Law Times

PAGE 2 NEWS November 7, 2011 • Law Times LSUC extends Justicia But not everyone agrees with project BY KENDYL SEBESTA Law Times W PIPELLA LAW IS CURRENTLY HIRING A FULL TIME LAWYER We are looking for a lawyer with at least 2 - 5 years experience in litigation. We specialize in personal injury law and work on a variety of fi les in a team-based environment. We offer excellent working conditions, a competitive salary and solid benefi ts. Please forward your resumes to Pipella Law at kpipella@pipellalaw.com. Pipella_LT_Nov7_11.indd 1 KEEP PACE WITH THE EVOLVING LANGUAGE OF THE LAW NEW EDITION POCKET DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN LAW, 5TH EDITION DAPHNE A. DUKELOW, B.Sc., J.D., SLL.M. Find a quick reference to current Canadian legal definitions with the Pocket Dictionary of Canadian Law, 5th Edition. This new edition includes 3,000 new and revised legal terms that have entered the legal lexicon through case law, treatises, learned journals and legislation including federal and provincial statutes. The Pocket Dictionary of Canadian Law, 5th Edition provides you with expanded coverage of Aboriginal, Administrative, Commercial, Environmental, Family, Insurance, Intellectual Property, Medico-legal and Securities law. AVAILABLE RISK-FREE FOR 30 DAYS ORDER #983688-64811 $49 Softcover 650 pages July 2011 978-0-7798-3688-8 Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 Order online at www.carswell.com Shipping and handling are extra. Price subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. 11-11-01 11:42 AM hile the Law Society of Upper Canada is hailing its Justicia project following the decision to extend it, at least one lawyer doesn't think much of the eff ort. "My mind is boggled by this," says Inga Andriessen of Andriessen & Associates in To- ronto. "I'm confused as to why the LSUC feels female lawyers would need the extra help. I don't think they need the LSUC to guide them along." Th e com- ments come as at least two other provinces indi- cate they're con- sidering follow- ing the LSUC's lead on measures to retain women in the profession. In British Co- lumbia, the law society says it's al- ready seeing lots of enthusiasm for a similar eff ort there. "I'm extremely pleased with the reaction I've had from fi rms," says Susanna Tam, Law Society of British Columbia's equity and diversity co-ordinator. "I was contacting them as part of the feasibility process to gauge inter- est for the program in B.C. and many said, 'Where do I sign?'" Manitoba is considering a program as well, while people in involved in the issue in On- tario say the LSUC eff ort has addressed a signifi cant problem. "Of course, it's close to my heart," says WeirFoulds LLP managing partner Lisa Borsook, who served on the steering committee for the LSUC's retention of women in private practice working group. "Women are graduating at much higher rates from law school than ever before and yet they're not be- ing retained. . . . It will be really interesting to see the results." Benchers approved a two- year extension to the program at Convocation last month, a move welcomed by Ritu Bha- sin, a lawyer who bills herself as a diversity specialist at Bha- sin Consulting Inc. "Th e law society has taken a 00182GN-A26921-64811_LawTimes.indd 1 To advertise in an upcoming issue, contact our sales team: 8/16/11 3:43 PM Karen Lorimer: 416-649-9411 karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com Kimberlee Pascoe: 416-649-8875 kimberlee.pascoe@thomsonreuters.com www.lawtimesnews.com real leadership role in the whole process," she says. "Th ey've brought together a range of fi rms, in addition to representa- tives from large fi rms, to discuss this important issue and form a think tank, a collective gathering of information. Because I work a lot with equality issues, I think people coming together to share ideas is very important." Since the project began in 2008, more than 55 large- and medium-sized fi rms across On- tario have signed up to work with the project. Th rough it, the LSUC works with the fi rms to identify and adopt principles and best practices in order to retain and advance women in private practice. "My hope is that resources will be created and collected in the future that allow women to reach their goals," says Bhasin. "I hope they take that knowl- edge back to the fi rms and create education opportunities in the future." As part of the B.C. eff orts to deal with the issue, Tam is work- ing to get a change-of-status survey in place to collect more qualitative data about the fac- tors that cause women to move from full- to part-time or non- practising status. "We need to know what makes them leave so we can fi gure out what's most likely to make them stay," says Tam. Along with the The issue of retaining women in the profession is 'close to my heart,' says Lisa Borsook. Justicia extension last month, the LSUC also decid- ed to continue the parental leave assis- tance program un- til Dec. 31, 2012. Th e program aims to support lawyers in sole practices and practitioners at small practices of fi ve lawyers or less after they give birth to or adopt a child. It provides them with $750 a week for up to 12 weeks if eligible. So far, just 148 lawyers have received benefi ts under the program since it be- gan in March 2009. Convocation approved the extension in order to give the LSUC time to evaluate the pro- gram and consider the impact of the recent expansion of em- ployment insurance benefi ts to the self-employed. "I think the other issue that you have to consider is that . . . to my understanding, if you opt into the federal EI pro- gram, then you are going to be paying those premiums for the rest of your working career," Bencher Susan McGrath noted at Convocation. In comparison, the law soci- ety notes its program "provides a fi xed sum of $750 a week to eligi- ble applicants for up to 12 weeks" rather than through a scheme that would require payment of ongoing premiums. "I think including the people who are involved in the front lines in the discussion is very im- portant," says Bhasin. Andriessen, however, notes that when she became pregnant, she looked at her situation and planned the entire process of how she'd manage being both a lawyer and a mother. "I fi nd the whole thing a really discriminatory policy," says Andriessen. "It really de- values female lawyers overall. I mean, if you can't fi gure out something so important in your own life and plan accord- ingly, how can you really make recommendations to clients and be paid for that?"

• Cover
• Justicia Extended
• Texting Dangers
• Focus On Family Law