February

The CBA Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee has released updates to its guidelines for meeting ethical obligations while using technology.

Professor Gerry Ferguson’s course Global Corruption: Law, Theory and Practice, which he’s teaching this fall at the University of Victoria, marks two firsts: it’s the first course on anti-corruption at a Canadian law school, and he’ll be teaching from the first coursebook focused on the law of anti-corruption available globally – a book in which the CBA’s Anti-Corruption Team played a key role.

If you are, or if you know, a law student with an idea for a paper, we have essay contests looking for winners. Read on for information about coming contests, entry requirements and deadlines.

CBA CEO John Hoyles has been awarded the 2015 CBA Wellness Forum's Award of Excellence. The award recognizes an individual involved in lawyers' assistance who shows knowledge, compassion and dedication to improve the lives of lawyers.

The CBA is gearing up to send out its third round of legal health check cards in time for Law Day next April. The cards are meant to be a useful tool for people experiencing a possible legal issue who may not know what steps to take next.

Staff changes at the Canadian Bar Review this fall include a new publication officer in the Ottawa CBA office, and new English editors at the University of Windsor. Meanwhile, online access to the third edition of Fundamentals of Canadian Competition Law is now available to CBA members. As well, the fall editions of the Canadian Competition Law Review and the Canadian International Lawyer Journal are now available.

CBA International Initiatives is very pleased that the rule of law was included in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN last September, write Jennifer Khor and Robin Sully in a Huffington Post op-ed.

The CBA's advocacy work will be the focus of CBA Influence, a newsletter we'll start publishing on the first Tuesday of every month, beginning in February.

The CBA is continuing to engage with the incoming cabinet ministers; we have one intervention going ahead in January and have applied in another.

Holiday party season is in full swing. Depending on your approach, professional obligation parties can be either a minefield or a great opportunity to network.