Spotlight on: CBA Re-Think – Strategic Direction

At the Mid-Winter meeting, CBA Council approved a new Strategic Direction for the association, which summarizes the aspirations, values, and foundation on which will be built a better organization. Read on for details of this latest stage in the CBA Re-Think.

CBA Influence

In case you missed it – check out the latest issue of CBA Influence, a monthly newsletter with blog posts about CBA initiatives, submissions, interventions and comments on public policy. Combined with Focus on Parliament, with links to information about government legislative, regulatory and policy changes, this newsletter provides a 360-degree look at both our current advocacy work, and opportunities for the CBA to get involved.

CBA Mid-Winter wrap up

The CBA Mid-Winter meeting of Council tends to be a more intimate event than the annual meeting in August, but that doesn’t mean that nothing happens.

Read on for some of the highlights of this year’s meeting, including a visit from the new Justice Minister, Jody Wilson-Raybould.

Do Law Differently – More than a suggestion

The latest tool from the CBA Legal Futures Initiative is a member-only online guide written by Jordan Furlong and developed in consultation with the Young Lawyers Forum, aimed at helping law students and young lawyers figure out what they need to do to position themselves for success.

Read on for more →

CBA President reveals Canadian secret

CBA President Janet Fuhrer went from the CBA Mid-Winter meeting in Ottawa to mid-winter in Whitehorse, and discovered a closely held secret – the North in winter is pretty cool (and sometimes warmer than more southerly latitudes). She’s written a short account of her trip, and sent some pictures.

Read on for more →

Building a better lawyer – CBA Legal Conference 2016

Plans are well underway for this year’s CBA Legal Conference, being held in Ottawa from Aug. 12-14. Come check out the website to see the speakers we’ve lined up, take a look at the networking opportunities, and to get a taste of what you’ll learn in the three PD streams (Building a Better Profession, Building a Better Practice and Building a Better Person).

Joint Policy Statement on Audit Inquiries update

CBA Council approved updates to the JPS at its Mid-Winter Meeting in February 2016, effective Dec. 1. The CBA JPS Review Committee prepared FAQs and a flowchart to help explain the changes to the JPS communication protocols A webinar, Understanding the Proposed New JPS on Audit Inquiries, is available free online. A live webinar explaining the impact of the changes on the profession will be offered on May 25, details to follow.

Read on for more →

Entity Regulation

Many of the provincial law societies are currently deliberating on whether (and if so, how) to implement some form of entity regulation in their jurisdictions. The CBA Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee, in consultation with the CCCA and other groups, provided its input to the Federation of Law Societies of Canada in February 2016.

Watch the video →

CBA National magazine

The nationalmagazine.ca blog roll is updated daily with news, analysis and commentary designed to appeal to lawyers working in today’s marketplace. Check out these recent articles: Do Law Differently: Christian Levien of Legalswipe on next steps for public legal education; Watch our interview with the Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould; How do we measure technology's impact on access to justice?

Professional Development

Realizing Equality for Aboriginal Children: Review of a Landmark Human Rights Decision

Cindy Blackstock will be on hand on March 17 for a webinar reviewing the decision of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal that found the government of Canada discriminates against First Nations children by providing inequitable welfare services.

Read on for details of the webinar, and find out how to register.

Don't miss ip day!

Presented by the CBA Intellectual Property Section, IP Day has an exciting program lined up, including a diversity networking breakfast; town hall forum; lunchtime keynote address by the Hon. David Stratus from the Federal Court of Appeal; the return of the IP Debates. Visit the conference website for details. Honorees for the CBA Judges’ Dinner are the Hon. Mr. Justice Rothstein, Prothonotary Roza Aronovitch and Mr. Brian Isaac (in memoriam).

Register now! →

CCCA News

The national CCCA conference, being held in Calgary April 3-5, offers up all the ingredients in what it’s calling your recipe for success. Read on for conference details.

As well, if you’re interested in being part of Cohort 4 of the Business Leadership Program for In-House Counsel created by the CCCA and the Rotman School of Management, read on for details on how to apply.

Upcoming in-person meetings and conferences

The National Immigration Law Section will be holding its annual in-person meeting in Vancouver this April – the theme of the conference is the intersection of theory and practice in the wake of the election. Also in April, the Construction and Infrastructure Law Section has its conference in Banff. In May, the Competition Law Section will tackle compliance issues at its forum in Toronto. The National Environmental, Energy and Resources Law Summit in St. John’s in June goes back to the fundamentals of energy and resource project development. And save the date for the CBA National Insolvency Conference Sept. 30 in Chicago.

Member Benefits

PREFERRED SUPPLIERS

Supreme Basics

As Canada's largest independent office and legal product supplier, we offer CBA members exclusive values and discounts on our products and services. To take advantage of these discounts and to view our latest promotion, please visit our CBA profile page. Please find our complete listing of legal products, office furniture and more online or contact us at info@supremebasics.com for more information.

Stage2Data

Hackers are sophisticated and can cloak suspicious activity in ways that data security software simply cannot detect. Stage2Data, on the other hand, actively monitors your data at the network level using human intelligence. That's right. Live professionals armed with the most aggressive technology monitoring your data and flagging suspicious behaviour. Visit our website.

First Data

Do you accept credit card and debit payments? Have you had your rates reviewed in the last 12 months? For a free statement review, visit us online and click on “Take advantage of these savings.”

BUDGET

Let the adventures begin. All you need is a car, the road and CBA member-only savings from Budget. Plus bundle your savings with a free weekend day (terms apply).

lexisnexis canada

LexisNexis Canada and the Legal Innovation Zone (LIZ) at Ryerson University are pleased to announce a new partnership based on a shared commitment to legal innovation. LexisNexis becomes a founding partner of LIZ, Canada’s first legal incubator, and will support the innovative startups at LIZ and the legal solutions they are developing.

SUPPORTING SPONSORS

DAS

DAS has been the global leader in Legal Expense Insurance, and was the first Canadian insurer to specialize in ATE insurance.

ATE insurance protects your plaintiff’s case by covering the costs of your disbursements and adverse cost awards if unsuccessful. The premium is waived if the case is unsuccessful.

ERRASURE

ERAssure is pleased to be recognized as the preferred supplier of estate administration insurance for Advocis (The Financial Advisors Association of Canada) and the 12,000 Advocis advisors and their clients. Advocis best practices recognizes estate risk as a significant exposure and advisors are now, through Advocis Broker Services, able to integrate estate protection as an appropriate risk mitigation tool.