Law Times

Page 4 June 15, 2015 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com OBA program receives international award By anasTasiya Jogal Law Times hen Orlando Da Silva started talk- ing about his own experience with depression after he became presi- dent of the Ontario Bar Associa- tion last August, he didn't expect the organization would soon take home an international award for helping lawyers manage their mental health. "My modest goal was to get to the people who, like me, kept this to themselves for fear of stigma," says Da Silva. But Da Silva was happy to see the OBA's Mindful Lawyer con- tinuing professional development program recognized recently with an outstanding achievement award from the Association for Continuing Legal Education. The program, which first ran on Feb. 6, aims to help lawyers develop their skills in balancing their per- sonal and professional lives. "I am thrilled at this acknowl- edgment," says Da Silva. "When the OBA set out to ad- dress mental health in the pro- fession last summer, we knew we were undertaking important work, but we never expected to have such a tremendous response from lawyers not just across On- tario, but nationally and interna- tionally, too." In addressing mental health, the OBA began with tips on the web site and then continued with webcasts that included interviews with people such as Da Silva on various topics. "It included tips of the week or of the day and I think it's ap- proaching 30 tips on the web site now to help manage stress, workload, depression, moder- ating alcohol, all kinds of very useful tips that were developed by and with the assistance of the Ontario Psychological Associa- tion," says Da Silva. The challenge of address- ing mental health, of course, is a significant one given the stigma around talking about the issue in the legal profession. "A lot of it re- lates to the personality they have," says Doron Gold, a staff clinician at Homewood Health. "They are often type A, self-starter-type of people. They often will say I fix people; I don't get fixed." Because high-powered in- dividuals are excellent at func- tioning even when they're sim- ply coping, it still appears as though there's nothing brewing under the surface, according to Da Silva. "A common problem is that we function so well at work — and work is the last thing to go — that nobody knows you're suffering from depression un- less you tell somebody," he says. Da Silva says he began speak- ing publicly about his own situ- ation after he realized just how many lawyers were committing suicide due to mental illness. And the numbers, he adds, reso- nated with him because he al- most became one of the statistics. "I came very close to the same end. I overdosed on . . . 180 sleep- ing pills and two bottles of wine and I spent three months in the hospital and got the treatment I needed. But even then, even though it was over the Christ- mas break, I didn't tell my fam- ily I was there and at work I told [them it was] a physical thing." And with the OBA program taking off, Da Silva says the is- sue continues to gather steam. "It's been extremely popular," says Da Silva. "It seems the gem of the pro- gram was the CPD series which had six modules. We called it the Mindful Lawyer series," he adds. "The response has been in- credible," says Jill Mayer, the OBA's director of professional development. "I have the latest numbers in front of me. For all six modules, we have over 12,000 registrations." Besides issues like stress, anxi- ety, and full-blown depression, lawyers are prone to addiction as well, according to Gold. Addic- tion can result from some of the habits lawyers develop such as working too hard, not taking va- cations, and not delegating work, he notes. "They are not sleeping well enough — that's a big one. And sleep is the cornerstone of good mental health. They are of- ten drinking too much or using drugs," he says. "Lawyers aren't often good at spotting when they have over- loaded themselves. They just feel that working that hard is part of being a member of the profession [and] it's expected of them." LT NEWS What's Market is much more than a deal summaries database. Not only can you search, review, and compare expertly prepared summaries of recent deals and fi lings – you'll see exactly how this information impacts your deal. Do you need to determine the appropriate break fee for your deal? Use What's Market to quickly compare break free provisions across multiple deals in a specifi c industry and create a custom report on market trends. This is just one example of the many ways What's Market on Practical Law Canada gives you the practical know-how to get your deal done faster and more effi ciently than ever before. Experience the What's Market difference • Find specifi c deals faster with custom advanced search • Get expert analysis and deal summaries with links to underlying agreements • Benchmark market practice and trends by comparing multiple deals or fi lings at once • Respond to clients faster with instant custom reports • Eliminate non-billable hours Start with Practical Law Canada. Sign up for a free trial at www.practicallaw.ca 00229IF-A50787 Introducing What's Market on Practical Law Canada Insightful analysis that goes beyond deal summaries W 'I am thrilled at this acknowledgment,' says Orlando Da Silva. LAO expands certificate coverage in several areas By glenn kauTh Law Times egal Aid Ontario has announced major changes to its certificate program to expand coverage in a range of areas from criminal to family to refugee law. "It's a terrific day," says Nye Thomas, LAO's director general of policy and strategic research. "Virtually all of them come into effect immediately," he says of the changes, noting the only exception involves the changes with respect to bail matters. "However, they will be retroactive to June 8," he adds. With the Ontario government pumping more than $96 million into LAO over three years, the agency is moving ahead with an ex- pansion of certificate coverage to provide assistance in a greater range of areas in addition to the series of increases to the income eligibility threshold that started taking effect last year. In criminal law, for ex- ample, LAO will now issue certificates based on criteria besides the loss-of-liberty test that considers an applicant's likelihood of going to jail. Under the changes, certificates will be available to those meeting the income eligibility criteria who are facing secondary consequences of a criminal conviction such as a risk of deportation; immediate loss of public housing; or a significant impact on access to family and child custody. In addition, LAO will expand coverage for those meeting the income criteria with no prior criminal record in situations where the Crown is seeking a conviction or discharge and the defendant is First Nation, Métis or Inuit; has a mental illness; or is a victim of domestic violence charged with an offence related to a partner. When it comes to bail, the changes include providing for enhanced certificates for reviews that will expand the number of hours lawyers have to challenge bail orders and conditions imposed on those released. When it comes to family law, the changes will expand coverage for complex cases. According to Thomas, they refine the definition of complexity to deem certain matters, such as those dealing with applications under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, to be "presumptively complex." As well, they'll include provisions for what Thomas calls "client com- plexity criteria" to define complexity on the basis of client character- istics such as literacy issues or language barriers. Additional changes will provide for certificates in mental-health proceedings to assist those meeting the income eligibility criteria who wish to bring guardianship applications before the Consent and Ca- pacity Board or the Superior Court. In addition, the changes provide for expanded coverage in refugee matters and domestic violence cases. They'll also provide for targeted services for aboriginal clients and ex- pand LAO's public-interest criteria for test cases that address systemic issues affecting the poor. "The old test-case criteria were pretty nar- row," says Thomas, noting it will now be possible to provide a certifi- cate in a test case with significant implications for the poor even if the representative client doesn't meet the financial eligibility criteria. The changes announced last week have drawn support from mem- bers of the bar. "The new and expanded eligibility guidelines for legal aid in Ontario will enable a quantum leap forward in access to justice in the province, in contrast to the retrenchment in legal aid occurring in many other jurisdictions," said Michael Trebilcock, a University of Toronto law professor and author of a 2008 report on legal aid. LT L

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