It’s an honour to serve as Chair of the Section during such a transformative time for the legal community. As newly-minted lawyers, we’ve all had to adapt to a changing landscape to secure articles, to manage the cost of an increasingly expensive law school education, and to gain the skills needed to be successful as a lawyer and in life. We are uniquely positioned to play an important role in a world changed by COVID-19.
After joining the CBA in law school, in no small part to take advantage of significantly cheaper auto insurance, I have come to appreciate the unique role the CBA plays representing the interests of lawyers from coast to coast to coast. While I worked for a short time in private practice, the majority of my career has been spent as counsel at administrative tribunals covering subjects as varied as agriculture, transportation, disability rights and most recently, international trade and procurement. I also spent several years on Parliament Hill as a legislative and policy analyst, providing research for Parliamentarians and Parliamentary Committees.
Much like my involvement with the CBA, my experiences gave me the opportunity to meet Canadians from all walks of life and all parts of Canada, evolving my personal views and professional aspirations.
This year the Executive looks forward to tackling some of the big picture issues faced by young lawyers today and developing programming that is responsive to your needs. Take a look below at what we have coming up!
I would also love to engage with you more personally on the topics you think should be the focus of the Section’s advocacy and outreach mandates. I’ll be connecting with interested Section members via Zoom on September 22nd; please consider registering!
While we may not be able to meet in-person in the near term, I hope to hear from you throughout the year on how we’re doing. Let’s do great things together during these difficult times!
Sincerely,
Zackery Shaver
Chair, CBA Young Lawyers Section
Law Needs Well-being Because...Campaign is Launching Again on October 4th, 2020
Rebooting again this year, the Law Needs Well-Being Because...Campaign will seek to shine a spotlight on the importance of mental health and the efforts fellow lawyers from across Canada take to improve their wellbeing.
During the week of October 4th-10th 2020, join us in support of this Campaign by sharing your own reflections about well-being in our profession over Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. You can also join in on the conversation with the CBA on Twitter by following the hashtag #LawNeedsWellBeingBecause.
How Has COVID-19 Impacted You?
If you haven’t done so already, I would encourage you to complete our short survey (under 2 minutes) on the Impacts of COVID-19 on Young Lawyers and Law Students, and to share it with your friends. This information will greatly help us focus our advocacy efforts on behalf of our members in the year to come, and every voice counts.
Coffee in the Times of COVID
Our Coffee in the Times of COVID virtual gatherings have paired small groups of young lawyers from across Canada to discuss topics from searching for a new job during COVID to working remotely, or substantive changes to the law since COVID-19 struck.
We are looking for additional facilitators for September and October. If you are interested in hosting a session, please reach out.
Want to stay in the know on upcoming sessions? Sign up for our listserv.