---

More and more cases rely on digital evidence. How can lawyers recover digital information from computers, mobile devices, and cloud sources in ways that will be accepted by the courts? How can they certify that the data is authentic? Collecting digital evidence in a secure manner, using sound forensic methodologies, is key.

Join the Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA) and a digital forensic expert on Nov. 28, 2022, from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. (MT), to gain a greater understanding of how this resource can support your cases and develop strategies to unlock digital evidence.

Price: 

•  $95 + GST

Register to attend this webinar.

---

Join the Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA) and experienced faculty on Nov. 25, 2022, from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (MT), as they answer questions and engage in thoughtful discussions about how to address family violence in chambers.

Topics include:

• Obtaining and providing evidence
• Relevant legal tests and principles
• Issues related to parent-child contact resistance
• Appropriate parenting outcomes in cases of family violence

Price: 

• $445 + GST

Register for the in-person session or virtual live stream option.

---

Access to civil justice is in a state of emergency. The legal needs of Canadians remain largely unmet, despite efforts by the legal profession and governments to address the issue. In response to this crisis, both lawyers and non-lawyers are innovating to provide legal services in more accessible and affordable ways. However, their initiatives are sometimes stopped in their tracks by the rules governing the legal profession.

Law societies in various jurisdictions have recently implemented Innovation Sandboxes, which allow for some of these rules to be temporarily lifted to encourage the development of innovative pilot projects. These initiatives echo a recent CBA Resolution that called for law societies to permit regulatory innovations that have the potential to improve accessibility, affordability, and quality of civil legal services.

This webinar will provide a deep dive into these new sandboxes. It will explore the reasons for which they were established, the parameters along which they analyze and approve projects, the safeguards they implement to protect the public, and some of the early results they have generated in their first months or years of operation. We will also discuss some of the differences between these sandboxes and the prospective regulatory changes they may yield in the future.

Sandboxes: What’s the Buzz? Tell Me What’s Happening
Presented by the CBA Access to Justice Subcomittee
Thursday December 8, 2022
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. MT

 

---

The Canadian Bar Association is hosting their annual Family Youth Provincial Court Town Hall Meeting on Monday, Nov. 14 from 12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. (MT).

Registration fee: 

• CBA Full Subscribers: No charge
• CBA Webcast Subscribers: No charge
• On-Demand Subscribers: $15
• Non-Section Subscribers: $15
• CBA Law Student Members: No charge

Register by 12 p.m. on Nov. 13, 2022, to attend.

---

Legal Aid Alberta has assembled an expert panel of speakers to cover a variety of topics relating to mental health and the criminal code on Nov. 22, 2022, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. (MT).

Topics include:

• Forensic psychiatry for lawyers – A crash course in terminology and key concepts
• Understanding (and challenging) risk assessments
• Forensic psychiatry and sex offenders: What lawyers need to know (risk, treatment, etc.)
• The law of fitness and NCRMD (i.e. what comes before the Review Board)
• Introduction to practice at the Alberta Review Board
• Introduction to the Mental Health Act and Mental Health Review Panel process
• Mental Health Court & practice tips for working with mentally ill clients
• Trauma informed practice

Speakers:

• Judge Michelle Collinson, Provincial Court of Alberta
• Dr. Raheed Syed, MD, FRCPC, Forensic Psychiatrist, Alberta Health Services
• Alexandra Seaman, Defence Counsel, DDSG Criminal Law
• Amna Qureshi, Staff Lawyer, Legal Aid Alberta
• Andrew Holko, Staff Lawyer, Legal Aid Alberta

Register to attend this free event online.

---

University of Alberta, Law Students for Human Rights Club and the Canadian Red Cross present the 2022 International Humanitarian Law (IHL) academic conference, to be held on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022, from 12-2 p.m. (MT). 

This conference will bring together experts from the field, including academics and representatives from the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, to discuss Climate Change and Armed Conflict.

Alberta lawyers may consider including this conference as a CPD learning activity in the annual Continuing Professional Development Plan.

Register to attend this free event.

---

As part of Access to Justice Week, Legal Aid Alberta will be hosting a webinar on Oct. 25, from 12-1 p.m. (MT), for lawyers and law students interested in finding out what it takes to become duty counsel in Alberta. Attendees will also learn about the different services duty counsel provides, the objectives and expectations of the role, and tips for dealing with common challenges.

Speakers: 

• Danny Lynn – Senior Advisory Counsel, Adult Criminal Law, Legal Aid Alberta
• Katie Clarey – Advisory Counsel, Legal Aid Alberta

There is no cost associated with the event or deadline to register.

---

From Oct. 24-28, 2022, the Canadian Bar Association and its partner organizations will be offering a variety of virtual events and activities across the country highlighting the importance of justice, the barriers to accessing it, and the ways we can work together to break down those barriers.

The theme of Access to Justice Week (A2J) this year is Data and Access to Justice.

Register for an upcoming event below, or view the full list of A2J scheduled programs.

Date:	Topic:
Monday, Oct. 24 at 8:30 a.m. (MT)	Accountability in Justice – Practical Tips to Increase Access to Justice, presented by the Social Security Tribunal of Canada and the Department of Justice Canada
Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 10 a.m. (MT)	Self-Representation: Where Do We Stand, What is Being Done, and Where Do We Go from Here, presented by the National Self-Represented Litigants
Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. (MT)	People-Centred Data Collection, presented by the Law Society of Manitoba, Manitoba Bar Association and the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law
Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 9 a.m. (MT)	Barriers to Accessing Justice for Two Spirit, Trans, Non-Binary and Gender Nonconforming People in Canada, presented by the Law Society of Saskatchewan
Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 10 a.m. (MT)	Data, Drugs & Disorientation: Access to Justice Research from the Edge, presented by the CBA British Columbia Branch
Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. (MT)	Access to Justice, Data and Advocacy, presented by the CBA Alberta Branch
Thursday, Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. (MT)	We’ve Got the Data – Now What?, presented by the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters
Thursday, Oct. 27 at 1 p.m. (MT)	Access to Justice in the Wake of the Divorce Act Amendments, presented by the Atlantic Canada Justice Panel
Friday, Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. (MT)	Well-Being Matters: Mental Health in the Legal Professions, presented by the Law Society of Ontario and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada

 

 

---

This conference has been held annually since 2015, providing networking and professional development opportunities for Crown prosecutors, attorneys and allied professionals across Canada. The goal of the conference is to facilitate the sharing of information and resources about animal abuse and the Violence Link (the relationship between animal abuse and human abuse) in order to ensure that crimes against animals are prosecuted effectively and efficiently.

The 2021 conference hit record-breaking attendance and our roster of speakers delivered up-to-date educational information that will assist prosecutors and allied professionals when coming across an animal abuse file.

Some of the session speakers and highlights of this year’s conference include:

• Sophie Gaillard, Acting Executive Director and Director of Animal Advocacy and Legal Affairs at the Montreal SPCA, who will share what was learned from the Saint-Édouard Zoo investigation, which resulted in the seizure of more than 200 animals ranging from lions, tigers, and zebras to bears, wolves, kangaroos and primates;
• Co-Director of the Centre for Forensic Research and Forensic Entomologist Dr. Gail S. Anderson who will explain how insects can be used to estimate the elapsed time since the death of an animal as well as other factors about a crime scene in relation to wounds and whether a body has been disturbed;
• Phil Bogdanoff, attorney and nationally recognized continuing legal education speaker, will return this year with Tiger King II, the highly anticipated sequel to last year’s presentation that will review the issues the “Tiger King” raised on appeal, the appellate court decision and resentencing, along with how wildlife offenses can be joined with non-wildlife offenses and a review of Season Two of Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness; and
• Tips on navigating animal abuse files, working with law enforcement, better understanding of how animal enforcement is regulated in Canada, and more!

Attendees can expect to enjoy professional development opportunities while learning from industry experts and professionals during interactive presentations.

---

LESA is also offering this program as a livestream program.

Loosely tracking the lifecycle of a criminal law matter, this program will explore issues that commonly arise. It will be of particular interest for lawyers in their early years of practice or those new to the practice of criminal law.

Topics include:

• Bail (judicial interim release)
• Disclosure
• Tips & tricks for negotiating with the Crown
• Closing arguments: applying the law to your case
• Sentencing
• Views from the Bench

Time:   9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. 

Price:  $445 + GST