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 J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 8 3 ow can lawyers and law firms adjust to the changing workplace? In this issue, we explore how work is changing for lawyers as well as their clients. For lawyers who see themselves as technical experts providing solutions for employers to impose from above, the workplace can seem increasingly riddled with risk and conflict, where the traditional solutions no longer work. One of the biggest changes that the workplace has undergone has been the entry of women. While women are still underrepresented in many workplaces — especially in the higher ranks — things are moving in a positive direction. With this positive change, though, come challenges, and nowhere is this more evident than in how sexual harassment is resolved. Traditionally, harassment was ignored or denied, and this is still the case in many workplaces. As our story on sexual harassment shows (page 41), while 94 per cent of Canadian executives believe that sexual harassment is not a problem at their company, half of Canadian women say they have been subjected to sex- ual harassment at work. The mismatch is causing major problems for employers across a wide range of industries and giving labour and employment lawyers a lot of billable time to resolve individual disputes. While most of these senior execu- tives may honestly believe their workplace is free of harassment, their employees are telling a different story. What is to be done? Traditionally, when a harassment problem was actually acknowledged, the adversarial approach was the proposed solution. As women know only too well, though, this often resulted in a "he said, she said" situation and no one would win. One of the interesting solutions that has emerged recently is what is called "bystander training." This kind of training empowers individuals to recognize inappropriate conduct and trains them to intervene, sometimes dis- creetly and diplomatically and other times more assertively. While complaints may increase when sexual harassment becomes everyone's business, potential solutions become more evident as well. This more communitarian approach highlights a key skill that lawyers will need to have in the changing workplace. Christiane Saad, who trains lawyers as part of the Law Practice Program at the University of Ottawa, explains in her col- umn (page 18) that lawyers increasingly need to be connected to their commun- ities. "A team of lawyers," she says, should "be from diverse backgrounds, cultures and experiences, have a deep knowledge and understanding of challenges and cultural lenses, maintain strong relationships with key local and regional author- ities and grasp their mentality to provide their clients with access to adaptive and innovative legal intelligence." As the workplace evolves and more women and other groups are better repre- sented throughout, the traditional approach to resolving disputes is clearly not working. For those lawyers advising in this area, an understanding of the work- place community is key. While workers may be the source of the problems, they can also provide the solution. Don't let tradition get in the way of that. E D I T O R ' S D E S K @canlawmag tim.wilbur@tr.com Director/Group Publisher: Karen Lorimer karen.lorimer@tr.com Managing Editor: Tim Wilbur tim.wilbur@tr.com Acting Associate Editor: Aidan Macnab aidan.macnab@tr.com Copy Editor: Patricia Cancilla Art Director: Bill Hunter Production Co-ordinator: Catherine Giles catherine.giles@tr.com Contributors: Shannon Kari, Luis Millán, Jean Sorensen, donalee Moulton, Mark Cardwell, Geoff Ellwand, Marg. Bruineman, Elizabeth Raymer, Michael McKiernan Canadian Lawyer is published 10 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. Sales and Business Development Sales Manager: Paul Burton E-mail: paul.burton@tr.com Tel: 416-649-9928 Consultant, Strategy and Business Development: Ivan Ivanovitch E-mail: ivan.ivanovitch@tr.com Tel: 416-887-4300 Business Development Consultant: Kimberlee Pascoe E-mail: kimberlee.pascoe@tr.com Tel: 416-996-1739 Account Executive: Steffanie Munroe E-mail: steffanie.munroe@tr.com Tel: 416-315-5879 Canadian Lawyer Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 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