SASKATOON — Fred Headon of Montreal takes over the helm as President of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) on Aug. 20 when the chain of office is transferred from outgoing President Robert Brun, Q.C., of Vancouver at the closing luncheon of the CBA's Legal Conference.
The first in-house counsel to be elected to this position in the CBA’s 117-year history, Fred Headon has identified access to justice, helping the legal profession prepare for the future and increasing CBA membership as his key priorities for his year-long term.
“Improving access to justice is at the core of our mandate at the CBA. We advocate for the rule of law and for equality. Those principles can only be brought to life if Canadians have access to a fair, predictable and good legal system,” says Fred Headon.
“Our initiative on Envisioning Equal Justice is currently — and will continue — to bear fruit in the coming months and years. Our summary report with its 31 targets for providing Canadians with meaningful access exemplifies that commitment,” adds Fred Headon.
During his tenure as President, Fred Headon will continue to head up the CBA’s Legal Futures Initiative. Launched a year ago, the project is in its second phase, focused on consultation and collaboration.
“There has never been a time when the CBA was more relevant – and indeed more instrumental – to the future of the legal profession in Canada,” he says.
The CBA Legal Futures Initiative looks at the legal profession of the future. The Future of Legal Services in Canada: Trends and Issues was released in June and provides insight into the vectors of change for the legal profession, and how the profession can adapt.
Fred Headon also has his sights set on increasing membership and improving the member experience at the CBA. “Ours is the only organization that represents the interests of all legal professionals in Canada and protects their core values. Our strength is in our numbers, and I invite non-members to become involved and find their place within the CBA.”
Mr. Headon currently leads Air Canada’s in-house labour and employment law team at the company’s headquarters in Montreal. From 1999 to 2006, he practised labour and employment law, human rights and privacy law, and administrative and constitutional law at McCarthy Tétrault in Montreal.
In 1998, he spent eight months at the Faculty of Law at the National University of Rwanda where he taught upper-year law courses and supervised the research by graduate students in human rights and constitutional law.
Called to the Bar in Quebec in 1997, Mr. Headon has been a member of the CBA since 1999. Within the CBA, he served as a board member of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association, from 2007-2012 and he has served as a member of the CBA/Auditing and Assurance Standards Board committee on Joint Policy Statement on Audit Inquiries.
The 2013 CBA Legal Conference takes place in Saskatoon from August 17-20, and is open to accredited media. Please contact Hannah Bernstein for accreditation.
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to support for the rule of law, and improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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