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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 19 in subtle forms, but only if they have a keen understanding of their community. Involvement Communi-T lawyers are ambidextrous thinkers. They often have broad interests such as side businesses, voluntary work or involvement in events across the legal industry and society at large. They emphasize collective interests, sustainability and social justice. The newer cohorts of legal professionals should be aware of the plurality of moral and social values existing in society, and address this plurality whenever it is relevant in the performance of their legal role. Lawyers, individually and as a profession, are often expected to have a special duty to strive toward improving access to justice and to help close the gap between those who can and those who cannot afford legal services. To do so effectively, involvement in the community is important with continuous collaboration with community partners. Accountability Communi-T lawyers are also accountable to their communities. Finding an appropriate model for accountability that achieves this can be a challenge, especially with conflicting priorities. In addition to critical interpersonal and empathy skills, lawyers need to value diversity and inclusiveness. Many legal professionals attempt to become entrepreneurs and eventually launch startups. Their initial goal is to provide better and cheaper service responding to legal needs. Numerous communities are out there to support them as mentors, incuba- tors, accelerators, venture investors or economic development leaders. By entering these communities, not only does it give legal innovators direct access to some of the brightest minds to support them, it also ensures that these legal innovators can continue to be involved in maintaining the diversity of thought that they bring to a growing, innovative workplace while being accountable. Why shouldn't they have the same accountability toward their clients and communities? Workplaces of the future will be highly connected to allow the right people to collaborate to get the job done. They will operate like startups, meaning they will have unclear governance struc- tures, short time frames and high expectations. Future workplaces will also become more diverse, multicultural and inclusive. Law firms or departments with such workforces will be better able to win top talent and improve their client orientation, employee satisfaction and overall innovation. One way for law firms to apply this idea today is by hiring people whose demographics reflect where they operate. Educating T-shaped lawyers The best way to develop T-shaped characteristics in students is to integrate them into the curriculum as early as possible. The Law Practice Program at the University of Ottawa, known as le Programme de pratique du droit, offers an alternative pathway to the legal profession in Ontario. More than 225 lawyers were involved in creating its innovative program that allows candidates to develop practical skills for today's legal market. Although the broader goal of this program is to promote access to justice for the francophone community by training future lawyers who can offer high-quality legal services in French in Ontario, the program is an example for training future Communi-T lawyers. Candidates are introduced to a wide range of community groups and organizations with the hope that these local resources will become their future partners in providing holistic legal and non-legal solutions to their community. In building the PPD's team, individuals with a commitment to community is a key component. These individuals bring fresh ideas relating to how they can involve new stakeholders in the program and how these stakeholders can better train candidates to serve their community. These efforts are reinforced by internships, professional education and innovation opportunities such as legal information com- munity clinics or hackathons. The legal industry isn't going to transform itself on its own to reach the goals of access to justice and innovation. We all have a responsibility to change the playing field and enable legal innovation that celebrates an open, creative and inclu- sive future. Successful T-shaped lawyers will not only stay ahead of technological developments and seek to continuous- ly improve the services they provide clients, they will be doing so while being deeply rooted in their community. Christiane Saad is a lawyer and the director of the Law Practice Program in French at the University of Ottawa. CORPORATE COUNSEL Connect with Find more than 4,100 corporate counsel and over 1,500 organizations along with fresh editorial content, information on deals and links to important resources. Lexpert.ca/ccca ntitled-4 1 2018-05-25 11:26 AM

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