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www.lawtimesnews.com 29 INSIDER ROSENTHAL MAY RETURN AS BENCHER Directors of the Law Society of Ontario board must lead by example when it comes to making sure equality, diversity and inclusion are accomplished in the profession, says criminal lawyer Jonathan Rosenthal. Rosenthal, a sole practitioner who was a bencher from 2015 until May of this year, could return to the board's Convocation meetings in autumn, potentially filling a vacancy left by Toronto lawyer Orlando Da Silva. Da Silva stepped down from the bencher post after being appointed chief administrator of the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada. Benchers must do "everything they can" to make sure equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives are working. But Rosenthal also says he would have supported a proposal from benchers Joseph Groia and Teresa Donnelly that would make the statement of principles optional. Rosenthal says he sees the struggles racialized law students face when he teaches at Osgoode Hall Law School. "You can walk into any courthouse in this province and see the bar is not at all representative of our community and our society, and I think it's incredibly important for benchers — especially those who have never had that sort of problem — to make sure that no lawyer does," says Rosenthal. "Benchers who do have privilege have to be very cognizant of those who don't. That's one of the most important jobs of a bencher . . . to make sure that diverse lawyers, for example, aren't stopped and asked for their ID walking into a courtroom — something I've never had to experience." Rosenthal also says he wants to continue "doing the hard work" of working on access to justice, streamlining the disciplinary process for lawyers and improving the criminal law opportunities available to students. "I hope everyone appreciates that there is a great deal of important work to do at the law society," he says. Now that the statement of principles has been voted on, Rosenthal says benchers should "move on with all the important work that has to be done." HUGHES AMYS CLOSES For the first time since 1918, Ontario's legal scene will not include insurance law firm Hughes Amys LLP. The Hamilton- and Toronto-based firm's website says it has "ceased operations," despite having a fully functional web page archived as of June 14. The law office's end comes after former managing partner William Chalmers, a 30-year veteran of the firm, was called to join the bench by the minister of justice earlier this year. Chalmers led the firm for 12 years, and he worked on more than 1,000 insurance disputes, on top of his previous work in family, criminal, commercial litigation and administrative law, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti said when he appointed Chalmers. Mary Lavis-Todd, the firm's chief operating officer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment through her corporate email address. LSO EQUITY COMMITTEE NAMES NEW MEMBERS The Law Society of Ontario recently named new members of its equity and Indigenous affairs committee. Bencher Dianne Corbiere will lead the committee as chairwoman, while Atrisha Lewis and Jorge Pineda were each named vice chairperson. The new members of the committee are benchers Robert Bateman, Robert Burd, Etienne Esquega, John Fagan, Julian Falconer, Murray Klippenstein, Cheryl Lean, Isfahan Merali, Gina Papageorgiou, Chi-Kun Shi, Tanya Walker, Doug Wellman and Alexander Wilkes. The group includes several members — including Fagan, Klippenstein, Lean, Pineda, Shi and Wilkes — who opposed the statement of principles requirement, which was put in place by their predecessors. "[I]t is clear that the views of benchers are more divided in this area and, in my view, we must take particular care to have the right voices and perspectives at the table — both from within and from outside of Convocation," Treasurer Malcolm Mercer said on Aug. 8, according to a written record. FORMER BENNETT JONES PARTNER NAMED CEO OF AUXLY Toronto-based Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. has announced that its co-founder and president, former Bennett Jones LLP partner Hugo Alves, will be its next CEO effective Aug. 27. Prior to founding Auxly in 2017, Alves was with Bennett Jones for 13 years, where he helped build the firm's cannabis practice group. MOST READERS STILL COMMUTE TO THE OFFICE Working remotely may be gaining popularity — but many Law Times readers are reluctant to make the leap. More than 53 per cent of readers surveyed said that being in the office is usually expected in most circumstances at their firm. The other 47 per cent said that, at their office, telecommuting is encouraged when it makes sense. Our readers' firms may not be encouraging remote work, but nationwide, the trend is taking off, according to a survey of 150 full-time Canadian lawyers conducted by legal staffing and consulting firm Robert Half Legal. Seventy-four per cent of lawyers told Robert Half that more colleagues have worked remotely in the past year.