8:30 – 9:00

Registration and Breakfast
OBA — Foyer

9:00 – 9:05

Opening Remarks
OBA — Grand Salon

Jonathan Griffith, Practice Advisor (Law Society of Alberta); Chair, CBA Ethics and Professional Responsibility Sub-Committee (Calgary, AB)

9:05 – 10:35

Session 1
Harassment, Bullying and Discrimination within the Profession
OBA — Grand Salon

With new provisions in the Model Code on discrimination and harassment still relatively fresh, more data is available on its prevalence and impact within the profession. Law societies and other stakeholder organizations, like the Canadian Bar Association, have commissioned surveys to uncover the experiences of members with discrimination and harassment.  Panelists will explore findings from these surveys and discuss what the results mean for our profession, with a focus on the tools currently available and those still needed to effect necessary change.

Speakers:
Sania Chaudhry, LLM, Forte Workplace Law (Surrey, BC and Calgary, AB)
Andrea Menard, LLB, LLM, PhD student; Sessional Instructor, Osgoode Hall Law School and University of Calgary (Edmonton, AB)
Cara-Marie O’Hagan, Executive Director, Policy, Equity and External Relations, Law Society of Ontario (Toronto, ON)
Claire Marchant, Director, Policy & Practice, Law Society of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC)

Moderator: Jonathan Griffith, Practice Advisor (Law Society of Alberta); Chair, CBA Ethics and Professional Responsibility Sub-Committee (Calgary, AB)

10:35 – 10:50

Health Break
OBA — Foyer

10:50 – 12:20

Session 2
The Limits on Resolute Advocacy
OBA — Grand Salon

Resolute advocacy is vital to our adversarial justice system. It is a key component of the lawyer’s commitment to the client’s cause and a principle of fundamental justice. The Model Code reflects the lawyer’s duty of resolute advocacy, while other ethical obligations in the Code  refine its scope. The courts impose limits to prevent questioning they deem inappropriate, including questioning that perpetuates harmful stereotypes; and lawyers in specialized areas often struggle with legislative duties that seem to conflict with the essence of resolute advocacy within the adversarial system. Our panellists will discuss the limits on the duty of resolute advocacy and whether the Model Code approach is in need of review.

Speakers: 
Lisa Dufraimont, Professor and Associate Dean (Academic), Osgoode Hall Law School (Toronto, ON)
Marie Henein, LL.M., SJD (Honoris Causa), Henein Hutchison Robitaille (Toronto, ON)
Eric Sadvari, Chair, CBA Family Law Section; Kenet Family Law (Toronto, ON)

Moderator: Carsten Jensen, K.C., JSS Barristers; Chair, FLSC Standing Committee on the Model Code of Professional Conduct (Calgary, AB)

12:20 – 13:20

Lunch
OBA — Grand Salon

Session 3
Professional Ethics and Client Selection
OBA — Grand Salon

There has long been debate about the extent to which lawyers should be considered ethically accountable for their choices of clients to represent.  This issue has always been important in contexts such as criminal defence but is seeing increased focus in contexts such as litigation relating to climate change and representation of politically unpopular causes. 

Speakers:
Marie Henein, LL.M., SJD (Honoris Causa), Henein Hutchison Robitaille (Toronto, ON)
Allan Hutchinson, Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School (Toronto, ON)

Moderator: Noel Semple, Associate Professor, University of Windsor (Windsor, ON)

14:05 – 14:15

Introduction of new CBA Toolkit
OBA — Grand Salon

Speaker: Jonathan Griffith, Practice Advisor (Law Society of Alberta); Chair, CBA Ethics and Professional Responsibility Sub-Committee (Calgary, AB)

14:15 – 14:30

Health Break
OBA — Foyer

14:30 – 16:00

Session 4
Judicial Ethics Update
OBA — Grand Salon

Experts in the field of judicial ethics will address several recent developments, including (i) changes to the process for judicial discipline under the Judges Act, (ii) Justice Jamal’s decision to recuse from the appeal involving Quebec’s secularism legislation, (iii) the need to develop guidelines for disciplinary sanctions for judges, and (iv) the corrosive risks of generative AI for judges.

Speakers: 
Richard Devlin, Professor, Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University (Halifax, NS)
Jula Hughes, Professor, Bora Laskin Faculty of Law, Lakehead University (Thunder Bay, ON)
Stephen G.A. Pitel, Professor, Western University (London, ON)
Amy Salyzyn, Associate Professor, University of Ottawa (Ottawa, ON)

16:00 – 16:05

Closing Remarks
OBA — Grand Salon

Stephen G.A. Pitel, Professor, Western University; President, CALE (London, ON)