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 A p r i l 2 0 1 4 29 partner helped Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary success- fully fight off a lawsuit (or rather custody battle) launched by Darwin's former owner, real estate lawyer Yasmin Nakhuda. While the case took longer and used more resources than Toyne foresaw, it has unexpectedly opened up a new area of busi- ness, he says. "Animal law has become part of my practice," he explains. "Two years ago if someone had said that to me I'd have left and called them an idiot." Not that he took on the case with a view to gaining publicity; he was already involved with the sanc- tuary after meeting the owner at a vegetarian food festival, he says. Firms that allow their lawyers to take up pro bono causes may also find it easier to attract and retain ambitious people eager to work on worthy or high-profile files. Pro bono work can be an enticing prospect for lawyers at the beginning of their careers, says Allison Fenske, an associate at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP. Fenske won a Manitoba Bar Association award for her work with Winnipeg Harvest, a non-profit food distribu- tion centre. This involved co-writing a paper on the legal right to food with the Public Interest Law Centre, and is part of an ongo- ing project. "As a junior lawyer I've been able to get experience that I wouldn't have otherwise got," she says. "I got to work with another legal organization [the Public Interest Law Centre]; it's not very often you get a chance to team up with lawyers outside the office and people who you're used to seeing across the aisle in the courtroom." Working with Fenske on the project was Public Interest Law Centre executive director Byron Williams and Joelle Pastora Sala, who was a law student when the paper was being written and is now articling at PILC. Williams and Fenske pro- vided strategic advice to Winnipeg Harvest on their advocacy efforts regarding the right to food. Many experienced lawyers equally relish the challenge of fighting a cause for the greater good. Overall, just over a third of respondents said they had a "largely positive" pro bono experi- ence and 26 per cent said it was "fairly positive." Only 13 per cent reported an overall negative experience, and the remainder had either not carried out pro bono work or had neutral experiences. Georgialee Lang, a sole practitioner in British Columbia and California, acted as an intervener in the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, which ruled Canada's prostitution laws violated the Charter. Working on the case was "challenging and rewarding," says Lang. Part of the attraction was the chance to learn new things. "I'm a family law lawyer and know nothing about criminal law," she explains. "The learning curve was very steep. I had to study prostitution laws all around the world." Most of the survey respondents said they avoid files that involve working outside of their usual practice areas. Thirty-seven per cent said they never take on such cases, while 26 per cent said they "rarely" did. However, 22 per cent said they "sometimes" did and 12 per cent did "often." A small minority (two per cent) said they always worked outside their usual practice area. Of those who worked beyond their usual practice areas, less than half (41 per cent) said they had not received any extra development or skills training. "My training is self-directed and usually involves pro bono CASe STuDIeS Lucas Lung L erners LLP class action lawyer Lucas Lung has worked on many pro bono files. One case he is particularly proud of is Corporation of the County of Simcoe v. Matthew Co-Operative Housing Inc., in which the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled a housing co-operative, home to more than 100 low-income residents, could not be sold and dissolved. "That was a great win," he says. Lung says he chooses cases based on how worthy he feels the cause is, and is often drawn to files that attract little public attention. "It has an impact on your compensation and your career," he admits. "But to be frank, we make a lot of money in this business and I like working on these cases. I have a view of what's worthwhile pro bono for me, and that's going to be different for other people." In your opinion, should lawyers have a mandatory obligation to provide pro bono services? No Don't know Yes 72.9% 7.4% 19.6%

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