Law Times

Law Times • apriL 25, 2016 Page 9 www.lawtimesnews.com Women in private practice face hurdles, says report What supports benefit female lawyers? BY MICHAEL MCKIERNAN For Law Times D espite ending more than two years ago, the Law Society of Upper Canada's Jus- ticia Project is still making an impact in the legal profession, according to the regulator's for- mer treasurer. Laurie Pawlitza co-chaired the project, launched in late 2008 with the aim of promot- ing the advancement of women in the law, during her time as an elected bencher of the LSUC. Funding expired at the end of 2013, but Pawlitza says she still gets constant reminders of the project's work. "I was recently at a conference at the Ontario Bar Association, and attendees were pointed to the materials we put together through Justicia. They have ba- sically become the standard that firms use now going forward," says Pawlitza, a partner in the family law group at Toronto firm Torkin Manes LLP. "What we intended to do was to make this an issue that it was appropriate and important to talk about, and from a law firm perspective, I think that has happened. People talk about it a lot, and in a much more thoughtful way." At McCarthy Tétrault LLP, an early adopter of the Justicia Proj- ect principles, female advance- ment remains a high priority, according to Judith McKay, the firm's chief client officer. "We have a real focus on di- versity and supporting women, including various programs directed at women lawyers and clients on leadership, commu- nication skills, and other areas that are of interest or impor- tance to women," McKay says. Last month, the Managing Partners' Forum, an interna- tional group of professional firms based in the U.K., present- ed its award for the best diver- sity and inclusion program to McCarthys for the firm's Pitch Perfect initiative. The idea for the speed- pitching event grew out of a brainstorming session with Ry- erson University general coun- sel Julia Shin Doi, then-chair- woman of the Women's General Counsel, according to McKay. The first event, held last sum- mer in Toronto, brought togeth- er 21 partners and associates from McCarthys, along with 17 female GCs. Each lawyer made three speed-dating-style pitch- es, followed by feedback and comments from the GCs. "Pitching is an extremely valuable skill. Our business is about meeting the needs of cli- ents, so an effective pitch is real- ly part of a dialogue, where you can show an understanding of the client's business, what their needs are, and a good sense of how you can help them," McKay says. "Our lawyers were very ex- cited, and, in fact, I would say elated afterwards. It's rare to get real-time feedback on how you did in a pitch, so that was very powerful. After each round, they felt as if they got better." MPF judges said they were impressed with "an innova- tive program that had already showed clear business benefits" despite still being in its early stages. The law firm held a simi- lar event in Montreal last fall, with further dates scheduled for Calgary and Vancouver in the coming months. "The great thing for our law- yers was that they felt like they learned something, but also es- tablished relationships that they could continue to build on after the program," McKay says. Despite progress in the area, some reminders of the situation for female lawyers in Ontario are less welcome than others, according to Pawlitza. She says parts of the Criminal Lawyers' Association's recent report on the retention of women in the private practice, for example, sounded eerily familiar to her. The CLA research found an alarming rate of attrition for female lawyers practising crimi- mal law, as well as complaints from female members about a lack of mentorship, unequal treatment from justice system participants, and inadequate support for maternity leaves. "It gives me at least a bit of comfort to see that the issues we identified back in 2008 were the right ones," Pawlitza says. The CLA's report, written by Natasha Madon, a criminal jus- tice researcher based in Australia who received her PhD in crimi- nology last year from the Uni- versity of Toronto, was based on a combination of focus groups, surveys, and data from the LSUC and Legal Aid Ontario. Tracking groups of lawyers via their law society annual reports and legal aid billings, Madon found that within just a few years of call, female lawyers are doing less legal aid crimi- nal work than their male coun- terparts, and as their careers progress, are more likely to drop criminal law from their practice altogether. Of the 224 female CLA members surveyed in Decem- ber 2015, 61 per cent said they had considered leaving the pri- vate practice of criminal law, cit- ing "low pay, long hours, and the challenges of dealing with Legal Aid," according to the report. In addition, 78 per cent of respondents felt women were treated differently from men in the courtroom, with many complaining about patronizing or disrespectful treatment from Crown attorneys, judges, and court staff. "It was particularly disap- pointing to see that," Pawlitza says. Keli Mersereau, the women's vice-president at the CLA, says she hopes the report will spark a long-overdue change in the treatment of female defence counsel. "If we can get a big change at the top, hopefully, it will branch out to other areas," Mersereau says. "I'm certainly hopeful all participants in the criminal jus- tice system will be aware of the issues, and there can be collec- tive change." The CLA report makes a number of recommendations based on the responses of focus group members and survey re- spondents, including: • Sensitivity training for Crown counsel and judges; • Establishing fixed end times for court days; • Lobbying the LSUC to im- prove its means-tested maternity leave program; • Improving mentorship by se- nior female lawyers via the CLA; • Increasing referrals from women to women ; • Lobbying LAO for better rates and working conditions. Mersereau says she managed to avoid some of the family- related concerns voiced by many of the survey respondents because she gave birth to her children before she started law school. However, she says the report still rang true, and dur- ing her 18 years in practice, she has watched many colleagues ei- ther drop out of criminal law or switch from private defence prac- tices to the Crown Law Office. "The hours involved in work- ing for the Crown are much less than having your own practice. The f lexibility of hours and availability of leaves and bene- fits are also attractive when you have a family," Mersereau says. According to Pawlitza, female criminal lawyers could benefit from some existing LSUC pro- grams, including a project set up in 2012 to provide free career coaching to women in prepara- tion for a maternity leave, and then again on their return to practice following the birth of a child. The five-year pilot still has more than a year to run, but Pawlitza says take-up has been on the low side. "I think that could fill at least some of the need for mentorship they are looking for," she says. Pawlitza says she's looking for- ward to working with the CLA in the future as they attempt to fulfill some of the recommenda- tions in their report. LT FOCUS Laurie Pawlitza says female criminal law- yers could benefit from some existing LSUC programs. Course Leader Eli Lederman, Partner, Lenczner Slaght Duties of Good Faith: Recent Developments in the Law and Practical Implications FULLY ACCREDITED IN-CLASS PROGRAM & LIVE WEBINAR Toronto, June 9 • Webinar, June 9 ARE YOUR CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS BALANCED WITH HONESTY CONTRACTUAL RIGHTS | EMPLOYEE CONSIDERATION | CASELAW REVIEW REGISTER BEFORE MAY 13 AND SAVE $300 To register and learn more visit www.lexpert.ca/cpdcentre Untitled-5 1 2016-04-21 2:46 PM Pitching is an extremely valuable skill. Our business is about meeting the needs of clients, so an effective pitch is really part of a dialogue, where you can show an understanding of the client's business, what their needs are, and a good sense of how you can help them. Judith McKay

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