Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/1315099
www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse 1 canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse EDITOR'S DESK The reality . . . is that the size of an organization can affect one's course of action. The value of drawing on different experience C heryl Foy and Ken Fredeen have been writing an ethics column for this magazine for a full year now. They pitched me this column in 2019, telling me that in-house lawyers needed an anonymous way to share ideas with their colleagues on how to navigate thorny ethical situations. I was excited about the potential of the column because of the topic as well as the reputation of Foy and Fredeen among their peers. Foy and Fredeen both have broad experience on which to draw but from very different perspectives. Foy is currently the general counsel at Ontario Tech University and has more than a decade of experience as the GC of small technology companies as well. Fredeen, on the other hand, has spent his career in larger legal departments at Deloitte and Canadian Airlines. Their advice in this issue's ethics column (p. 40) demonstrates very well how ethical questions can generate different answers depending on one's background. An in-house lawyer who does not have any responsibility for equity, diversity or inclusion wrote to Foy and Fredeen worried that their organization was ignoring the issue. While Fredeen and Foy both rightly point out that this is a problem, their perspectives resulted in different answers. Fredeen suggests that if there are no allies at the senior levels, the in-house lawyer should evaluate whether this is an organization to which they want to hitch their brand. Foy, on the other hand, suggests the lawyer be determined and focused and view time as an ally to bring about change. The reality, to which the two different answers allude, is that the size of an organi- zation can affect one's course of action. Large organizations are difficult to change, but if their values match yours, you can make a difference. Small organizations, on the other hand, can be difficult to pin down but easier to change. Ethics, in other words, must be understood in context. There is no right answer, but there are right values. Promoting equity, diversity or inclusion should be on every in-house counsel's radar, as should the other values Fredeen and Foy have written about throughout the year. How you do that, however, can and should be very different. Tim Wilbur, Editor-in-Chief Canadian Lawyer InHouse is published 6 times a year by HAB Press Limited. KEY MEDIA and the KEY MEDIA logo are trademarks of Key Media IP Limited, and used under license by HAB Press Limited. CANADIAN LAWYER INHOUSE is a trademark of HAB Press Limited. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Canadian Lawyer InHouse disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement #41261516 ISSN 0703-2129 ©2020 GST/HST Registration #703184911RT001 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESS TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 20 Duncan St., 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, M5H 3G8 EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Tim Wilbur Production Editor Patricia Cancilla Writer Lucy Saddleton CONTRIBUTORS Janice Bereskin, Christiane Brizard, Danielle Ferron, Cheryl Foy, Ken Fredeen, Guillaume François Larouche, Jennie Yum ART & PRODUCTION Art Director Marla Morelos Lead, Media Production Co-ordinator Amie Suttie Global Production Manager Alicia Chin (on leave) Production Co-ordinator Kim Kandravy SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT VP, Media & Client Strategy Dane Taylor Senior Business Development Manager Steffanie Munroe Business Development Manager Lynda Fenton National Account Executive Abhiram Prabhu CORPORATE President Tim Duce Events and Conference Manager Chris Davis Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil Global CEO Mike Shipley Global COO George Walmsley HAB Press Limited 20 Duncan St., 3rd Floor Toronto, Ontario M5H 3G8 tel: +1 416 644 8740 www.keymedia.com EDITORIAL INQUIRIES tim.wilbur@keymedia.com NAUK SUBSCRIPTIONS CO-ORDINATOR Donnabel Reyes tel: 647 374 4536 ext. 243 donnabel.reyes@keymedia.com ADVERTISING INQUIRIES legaladvertise@keymedia.com canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse ISSUE 15.06 | DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021