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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 7 F or the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society, diversity is more than a buzzword. "It is absolutely critical that the public-interest regulator of the legal profession be a leader and promoter of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession," says executive director Tilly Pillay. That leadership role itself requires diversity. At present, for example, the NSBS is working with the judiciary to support hiring a clerk from the Schulich School of Law's Indigenous Blacks & Mi'kmaq Initiative. The clerkship will be counted as credit toward articling. Another program, the Ku'TawTinu: Shared Articling Initiative, assists in pre- paring Mi'kmaq and Indigenous articling clerks for successful legal careers. "The goal of this initiative is to create positions that provide a well-rounded articling experience, often focusing on contempo- rary Indigenous legal issues," says Pillay. "Clerks are encouraged to article in their own community and with both a public and private organization. The society will waive the bar admission fee for one stu- dent per year in this initiative." The law society also expects law firms to step up. There is a shared responsibil- ity to make sure the legal profession is diverse and inclusive, says Pillay. That responsibility is echoed in the NSBS's new model of legal services that requires all lawyers and firms to reflect regularly on how they are "committed to improving diversity, inclusion and substantive equal- ity and ensuring freedom from discrimi- nation in the delivery of legal services and the justice system." The society's equity portal lends a helping hand to lawyers and firms in developing their cultural competence and building equity strategies with toolkits, model policies, a reference library, train- ing videos and more. The issue of systemic discrimina- tion within the profession and within the society itself was raised during the 18-month disciplinary hearing of Lyle Howe, an African Nova Scotia lawyer charged with professional miscon- duct and professional incompetence. While the panel that ultimately found Howe guilty determined there was no failure by the NSBS to accommodate the lawyer's racial, colour or ethnic background, it did find that fewer wit- nesses could have been called — and the 10,000 pages of transcript reduced — if the society had acknowledged the "actual, systemic, and historic racism" the panel concluded does exist in Nova Scotia's legal community. NSBS is working to change that reality. — DONALEE MOULTON REGIONAL WRAP-UP AT L A N T I C \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ N O RT H \ W E S T Enhancing diversity a key role for N.S. law society FORMER JUDGE AND CRIMINAL LAWYER WILL LEAD N.S.'S POLICE OVERSIGHT BODY I n what is considered an unusual move, the Nova Scotia government has appointed former Supreme Court justice and criminal lawyer Felix Cacchione, 69, to head up the province's Serious Incident Response Team. Typically, such appointments are handed out to former prosecutors. However, many lawyers feel having a former judge at the helm is a positive step. "[This] should boost public confidence in the ability of the Serious Incident Response Team to provide the necessary oversight and independence, which is required by the Police Act," says H. Archibald Kaiser, a professor at the Schulich School of Law in Halifax. Skills acquired on the bench are also believed to be skills needed by the director of the SiRT, which independently investigates all serious incidents arising from the actions of police in Nova Scotia. The ability to evaluate and apply evidence in an impartial way, for example, is an advantage, says Julien Matte, founder of North End Law in Halifax. "This goes to the core of the position." Judges are well used to ensuring conformity with the law, the constitution and human rights standards as well as being assiduously independent and detached to ensure that trials and appeals are conducted fairly in a manner that promotes the rule of law, says Kaiser. Judges are not, however, used to conducting investigations, an advantage former prosecutors would bring to the SiRT director position. "A judge is unlikely to have any recent practical experience in law enforcement and may not appreciate the par- ticular challenges that officers face," says Matte. But trained investigators are on staff and the SiRT team will collectively have the required experience, notes Kaiser, who is optimistic Cacchione's apppoint- ment may be the start of a national trend. — DONALEE MOULTON

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