Robes have been ubiquitous with lawyers dating back to the Middle Ages and have been viewed as a grand tradition of the legal profession. Robes can be controversial at times, with some questioning their relevance in the 21st century legal profession.

For the past several years, the Women Lawyers Forum has been fortunate to send a representative to two meetings of the ABA – the midyear meeting and the annual meeting. This year the midyear meeting took place in Las Vegas in January.

NOTE: This article originally appeared on The Lawyer’s Daily website published by LexisNexis Canada Inc. on January 29, 2019, with the title “What we can learn from On the Basis of Sex”

Eleven women lawyers dropped in the middle of the remote northern wilderness. It sounds like it could be a terrible movie plot. But in fact, it was the setting for the CBA-NT Inaugural Women Lawyer’s Forum Retreat. We had left our usual responsibilities behind, and committed to a weekend of connection, discussion, learning, and lots of laughs too.

Values are the building blocks of society and should form the foundation for every action of every individual and organization. Do you know your values as a firm? Have you defined them so that all staff knows what they mean to the firm and how to represent the firm using those values? Are your policies and practices reflective of those values?

Last December I read a CBC article about Indigenous lawyers speaking out about bias and racism. The Law Society of B.C. and the Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C. featured an on-line video project called: “I Was Wearing a Suit.” The CBC article focused on Indigenous lawyer’s perspective within the profession and more importantly, opened a conversation about how Indigenous people are treated in our legal system.

The CBA-NT Women Lawyers Forum Section hosted a career management workshop in Yellowknife on May 11, 2018.

Former judge Robin Camp has been reinstated as a lawyer after receiving instruction on sexist attitudes. And if he’s not reformed then he’ll be just another sexist male lawyer, writes Diane Baker Mason.

Former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin has launched a promising second career with her first novel, Full Disclosure. It’s a light, fun whodunit, says Erin Cowling.

The Prince Edward Island Court of Appeal and Supreme Court issued a practice direction in February to allow for the modification of court attire during pregnancy.