February

A joint Working Group of the CBA and the Association of Legal Aid Plans of Canada (ALAP) collaborated to formulate and propose national legal aid benchmarks for Canada. After much consultation and discussion, we have now completed that work.

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The 2016 CBA Legal Conference went out on a high note, with an on-stage interview with Judy Smith, the real-life basis of the TV crisis management expert Olivia Pope. Before that there was an historic council meeting, an equally historic pitch event, loads of PD sessions, interesting keynote speakers and an intimate evening with Sam Roberts.

More than two years of hard work, cross-country consultations, feedback-seeking and closed-door negotiation culminated at the CBA Council meeting in August with a decision to accept a new governance model and set the association on a new member-centric path.

Renowned crisis manager Judy Smith, who has helped such high-profile clients as Monica Lewinsky and NFL quarterback Michael Vick, was the closing keynote speaker at the CLC in Ottawa.

There are all kinds of tips out there for ways to take better care of yourself. Specific steps that lawyers can take was the topic of a rapid-fire CBA Legal Conference panel including Dan Pinnington of LawPro, Karen Dyck of the Legal Help Centre in Winnipeg, and Doron Gold, a former lawyer and current clinician at Homewood Health in Toronto.

Defense lawyer Donald Bayne talks about the need to educate the public and journalists on the justice system and the Rule of Law.

That’s Don Bayne’s best advice for lawyers when facing a trial that’s likely to be tried in the court of public opinion. Bayne knows whereof he speaks – the partner at Bayne, Sellar, Boxall in Ottawa is most recently known for representing Senator Mike Duffy on fraud charges.

René Basque, of New Brunswick, talks about his priorities for his upcoming year as President of the Canadian Bar Association.

What are some of the reasons people might not get legal help? Cost is the obvious reason. But according to Sarah McCoubrey, a strategist on access to justice issues, people with legal needs often point to two other reasons. They’ll say they’re too intimidated or afraid to ask for help. And that dealing with lawyers and legal documents is too confusing.