18 M A Y 2 0 1 9 w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m
O P I N I O N
Robert Cohen says, "We have tried to be at the forefront of
making mental health resources available to all members
of the firm."
For example, the firm has more than a dozen staff and
lawyers in its offices who are certified to provide mental
health first aid.
Cohen says accommodating a mental health issue is a
"bare minimum legal obligation" and law firms need to
go further. His firm promotes firm-wide acceptance and
empathy when it comes to mental health, he says. There
is "no judgment" and the firm makes it clear to lawyers
that coming forward and seeking help
"isn't going to limit your career. We are
going to do whatever we can to assist,"
he says.
That's music to Daley's ears, who says
it's important that law firms walk the
talk, and he's concerned not enough do.
Daley recently appeared in a video for
the Canadian Bar Association's efforts to
raise mental health awareness, but it's a
far cry from his previous days as a law-
yer, when he travelled all over to speak
to legal groups.
Since being appointed to the bench,
those calls have unfortunately dried up
and Daley now speaks mostly to educa-
tors about mental health problems.
He says he welcomes the opportunity
to speak to his legal brethren. "Every
time I talk about this publicly, it takes
a little bit of the pain away of [my first
spouse's] death and honours her death,"
so it adds meaning to her life, he says.
At a time when mental health educa-
tion and awareness is high on the list of
priorities in the legal profession, I know
a good spokesperson for the cause. Just
call Judge Daley.
Jim Middlemiss is a principal at WebNews-
Management.com.
"We have tried to
be at the forefront
of making mental
health resources
available to all
members of the
firm."
Robert Cohen,
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
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