Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 3 n the close to two decades I've been working in the legal community, it never ceases to amaze me how truly inspirational many lawyers, judges, and others in the pro- fession are. In early September, I finally had my first visit to Edmonton. I'd been invited by the Women's Legal Forum and Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association to speak at an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first woman called to the bar in Alberta, Lillian Ruby Clements. The focus of the event was female lawyer trailblaz- ers and, specifically, their lessons learned in law and in life. When I first got the call from organizer Teresa Haykowsky and she explained what it was all about, I said, "But I'm not a lawyer." She hesitated for a few moments, but only a few, and said that was just fine and they'd still love to have me come and speak. That was great, I thought, it's a fundraiser for a great community group (iHuman Youth Society) and there'll be hundreds of lawyers who I will get a chance to meet. But then, I hesitated, what do I have to say that'll be inspirational, not to mention why was I included with this stellar group of speakers that included Supreme Court Justice Suzanne Côté, Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Justice Joanne Veit, Alberta Ethics Commissioner and former QB judge Marguerite Trussler, and First Nations lawyer Corie Flett? Alberta Provincial Court Judge Rosanna Saccomani was also honoured with the first ACTLA Ruby Clements trailblazer award. It is of no consequence, but in case you were wondering, the 400 or so lawyers and others at the event were supportive and laughed in all the right places. But, more importantly, I was so incredibly inspired by all the speakers' stories. Many of them had faced adversity in the profession, rising above it in their own ways. Veit and Trussler had been lawyers for decades and you can imagine some of their stories. Flett, a relative newcomer to the profession, faced some of the same. They all found what worked for them and part of that was mentors, sponsors, and others who supported them — men and women, professionally and in other ways as well. And it was that sup- port that allowed them to flourish and for everyone in the justice system to thus benefit from their knowledge, expertise, and desire to give back to their communities through their professional and volunteer work. I wish everyone could have been in Edmonton that night to hear their inspirational stories and to feel the extraordinarily positive and uplifting vibe at the event. A few nights before that, I hosted the second annual Canadian Lawyer InHouse Innovatio awards, which recognized innovation in the in-house bar. There were 13 winners this year. They again set the bar high, but of particular note worked as teams (sometimes really large ones) to achieve their goals. Read all about the winners on our web site and be inspired to take some of their achievements home to your law house. Inspiration is everywhere in this profession. Get some today. Director/Group Publisher: Karen Lorimer karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com Editor in Chief: Gail J. Cohen gail.cohen@thomsonreuters.com Staff Writer: Yamri Taddese yamri.taddese@thomsonreuters.com Copy Editor: Patricia Cancilla Art Director: Bill Hunter Production Co-ordinator: Sharlane Burgess sharlane.burgess@thomsonreuters.com Contributors: Jean Sorensen, donalee Moulton, Pascal Elie, Geoff Ellwand, Marg. Bruineman, Jennifer Brown, Jim Middlemiss, Ian Harvey, Sheldon Gordon Canadian Lawyer is published 11 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 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 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. Advertising Sales Representatives Legal Suppliers: Kimberlee Pascoe Tel: (416) 649-8875 E-mail: kimberlee.pascoe@thomsonreuters.com Law Firms: Joseph Galea Tel: (416) 649-9919 E-mail: joseph.galea@thomsonreuters.com Grace So Tel: (416) 609-5838 E-mail: grace.so@thomsonreuters.com Steffanie Munroe Tel: 416-298-5077 E-mail: steffanie.munroe@thomsonreuters.com Canadian Lawyer Magazine Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON. M1T 3V4 Tel: (416) 298-5141 Fax: (416) 649-7870 E-mail: cl.editor@thomsonreuters.com Web: www.canadianlawyermag.com Linkedin: linkd.in/179bx8t Twitter: @canlawmag Publications Mail Agreement #40766500 ISSN 0703-2129 © 2015 HST Registration #R121349799 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESS TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy RD., Toronto, ON. M1T 3V4 RETOURNER TOUTE CORRESPONDANCE NE POUVANT ÊTRE LIVRÉE AU CANADA AU SERVICE DES PUBLICATIONS One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON. M1T 3V4 Circulation/Address Changes/ Subscriptions Keith Fulford Tel: (416) 649-9585 Fax: (416) 649-7870 E-mail: keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com Subscription rates: Canada1 year print and digital $99 plus HST, 1 year digital only $99. Outside Canada 1 year print & digital $99 USD, 1 year digital only $99. For all circulation inquiries and address changes send a copy of your mailing label or labels along with your request in writing to Canadian Lawyer, One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON. M1T 3V4 Indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index E D I T O R ' S D E S K @canlawmag gail.cohen@thomsonreuters.com I've been inspired By Gail J. Cohen I CLARIFICATION The photograph of a Preszler Law Firm advertisement on the side of a bus accompanying the article "Some Ontario lawyers pushing for a ban on advertising," [Canadian Lawyer, August 2015] was simply illustrative of one of the advertising choices, transit media, that some law firms are currently utilizing as a means to advertise their services and in no way was meant to indicate the firm engages in any offensive practices. Canadian Lawyer regrets any confusion this may have caused.

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