ARCTIC OBITER

ON TOPIC
THE CBA ON THE FUTURE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
strange.
For generations, Canada provided refuge and
opportunities for individuals seeking a home where they
could build a good life. Our strong legal system remains
the foundation on which that home was built, offering
protections to those who faced persecution for reasons
such as the colour of their skin or their political or
religious beliefs. On April 17, 1982, Canada enshrined
those protections in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
declaring that equality under the law is fundamental to
the quality of life of its citizens.
Fred Headon
Incoming President, Canadian Bar Association
Senior Counsel, Air Canada
Dorval, Quebec
Since then, Canada’s commitment to equality and justice
– a real source of pride for most Canadians – has been
celebrated on April 17, known as Law Day. But we
cannot rest on our laurels as a society or as a profession.
Our system is not perfect. The wheels of justice can be
ponderously slow. The needs and expectations of clients
are changing. Now – as the traditional way of doing
business shifts and new pressures threaten the ability to
deliver on the promise of our rights and freedoms – is the
time for lawyers to examine their changing roles and for
the profession to clarify its responsibilities as advocate for
the rule of law and a protector of the justice system.
It’s time, as David Bowie sang, to turn and face the
The Canadian Bar Association, the national voice of more
than 37,000 lawyers, has launched two initiatives that will
examine the state of the legal profession, position its
members for the new normal, and launch a new
conversation on access to justice.
The CBA Legal Futures Initiative, the first comprehensive
study of its kind in Canada, is canvassing clients and the
lawyers who represent them in order to develop ideas
and new approaches to help the profession and
institutions meet this challenge. The Envisioning Equal
Justice initiative will bring together stakeholders to
discuss how to meet their shared responsibility to
improve access to justice, starting with a summit April 25
-27 in Vancouver.
The Futures Initiative seeks to identify the economic,
social, legal and technological factors that are likely to
change the legal marketplace in the next decade, and as
part of that, to assess how client expectations are likely to
shift in that time. From there, the CBA will look at what
the legal industry and educational institutions need to do
to ensure that everyone can adapt to the changing
environment, and develop practice tools to keep lawyers
relevant and effective into the next decade and beyond.
The first phase of the initiative focused on that
foundational research; Phase II will focus on consultation
with legal industry stakeholders.
The CBA will share its research results over the next few
months, and invite both lawyers and their clients to join a
ARCTIC OBITER MARCH/APRIL 2013 ■ 15