Canadian Lawyer

THIS MONTH EXCLUSIVELY ON editor's desk CANADIAN By gail J. CoheN Time for an attitude readjustment Human Rights . . . Here & There University of Ottawa law school's Sonya Nigam's column on human rights and international law. February 11 i 've written a lot in these pages about the issues of diversity and equality — much of it directly related to maintaining the number of women in the legal profession. But inequality in the law goes much further. The case of a young student raped and beaten to death in India shocked the world, and lit the fire of outrage and protest in a country that has long treated women as second-class citizens. Canadians, too, were stunned by the barbarity of the attack and the seeming carelessness of the authorities in matters of violence against women. But India is so far away and that sort of thing doesn't happen here. We're civilized. But in the past few months, a number of examples highlighting the unequal way women are treated have made headlines, right here at home. Did taxpayers really need to fund a multi-million-dollar public inquiry into the cases of missing women in British Columbia to know that, essentially, lack of caring on an institutional-wide basis meant women going missing from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside ended up dead at the hands of serial killer Robert Pickton? They were women, down and out, selling their bodies for money so why would even the police care about their lives? As commisioner Wally Oppal said in his report: "forsaken. That is the story of the missing and murdered women. The missing and murdered women were forsaken by society at large and then again by the police. The pattern of predatory violence was clear and should have been met with a swift and severe response by accountable and professional institutions, but it was not." The Supreme Court of Canada handed down its ruling in R. v. Ryan as we were going to press. It was about a woman who wanted to hire a hit man to kill her husband because she was desperately afraid he would harm her and her daughter. In their decision, the Supremes noted: "She had an intense and reasonable fear of Mr. Ryan, was feeling helpless, felt she had lost control and felt she was threatened with annihilation. While she had engaged the police and other agencies in an effort to assist her in the past, the evidence was that her problems were viewed as a 'civil matter.' . . .There is also the disquieting fact that, on the record before us, it seems that the authorities were much quicker to intervene to protect Mr. Ryan than they had been to respond to her request for help in dealing with his reign of terror over her." In January, in Toronto, a criminal lawyer whose former cop boyfriend was found guilty of assaulting her, said she felt the police —other than the investigators on the case —closed ranks against her. "Troubling" is how she described the police's attitude. It's 2013. Time for attitudes to change in all parts of the legal system, even in Canada. Group Publisher: Karen Lorimer Editorial Director: Gail J. Cohen gail.cohen@thomsonreuters.com Staff Writer: Michael McKiernan michael.mckiernan@thomsonreuters.com Copy Editor: Mallory Hendry Art Director: Bill Hunter Production Co-ordinator: Catherine Giles catherine.giles@thomsonreuters.com Contributors: Jean Sorensen, donalee Moulton, Kathryn Leger, Geoff Ellwand, Jennifer Brown, Ava Chisling, Judy van Rhijn, Marg. Bruineman, Yamri Taddese. Canadian Lawyer is published 11 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto ON. M1T 3V4 (416) 298-5141. Fax : (416) 649-7870 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: Karen Lorimer Tel: (416) 649-9411 E-mail: karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com Law Firms: Grace So Tel: (416) 609-5838 E-mail: grace.so@thomsonreuters.com Sales Co-ordinator: Sandy Shutt Tel: (416) 649-8864 E-mail: sandra.shutt@thomsonreuters.com Canadian Lawyer Magazine Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 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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 www.CANADIAN The Accidental Mentor Lee Akazaki's column offers useful mentorship advice for young lawyers. February 11 Trials & Tribulations Margaret Waddell ruminates on issues of import and interest to litigators. February 11 Trial by Fire Associate Lindsay Scott shares the ups and downs of learning on the job. February 18 Definitely Mabey Stephen Mabey examines the thorny issues facing law firm management. February 18 David Paul's Field Notes Tips for the solo and small firm from B.C.'s David Paul. February 18 The IT Girl Danielle Lemon joins our online team with her column on tech law. February 18 Class Acts Kirk Baert's column takes a critical look at class action litigation across the country. February 25 Letter from Law Law Land Wit and wisdom from Vancouver's Tony Wilson. February 25 Making Rain Executive coach Debra Forman's video column on career and business development. February 25. L a w ye r m a g . c o m F e b r uary 2013 3

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