBC and UVic this Fall.

Sheena Mitchell, member of the CBABC Membership Committee, hosted a CBA membership drive for first year students during UBC’s Orientation Week in September and answered questions about the benefits of student membership.

In early October, the CBABC hosted a lunch panel, which was well attended by students from all years at UBC. Panel members Leslie Small, Credentials Department and Kuan Foo, Equity and Diversity Program Coordinator, both of the Law Society of British, discussed the requirements for admission to the bar and dealing with inappropriate questions during the law firm recruitment process. The panel also included students who had worked during the summer at law firms and organizations, including Lang Michener, Davis & Company, McCarthy Tetrault, Department of Justice, Armstrong & Company, and West Coast Environmental Law. Student panelists discussed their summer experiences and answered questions.

At the end of October, UBC and the CBABC hosted the annual Mentor Reception at Cecil Green Park. 150 students and mentors attended the reception, as well as CBABC representatives Frank Kraemer and Carman Overholt. Students met with their mentors, some for the first time and the CBABC presented its UBC law student achievement award to third year student Sean George.

At UVic, the CBABC and UVic External Affairs Representative Tim Livingston, organized a mock interview session with law firm recruitment coordinators to help prepare students for interview week. And on October 25, UVic held its annual Mentor Reception for mentors and students.

Our thanks to Christine Mingie for this article.


Passages: Sad News
It is with deep regret that we note the passing of The Honourable Mr. Justice George S. Cumming in November. His family has requested that anyone wishing to honour his memory consider donating to Canadian Cancer Society.


Electronic Over-Sharing
Occasionally, when an email is sent to many people it will be accompanied by pages listing the other recipients and their email addresses. This is a potential breach of privacy since some individuals may not want anyone else to know their email address.

A way to avoid this possible embarrassment is to use the following procedure: In order to hide the recipient list of an email sent to a group of people, the recipients should be entered into the “Bcc” (Blind Carbon Copy) field rather than the “To” field. Usually it is a good idea to enter the sender’s address in the “To” field as some mail servers may reject email that has this field blank. Recipients who reply to the email will only be replying to the original sender.

If the email requires further discussion amongst all the recipients, using the “Bcc” field will not work. In this instance the “To” and “Cc” fields will need to be used. This should only be done if you are confident that all of the recipients are okay with all of the other recipients seeing their email address.

Thanks to the College Quarterly, the newsletter of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, for allowing BarTalk to repeat its discussion of this issue.


Volunteer Legal Advocacy Program
The Volunteer Legal Advocacy Program (VLAP) of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, BC Division still requires volunteers.

The goals of the VLAP are to make legal information and advocacy support available by telephone, email and in person to people with multiple sclerosis on Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and Kamloops.

If you are interested in volunteering your services or if you know someone with MS who would benefit from this Program, contact the MS Society at 604.689.3144 or 1.800.268.7582.


BC Courthouse Library Society
On October 23, 2001 the BC Courthouse Library Society hosted a reception honouring life Board Member, the late Honourable Mr. Justice G. S. Cumming, and introducing Sylvia Teasdale, the new Chief Librarian and Executive Officer of the Society.

Mr. Justice Cumming, who passed away in November just weeks after the reception, was instrumental in the creation of the precursor to the BCCLS, the Law Library Foundation, which the Law Society created in 1975. In the past 26 years, Mr. Justice Cumming has provided leadership and support to the BCCLS. He has held the position of Vice Chair of the Society since 1991, and was made a life member of the Society in 1994.

Sylvia Teasdale, the new Chief Librarian and Executive Officer, joined the Society in September from the Ottawa Public Library. With the Board of Directors, Sylvia has already begun the process of developing a new vision for the BCCLS, which will unfold over the coming years. Sylvia will be meeting with the Society’s stakeholders throughout BC during the upcoming months.


Lawyers Assistance Program
LAP provides confidential support, counselling and referrals for lawyers, their families, support staff, judges and students suffering from alcohol and/or chemical dependency, stress, depression or just about any type of personal problem.

For assistance or information on meetings and resources please call 604.685.2171 or toll free 1.888.685.2171.

The LAP office is located at 415-1080 Mainland Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 2T4.

These articles were published in the December 2001 issue of BarTalk. © 2001 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.