Advocacy-Matters-Summer-2023

ADVOCACY MATTERS
The Advocates’ Society
SUMMER 2023

CONTENTS
04
Chair Chat
Steven Frankel (he/him), Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
08
Word to the Wise: How to Set and Respect
Boundaries for Vacation Time
Megan Keenberg (she/her), Keenberg & Co
16 Interview with Dominique T. Hussey,
Bennett Jones LLP
Compiled by Joe Thorne (he/him), Stewart McKelvey
Editor: Megan Keenberg, Keenberg & Co
Deputy Editor: Joe Thorne, Stewart McKelvey
The opinions expressed by individual authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Advocates’ Society.
Advocacy Matters Editorial Team: Megan Keenberg (she/her), Keenberg & Co, and Joe Thorne (he/him), Stewart McKelvey
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CHAIR CHAT
Chair Chat
Steven Frankel (he/him), Davies Ward Phillips &
Vineberg LLP
I am delighted to take the reins as Chair
of the newly-minted Mid-career Advocates
Standing Committee (MASC). We still represent
advocates who have 10 to 20 years of
experience, but decided a re-branding was
in order. As fond as we all were of the name
“10+”, MASC just has a better ring to it.
I could not be more excited about this
Committee and what this term has in store
for mid-career advocates. I am joined on the
Executive by three amazing colleagues at
the bar: Sonu Dhanju-Dhillon, Melanie Baird
and Chris Lee. More generally, this Committee
is stronger and more diverse than ever,
with representation from British Columbia,
Alberta, Quebec, Atlantic Canada and, of
course, Ontario. Our Committee members
have expertise across just about every type
of law you can practise: criminal, Aboriginal
and Indigenous, family, intellectual property—you
name it. We look forward to bringing
our experience and energy to bear in
helping The Advocates’ Society carry out its
mandate.
The headline event of this term is Winter
Summit: The Big Chill Ottawa, the inaugural
retreat exclusively for members of TAS
who are 10 to 20 years out from their call to
the bar. We will be gathering together, with
old friends and new, on February 1, 2 and
3, 2024. Notwithstanding the irony of paying
homage to a movie that was released when
many lawyers in our age range were not even
born (myself included!), this event is a cannot-miss.
We have been trying to organize a
retreat for mid-career advocates for years,
and now we are finally doing it. Our terrific
co-chairs—Jennifer Hunter, Brian Duong,
Erin Durant and David Thompson—have
been working away to make this the most
fun and engaging experience it can be, with
enriching programming and tons of opportunities
to network. I encourage everyone
to register and join us. We hope and expect
that Winter Summit will become a biennial
mainstay on TAS’s calendar.
Although planning Winter Summit will occupy
a considerable amount of our time and
attention, we have a busy calendar throughout
the entire term. We will be hosting
three mentoring-related events (two with
our friends at the Young Advocates Standing
Committee); two events that will focus
on critically important issues pertaining to
equity, diversity and inclusion in the profession
and how they affect advocates of our
vintage; and an event for women litigators.
In addition, we will be hosting a purely social
event at a venue to be determined; after
all, fostering collegiality among advocates
is an important part of what we do. We will
have more information about these events
in the coming weeks and months. We hope
to see as many people at our events, both
in-person in Toronto and, for those events
being held online, virtually.
In the meantime, please enjoy this issue of
Advocacy Matters. This is Megan Keenberg’s
first issue as Editor-in-Chief and it is a great
one. It features an interview with the new
President of TAS, Dominique Hussey. Dominique
is a force of nature and has big ideas
for how to drive the Society forward. She is
somehow managing to balance her leadership
of TAS with a busy intellectual property
litigation practice and her responsibilities as
Managing Partner of the Toronto office of
Bennett Jones. Megan has, in addition to editing
the issue, contributed a column on an
important topic: how to carve out time for
ourselves and set appropriate boundaries
for vacations. Speaking of quasi-vacations,
the Advocacy Matters team has collected
photos of the “summer offices” of a number
of advocates. We hope you use them as inspiration.
Finally, the summer issue would
not be complete without photographs from
End of Term Dinner, which was held on
June 22, 2023.
I hope everyone enjoys some well-deserved
time off. We will see you soon enough:
our first event of the term will be in October.
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WHAT’S COMING UP @ TAS
(Click on the program to learn more)
SEP 14
This Is How We Do It:
Lessons from the Senior
Family Law Bar
(TORONTO, ON)
SEP 22
Pozner on Cross-Examination:
Advanced
Techniques
(TORONTO, ON)
SEP 26 - 27
Summary Judgment
Motions
(VIA ZOOM)
NEW TAS
SEP 28
13th Annual Securities
Symposium
(TORONTO, ON)
SEP 28
5e Gala Annuel de La
Société des plaideurs
(MONTRÉAL,QC)
OCT 4
Calgary Bench and Bar
Reception
(CALGARY, AB)
MENTORING
PORTAL
Did you know The Advocates’ Society has a new
online mentoring program exclusively for TAS members?
OCT 05
Equity, Diversity
and Inclusion
(VIA ZOOM)
OCT 11
Examinations for
Discovery:
Building Block One
(VIA ZOOM)
A key goal of this new mentoring program is to create a simple way for our Junior Members to
feel more connected to their professional community and obtain some career advice from more
experienced members of the bar. This program model is convenient, efficient and effective:
√
√
√
No long-term commitments.
No extensive questionnaires or matching.
No heavy agendas, minute taking or long-term planning.
OCT 12
L’interrogatoire
et le contre-interrogatoire
des
experts
OCT 13
Advanced Negotiation
Strategies for
Lawyers with
Marty Latz
CINQ AD
dd
OCT 26
SAVE THE DATE
Cinq à Sept
(TORONTO, ON)
Just simple connection and conversation for junior lawyers to get some tips and connect with
someone new.
More information is available on the
TAS mentoring website page.
TAS Junior Members are automatically signed
up. Click here to set up your profile today!
6 (QUÉBEC, QC) (TORONTO, ON)
7
****At this time, the program is only available in English but we are working with Mentorship Rocket to build a bilingual (English and French) site for later in 2023.

“Don’t book a flight for the
evening that your trial ends.”
MENTORING
Word to the Wise: How to
Set and Respect Boundaries
for Vacation Time
Megan Keenberg (she/her), Keenberg & Co
Rest is not the reward for hard work – it’s an integral part of hard work. We need to rest and reset
regularly in this marathon profession so that we don’t burn out. We know this. Yet so many
of us rob ourselves of much-needed rest and relaxation in service to our clients’ never-ending
legal problems. When faced with the choice between taking vacation (and actually enjoying the
time spent on vacation) or taking care of your client’s urgent issue, your service mindset and
professional obligations may force you to prioritize your client and not yourself. For that reason,
we need to set ourselves up for vacation success with some advance planning and boundary
setting.
First, let’s get real about boundaries. Boundaries
are rules we place on ourselves about
how we choose to react in particular situations.
Contrary to what Jonah Hill might think,
boundaries are not rules we impose on others
and get to enforce against them. We don’t get
to dictate others’ actions, only our own reactions.
So, let’s assume you’ve set the intention:
you’ve booked two weeks off this summer,
and you want to actually unplug from work
while away. For those blessed with a manageable
practice, collaborative and well-informed
teams, and clients who have the patience of
Job, it might be enough to simply leave the laptop
at home and turn on the out-of-office message.
For the rest of us mere mortals running
around with our hair on fire, this is going to
take some extra planning and communication.
Here are my top tips for setting yourself up for
success with true holiday time:
1
Plan your holiday in advance and book it in
a shared calendar with other members of
your team. Don’t overlap with time previously
booked off by other team members, especially
not with your assistant.
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2
Once booked, actively avoid scheduling conflicts
- and hold firm. If your presence is not
absolutely required at a meeting scheduled
during your vacation, don’t offer or acquiesce
to joining by Zoom. If your presence is absolutely
necessary, then reschedule the meeting
for before you leave or after you return.
3Tell your partners, associates and assistants
about your travel plans and talk about what
might come up on your files during your time
away. Assign someone to be responsible for
each matter in your absence if something
needs urgent attention. Draft a quick memo
to file to permit the assigned lawyer to come
up to speed quickly and effectively if needed.
5
Schedule buffer time before you leave to tie
up loose ends. Don’t book a flight for the
evening that your trial ends.
8
7Define in advance what constitutes a true legal
emergency sufficient to trump your boundary.
If you set the criteria in advance, it will be
easier to resist jumping in on someone else’s
idea of urgency.
If the anxiety of not knowing what work
emails await your return outweighs the joy
of fully unplugging, then set aside a particular
time of day to check your work inbox and flag,
forward, delete or respond to your heart’s
content for a half hour. Early mornings or just
before dinner work best for me. Then, leave
your phone in the hotel room and gallivant.
4Tell your clients about your travel plans in
advance. Proactively send them an update on
their matter and answer their questions
before you go. Provide them with the contact
information for the lawyer assigned to their
matter. Let them know your return date.
6Set your out-of-office message in a way that
manages expectations. Don’t say you will be
checking email intermittently but may be delayed
in your usual response time. Say you will
be away, and you will respond on your return
date. Don’t invite email senders to call your
mobile if they have an urgent issue. Instead,
direct them to contact your assistant who
will be able to connect them to the assigned
lawyer taking responsibility for that matter in
your absence.
9
Schedule even more buffer time on your return
to tackle your inbox and deal with any
urgent matters requiring your attention. Do
not plan a return flight for the night before
a trial. Pro tip: schedule your return flight for
Saturday, so you have Sunday at home to get
over jet lag and do laundry before jumping
back into your busy practice.
Notice what’s missing from this list:
no dictates or admonitions to others
about when they can and cannot
message you; no apologies for
taking time away; no explanations
about why you really need to unplug.
This is all about you and your
decisions, planning, actions and reactions
and not about anyone else
(take note, Jonah!).
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Check out our #MySummerOffice
photo features!
Lionel J. Tupman
Tamara Ramsey
Megan Keenberg
Picture yourself here...
Fall Convention 2023
The Four Seasons, Punta Mita
November 1/2 - 5, 2023
Premier Sponsors:
Technology Sponsor:
Omar Ha-Redeye
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Our national conference for mid-career advocates is finally here! Join
us in Ottawa for extraordinary collegiality and learning. Spaces are
limited! Book today!
February 1 - 3, 2024
Fairmont Château Laurier
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INTERVIEW
Interview with Dominique T.
Hussey, Bennett Jones LLP
Compiled by Joe Thorne (he/him), Stewart McKelvey
Dominique Hussey is the 57th President of The Advocates’ Society, and is Vice Chair & Toronto Managing
Partner at Bennett Jones LLP. In addition to her management role, Dominique leads the firm’s Intellectual
Property Litigation group and is co-head of its Innovation, Technology and Branding group, where
she actively represents and advises clients. Advocacy Matters is honoured to sit down with our new
President.
Q. What is your vision for your term as President? What are your priorities?
A. My vision for my term as President is reflected in my chosen theme for the year: All Rise—Focusing
on the Future.
I have always liked the optimism of the phrase “All rise”; in the legal context it means more to me
than a courtroom command and show of respect. I see the phrase “all rise” as reflecting a certainty, as
our youngest members of the Bar will inevitably ascend to become the leaders of our profession. It is
a call to action for our national and collegial community of advocates to get involved in mentoring and
training, which is a professional obligation and its own reward. It is an aspiration that the Canadian
justice system will thrive and all of our members, across the country, in all their diversity, will flourish
in their calling as advocates.
The focus on the future is intended to imply a number of things. Of course, it means a focus on our
younger advocates—those in the Young Advocates’ Standing Committee (YASC) and Mid-Career Advocates’
Standing Committee (MASC) demographics. These are our future leaders. It is a priority of The
Advocates’ Society to ensure that these demographics, in particular, benefit from, and contribute to,
strong training, meaningful mentorship, and the powerful network that comes from a collegial and
committed bar.
A focus on the future also implies a focus on diversity. Our profession is increasingly diverse in all
ways—background, identity, points of view, areas of practice, and lived experience. The Society is inclusive
and needs to be seen that way. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion efforts will continue to be integral to
the work of the Society, and increasingly reflected in our offerings and initiatives.
A focus on the future also means addressing advocacy issues presented by technology, which evolves
too quickly for us simply to be reactive. To remain relevant, to serve our clients, and to function in our
courts, advocates need to be technologically competent and a little bit prescient. Artificial Intelligence
in practice will likely be the hottest topic of the year, and we will welcome the opportunity to
collaborate
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with relevant stakeholders, including the courts, professional regulators, and the public, to grapple with
the issues it presents. We will need to consider and contain the risks, but should not lose the opportunity
to benefit from the efficiencies in practice and in the administration of the court system that AI could
offer. Our policy work and educational programs will be infused with technology issues.
Finally, a focus on the future means paving a path for a properly-functioning justice system. Through
our policy work, the Society will continue to work on access to justice issues and on improving the system
for future advocates’ and litigants. One priority will be to work on the pervasive issue of civil delay
following our call to governments, the courts, the bar, and all stakeholders in the justice system to take
immediate and concerted action to solve the problem of delay in the civil and family justice system
(“Delay No Longer. The Time to Act Is Now”).
Q. What role do you see MASC members playing in the work of the society?
A. MASC members play a crucial role in the Society’s work. This year, MASC will be developing and
launching an important new education and collegiality event for the MASC demographic—Winter Summit:
The Big Chill Ottawa. MASC members will, as usual, be serving on several of the Society’s working
committees, where you have made some of the most meaningful contributions to our policy work, to
expanding our membership, and to our education programs. MASC members are really on the front
line in many ways. You provide critical skills and knowledge. You have expertise in and a facility with
technology used in litigation that some of our more senior demographics may not. You have had
greater exposure to and developed greater expertise in issues of EDI. You are hitting your stride in
practice and first-chairing litigation. You are transitioning into senior members of the profession and
building profile. You are stepping into leadership roles. Many of you have started your own firms. You
are developing business. Many of you have family obligations—children or aging parents or both. It is
the most demanding time of your career, and the MASC perspectives and voices are essential for the
Society to have a clear view of current issues and needs, and the future of the profession.
am incredibly proud to be associated with this organization.
For its members, I would like the Society, with its focus on best-in-class advocacy skills training,
policy work, and opportunities for collegiality, to be an essential part of every Canadian advocate’s
professional trajectory. For the profession in general, I would like for the Society to maintain a stellar
reputation for excellence in each of these areas and to serve as the respected voice of advocates in
Canada on important issues affecting our justice system.
Q. What are your thoughts on the future of the profession?
A. I see a snapshot of our future in our MASC and YASC membership, so I am very optimistic! But we
cannot take what we have for granted. The profession will need to remain committed to continuously
improving our justice system, defending judicial independence, upholding the rule of law, and respecting
and protecting our rights and freedoms. If we can deliver on that commitment, the future will be
bright. I also see evolving technology, deployed thoughtfully and appropriately, as an aid and not a
threat to advocates.Technology will not replace effective oral advocacy, persuasiveness, judgment, ethics,
or human connection.
Q. What does the advocates society mean to you? What do you want it to mean for TAS
members and the profession generally?
A. When I first joined, the Society was instrumental in connecting me to a community of litigators outside
of my firm, as I was practising in New York during the years in which people tend to develop their
local networks. I found opportunities through teaching litigation skills and participating in education
programs.
My involvement has steadily increased over my 17 years of membership, so I now have a far better
understanding of everything the Society does. It was not initially clear to me that I was the type of member
the Society had in mind. I now know that the Society is for all advocates, at every career stage, who
are committed to the practice, focused on achieving excellence in advocacy, interested in protecting
and improving our justice system, and who want to be part of an inclusive and collegial community. I
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END OF TERM DINNER
JUNE 22 ND , 2023 | Fairmont Royal York, 100 Front St W, Toronto
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END OF TERM DINNER
JUNE 22 ND , 2023 | Fairmont Royal York, 100 Front St W, Toronto
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END OF TERM DINNER
JUNE 22 ND , 2023 | Fairmont Royal York, 100 Front St W, Toronto
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