Diversity and inclusion has been a topic of discussion between law firms and in-house counsel for many years now. Although policies and best practices have been widely developed and forwarded, action and real results have been slower to materialize. By having an open discussion on obstacles and successes, sharing results of one organization's internal survey of law firms, and introducing a new tool, this program aims to help the Canadian legal community move beyond discussion to real action.

SPEAKERS

Nikki Gershbain

McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Toronto, ON

As Chief Inclusion Officer, Nikki’s role is to integrate and formalize McCarthy Tétrault’s national policies, programs, and initiatives related to diversity, inclusion, pro bono and community impact. She has been an advocate for social change for 25 years, and is a recognized leader in diversity and inclusion initiatives and pro bono programming. Her reputation for excellence includes 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 nominations as a top legal “Changemaker” by Canadian Lawyer. Nikki’s role, combining equity and social responsibility into one portfolio, is a first of its kind for the Canadian legal industry. Knitting together these values, Nikki focuses on ensuring that the firm’s diversity and social impact goals are aligned and met. In executing these initiatives, Nikki effectively engages with our people, connects with clients and the community, and expertly drives overall innovation and growth at the firm.

Thomas Kim

Thomson Reuters Corporation
Toronto, ON

Tom joined the company in 1999 as compliance and legal counsel. Since then, he has held a number of legal executive roles including as a business unit general counsel and as the company’s Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to assuming his current role as Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary, Tom led the the overall separation of the $6 billion financial and risk data business (now known as Refinitiv) from Thomson Reuters. Prior to that, Tom was the Managing Director of Thomson Reuters businesses in China. Prior to joining Thomson Reuters, Tom was in private practice in San Francisco with the law firms Baker & McKenzie and Hancock, Rothert & Bunshoft (now Duane Morris). Throughout his career, Tom has led diversity initiatives, having helped launch a reverse mentoring program and a global diversity advisory council at Thomson Reuters and the ASCEND Executive Network in New York to aid Asian Pacific Americans rise to the C-suite. Previously, Tom was named one of the “Best Lawyers under 40” by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. As a leader, Tom believes that purpose drives people and people drive profit. Tom obtained undergraduate and law degrees from Stanford University.

Matthew David Peters

McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Vancouver, BC

Matthew is leading the revolution to rethink and reinvent the way law firms can better serve their clients Through significant conversations with clients, and exploring and listening to their challenges, Matthew is identifying the ideas, technology and processes that are bringing law firms and the provision of legal services into the future. This includes optimizing service deliverability, creating transparency and predictability in fees and leveraging new forms of technology to facilitate those services. Matthew’s unique role in the industry has been and continues to be a catalyst in helping McCarthy Tétrault enhance our response to evolving client needs.

Julia S. Shin Doi, CIC.C

Ryerson University
Toronto, ON

Julia Shin Doi is General Counsel and Secretary of the Board of Governors of Ryerson University. As an Executive Group member, she is responsible for providing legal and governance advice and has operational responsibility for access to information, privacy, records management, and information security. Julia is also a member of the Board of Directors of Ryerson Futures Inc. and the national Board of Directors of Canadian Universities Reciprocal Insurance Exchange (CURIE). Julia has taught legal seminars for Ryerson University’s Law Centre and advises Ryerson’s Law Practice Program. She was recently a reviewer for the new Certified In-House Counsel – Canada designation offered by the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association and University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. In addition, she is on the Advisory Board of Blakes and Deloitte’s leadership and development program, Stepping Up: Preparing to be GC. Julia is a past adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she taught from 2001 to 2013. She is the past director of the Osgoode Business Clinic, past instructor of Legal Drafting, past assistant director of the LLM in Business Law and past instructor of Osgoode Professional Development’s Commercial Legal Drafting Workshop. She currently teaches contract drafting and practice skills to lawyers.

Charlene D. Theodore

Ontario English Catholic Teacher's Association
Toronto, ON

OBA President Charlene Theodore is a workplace lawyer with a background in public policy and government relations, and currently serves as in-house counsel to one of Ontario’s largest teachers associations. One of Canadian Lawyer’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers of 2020, she is known for tackling some of the most challenging issues facing the bar and the justice system, as well as bringing about positive change throughout the profession for women and people of colour.

As the OBA’s first Black president, Ms. Theodore – who is also a member and former director of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers – has embraced her role in improving equality, diversity and inclusion in the justice sector and beyond. Her ground-breaking initiative – Not Another Decade – is focused on moving the dial on equality for Black and Indigenous people and people of colour. She is also committed to working with lawyers and law firms to re-imagine workplaces through her Work that Works initiative – building productive, profitable, healthy and inclusive work environments for all lawyers.

As she likes to say: “Our best chance for a just society is diverse and dedicated lawyers working at their best.”