The 10th Conference of the International Organization for Judicial Training (IOJT) is being held in Ottawa from October 30 to November 3, 2022 and the National Judicial Institute is hosting the conference. The theme, Effective Judicial Education: Understanding Vulnerable Populations, will have plenary sessions, panel discussions, and workshops that will look at three broad topics: ensuring effective and fair access to justice for all, effective judicial pedagogy and lessons learned during the pandemic, and the way forward for in-person and virtual delivery of judicial education.

Registration is available at on the IOJT website, where you will find information on how to register, the cost of attending and links to accommodation in Ottawa.

The themes of this conference and the importance of ensuring a well-educated, independent judiciary is of interest to the entire legal community. This conference brings together judges and judicial trainers from over 30 countries, addresses difficult and emerging topics in judicial and legal education and allows all participants the opportunity to learn, share experiences and knowledge, and develop ongoing professional friendships.

The Canadian Bar Association – Alberta Branch and the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers’ Association – Women’s Legal Forum invite you to attend a very special gala event to celebrate the extraordinary Catherine A. Fraser, Chief Justice of Alberta.

Our Chief Justice is retiring this year after a remarkable career. In celebration of this iconic leader, we expect a sell-out gala dinner with over 1,000 attendees from the Alberta Bar, the judiciary, and other distinguished guests) on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, at the Edmonton Convention Centre, Hall D.

This is sure to be a memorable gala evening!

The dress code for the event is business attire.

Ticket prices: $150 for individual admission, $75 for lawyers under 2 years at the Bar (buying individual seats), and $35 for students still attending law school. A table of 10 tickets is $1,500.

If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact the event Co-chairs at a.lindberg@bruyermackay.ca or cdewitt@rmrf.com.

The Calgary Bar Association is proud to host a celebration dinner for the Honourable Catherine A. Fraser upon her retirement. The event will honour the career, impact and legacy of our Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal.

Tuesday, Sept 27, 2022
BMO Centre — Palomino Room
Calgary, Alberta

Cocktails at 6 p.m.
Dinner at 7 p.m.

• Tickets are $225 per person (including GST). Tickets sales open July 18 at NOON for a limited time. Seating will be assigned in tables of 10. (To purchase multiple tickets, you can either complete separate transactions for each attendee or you can adjust the “Quantity” at the checkout page.)
• Dress code is black tie / formal.
• This event is reserved for CBA members only.
• Please continue to watch the CBA website for more details to be posted.

Civility is a concrete tenet of practice. …It holds the legal profession together and contributes to a just society.

You are invited to join this seminar on an important topic – Civility, Professionalism and Respect in Advocacy.

Open to both Crown and defence, aimed at criminal but open to civil, attendees will benefit from the collective wisdom of respected and experienced criminal law practitioners and a Court of Appeal justice. Defence counsel Mona T. Duckett, QC (who has been described as “the epitome of civility”), Crown prosecutor Shane Parker, QC (described as “well-regarded by all justice system participants for his skill, professionalism, and adherence to the highest standards of ethics”) and Court of Appeal Justice Peter Martin (who has past experience as a Crown prosecutor, defence counsel, Law Society of Alberta president, and a Court of Queen’s Bench justice) will share their thoughts and perspectives on conducting a civil, professional and respectful practice.

Details

• Friday, June 17, 2022, 11:30 – 1:00
• This event is hosted by the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service
• Open to defence counsel, prosecutors, students-at-law, and law students
• There is no fee to attend and no registration is required.

For the link to the webinar, please email JSG-ACPS.EKM@gov.ab.ca.

The biennial National Family Law Program is sponsored by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. All conference sessions will be held in person at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. The conference office will open the afternoon of Sunday, July 24, with an opening reception to be held early that evening.

The program is open to lawyers, judges, academics, articling students and law students in Canada.

Topics will include current issues and trends in family law, as well as topics related to the future of the practice of family law. There are also opportunities for networking and attending special interest sessions. Faculty selected are private practitioners, academics, judges, government representatives, financial experts and authors in the social sciences, from across Canada and from abroad.

The program will be submitted for professional development credits in all jurisdictions where applicable.

Please visit flsc.ca then click on the link to the National Family Law Program for ongoing program updates.

Until recently, the term “Regulatory Sandbox” was familiar in other sectors of the economy but was foreign to the legal sector. In the legal context, a regulatory sandbox permits experimentation with technology, people and processes to offer fresh approaches to challenges faced by sectoral participants. And without fear of non-compliance with existing regulatory and policy frameworks set in place by law societies and bar associations.

The introduction of sandboxes allows for controlled spaces where innovators can try new approaches to solve pervasive problems with the appropriate guardrails in place to protect the public. Including the under-representation of many potential end users of legal services.

This webinar will provide a snapshot of the current state of play and future prospects for innovation sandboxes and their potential to foster structural change in North America’s legal sector. Len Polsky, Manager of Legal Technology and Mentorship, Policy and Education at the Law Society of Alberta will be speaking.

Speakers will cover the following themes:

• Is Canada’s legal sector becoming more receptive to change? What are the impacts for legal sector service providers in the private and public sector?
• Examples of what innovations sandboxes are delivering to date and what results and lessons are there to build upon? What does the future look like?
• What can we learn from other jurisdictions that have implemented innovation sandboxes for the legal sector (i.e the UK)? Does it lead to improved access to justice for market lead solutions where public policy and governmental approaches have failed to break the logjam in the past?

Date: Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Time: 10 a.m. MT

Cost: Admission is free.

Register here.

We would like to invite all Alberta lawyers and students-at-law to Well-Being in Practice: A summit on taking care of yourself, your workplace and your profession.

The Law Society of Alberta, Alberta Lawyers’ Assistance Society (Assist), the Alberta Lawyers Indemnity Association (ALIA) and the Canadian Bar Association — Alberta Branch are partnering to host this virtual summit.

Our speakers include lawyers willing to share their own mental health experiences as well as mental health professionals providing education, concrete tools and resources to take away from the Summit.

Well-Being in Practice will be held over two half days:

• Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, noon – 4:15 p.m.
• Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Registration for this event is free to all Alberta lawyers and students-at-law. This event is open to the first 1,000 registrants, so we encourage you to register now. If you are unable to attend the live Summit, we encourage you to still register for the Zoom event. Registrants will receive a link to the recorded version and other materials following the Summit. 

To register or learn more about the event, review the agenda and visit our registration page.

Please note that a Zoom account is required to register for this event. If you do not have a Zoom account, sign-up is free and available here.

Content Warning and Disclaimer

Throughout the Summit and in review of the suggested resources, you may encounter information or material that is triggering, upsetting or challenging to engage with. If you need to talk to someone or need support, you are encouraged to reach out to Alberta Lawyers’ Assistance Society (Assist) at 1.877.498.6898.

The presentations and suggested resources provided in this Summit are provided for educational or informational purposes only and are not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice. Views expressed during the presentations or in the suggested resources are the views of the speaker or author individually and do not necessarily reflect the views of the host organizations. The host organizations are not responsible for the accuracy, content or information provided in this Summit. Participants must exercise their personal and professional judgment about the accuracy, utility and applicability of the information to their circumstances.

CCDC has launched CCDC Document Webinars, a new initiative aimed at providing information and guidance about the content and use of our standard construction documents.

CCDC’s June webinar will be on CCDC 11 ‘Contractors Qualification Statement’. CCDC 11 is an industry standard form that is often used for pre-qualifying general contractors and trade contractors. It can be used as a part of, or as a sole document requested in the RFQ. The webinar will explain everything there is to know about CCDC 11, including the two new sections on insurance references, health, and safety. Join CCDC to learn how to properly fill out the CCDC 11 forms, whether you are preparing or receiving the CCDC 11.

Dates: Thursday, June 9, 2022 (English) & Wednesday, June 22, 2022 (French)

Register for the English session or register for the French session.

The cost to register is $75.

The Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta (CPLEA) is hosting a free webinar on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 about the recent ban on conversion therapy in Canada. Amendments to Canada’s Criminal Code took effect on Jan. 7 and include four new criminal offences banning conversion therapy and related conduct. What constitutes conversion therapy? How will the new law affect those providing and being subjected to conversion therapy?

Panelists include:

• Blake Desjarlais, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Griesbach
• Emmet Michael, musician
• Glynnis Lieb, Executive Director for the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies & Services (iSMSS), University of Alberta
• Rin Lawrence, Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Human Rights Committee and Chair of the Teacher Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA), Edmonton Public Teachers Local 37
• Charles Easton, LGBTQ+ Lawyer

The Centre for Sexuality will also be on hand to provide mental health support to our panel and participants. Visit this page for more information.

Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Time: 1:30 – 3 p.m.

Register here.

Join the Canadian Bar Association for a webinar about the Innovation Sandbox presented by Len Polsky, Manager, Legal Technology & Mentorship, Law Society of Alberta.

• Webinar Topic: Innovation Sandbox: Developing Innovative Models for the Delivery of Legal Services Outside the Existing Regulatory
• Date: Friday, May 20, 2022
• Time: Noon (MT)
• Cost: Live Webcast Subscribers — no charge
  On-Demand Subscribers and Non-Section Subscribers — $15.00
  Law Students — no charge

Visit this page for more information and register here.