Law Times

www.lawtimesnews.com endorsements key to many candidates' strategies By anasTasiya Jogal Law Times rom endorsements from colleagues to social media, bencher candidates use a variety of strategies to win votes. "I don't think there is any prescription. It's not one size fits all. I mean, everyone is differ- ent," says Raj Anand, a lawyer at WeirFoulds LLP and a bencher since 2007. Strategies need to vary with lo- cation and the candidate's specific firm and practice. Candidates also need to take into account the organizations they're a part of and what they can do to help them, says Anand. One strategy that can play a big role in bencher elections is endorsements. "In order to get elected as bencher, you need some name recognition and you need people to understand what the positions [are that] you are tak- ing," says Bencher Christopher Bredt, a senior litigation partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. "It connects you with networks of the people that are endorsing you so that voters who see your web site or see your brochure or your statement will understand that the people who have en- dorsed you are . . . familiar with your work and they are familiar with your judgment and they feel you have the kind of judgment that will make you a good candi- date for bencher," says Bredt. Endorsements can help candi- dates network and improve their name recognition by connecting them to the legal community. "Most bencher candidates would be well known within the areas that they practise but they might not be well known outside of that, so what I try to do is get a diverse group of people from different practice areas or different back- grounds who know me to provide some comment as to why they think I would be a good candidate for bencher," says Bredt. "When I ran the first time, I did think it was quite important because I was an unknown per- son running for the first time," he adds. But once candidates have es- tablished themselves, endorse- ments tend to lose some of their importance, says Bencher Peter Wardle. There are several kinds of endorsements: those given by lawyers whose names are rec- ognizable, endorsements within firms, and support from law as- sociations. "Endorsements within firms are probably most effective," says Anand, noting endorse- ments from associations such as The Advocates' Society are also quite helpful. "Individual en- dorsements are less significant or persuasive, and I guess I am speaking from my own experi- ence as a voter," he adds. Anand notes the bencher campaign can be challenging for new candidates as they have to set aside a lot of time for it and build their name recognition. "I went through the lawyers' phone book, page by page, over about 10 hours and picked out those people whom I know," says Anand. He actually had it in mind to run for bencher for 15 years prior to taking the leap. While he feels he may have waited too long to run, he says the many years of law practice and active involvement with various or- ganizations helped him build a reputation that ultimately helped him succeed the first time he put himself forward. "Like a lot of lawyers, I have been involved in a lot of different sorts of public interest issues and public organizations. I have been on the board of The Advocates' Society, Legal Aid Ontario, and some clinics and Pro Bono Law Ontario and U of T," he says. Young lawyers often don't have the same level of involve- ment, he notes. "I had been prac- tising for 27 years when I first ran and now it's 35." Former treasurer Derry Millar faced a different type of challenge when he first ran for bencher. "When I first ran, I ran in 1991 and I sent out let- ters but I was at a long hearing out of town. So my letters went out, [but] I mailed them after the ballots had come out and, as a friend of mine said, 'Most people will have voted by the time they got your letter.' So for the first time around in 1991, I wasn't elected." One of the challenges Bench- er Howard Goldblatt has no- ticed is it can be difficult for candidates to express their views during the election per- iod. "We never actually get to talk to people," says Goldblatt. "All we do is talk to people through interviews and bencher statements and so on. There are a lot of issues that the Convo- cation is going to have to deal with." So what are some other winning strategies? According to both Anand and Millar, a key strategy is to personally reach out to as many fellow lawyers as possible. "Both times, I sent a personal e-mail to probably a thousand to 2,000 of my best lawyer friends in On- tario, and that was really the substance of my campaign, not really much more than that," says Anand. "The best way to get elected is to reach out to as many people as you know and to ask them and to ask their friends to vote for you. That's the best way, whether it's by e-mail or letters or ads or telephone calls or social media," says Millar. As for campaigning tools, when it comes to social media, bencher candidate Janis Criger has had good success with more than 17,000 hits and counting to her profile on the Law Times bencher election web site. "I tweeted out the link as soon as it went up," says Criger. Millar and Anand agree that social media is becoming in- dispensable. However, both ac- knowledge they haven't had a lot of experience with it since social media has only become popu- lar in the last few years. "Social media is another thing. I have not been much involved. I created a web site," says Anand, noting he has stayed away from platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. LT F Christopher Bredt tries to seek endorse- ments outside of his practice area. THE LAW SOCIETY OF UPPER CANADA BENCHER ELECTION 2015 Law Times • March 30, 2015 Page 19 Peter Downard's Commitment to You 1. Support for Equality and Diversity 2. Support for Better Access to Justice 3. Support for Balanced Regulation 4. Support for Mentoring and Skills Development www. p e te rd ow n a rd .c a • 41 6 - 8 6 5 - 4 3 69 Fasken Martineau, 333 Bay Street, Suite 2400, Toronto, ON M5H 2T6 Among Peter's supporters are the following distinguished lawyers: Geoff Adair John Campion Brian Gover Bob Harrison Doug Hunt Don Jack Jeff Leon David Lepofsky Jennifer McAleer Will McDowell Eugene Meehan Willy Menninga Mayo Moran Susan Opler Allan Rock Mark Sandler Paul Schabas Peter Wardle "Peter will be an excellent bencher - he will bring to the issues an open mind and will consider all points of view before making his decision." - Derry Millar Peter Downard @Downard4Bencher Untitled-3 1 2015-03-17 10:32 AM

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