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 u g u s t 2 0 1 4 9 campaign, focusing on the counselling side of the practice rather than the litigat- ing one, is a step in the right direction. Also, the new Code of Civil Procedure, more geared toward mediation and arbi- tration, presents an opportunity to rede- fine the role of the lawyer in the public's eye, says Tremblay. He thinks if you want to win the public's trust, you need to "speak clearly" (the concept of "le lan- gage clair" is very much promoted these days, by Éducaloi, a non-profit organiza- tion dedicated to enhancing the general public's knowledge of the law). "Clients have no inferiority complex toward law- yers anymore, they want to be treated as equals," says Tremblay. "Lawyers are generally trained to litigate, and one must learn to adopt a new approach, when it's possible of course; litigators still are, and will always be, needed in a certain num- ber of instances." Tremblay just moved back to Chicoutimi after years of practice in Gatineau, just outside Ottawa. He noticed in a tightly knit environment where everybody knows each other, conflicts are managed quite differently. "They'll be quicker to reach a compromise so as to keep a viable relationship with people they'll continue to live close to," he says. — PAsCAL eLIe pascalelie636@gmail.com o ne can only imagine the pain and helplessness a parent can feel upon learning one's child suf- fers from a grave, chronic disease. But Montreal lawyer Claude Provencher, general counsel and regional director for Justice Canada, is anything but helpless. Father of a girl stricken by cystic fibrosis, he decided to create a cycling event, called Juritour (juritour.net), to support cystic fibrosis research. The cycle circuits are 25 km, 50 km, and 100km. The goal is to raise money but also to bring together all members of the legal community; not only lawyers, but also notaries, judges, bailiffs, paralegals, and students. "I always wanted to take down the kind of barriers that exist, for example, between lawyers and notaries," he told Canadian Lawyer. "We're pretty much alike considering only about 15 per cent of lawyers advocate in the courts," he says. The tour is open to everyone, however, not only jurists. Last year, 25 per cent of participants were not in the legal profession. So when he contacted Cystic Fibrosis Quebec, the association didn't hesitate to jump in. The event will take place Sept. 20, at the Domaine du Ridge, an Eastern Township vineyard owned by Denis Paradis, a former president of the Barreau du Québec and federal Liberal cabinet minister. "What is great is that it'll all happen during grape harvest season and representatives of local producers of all kinds will be serving their delicacies," says Provencher. It will be the second edition of the Juritour. Last year's event raised $115,000, way above the $45,000 initially targeted. This year's target is $150,000. "It used to be hard to get the big firms to back us, but thanks to the credibility we earned through last year's success, we managed to convince more of them to sponsor us this year," he adds. The cost to enter is $500 and $250 for students and jurists with five years or less of practice. Spokespersons for this year's event are actors Émile Proulx-Cloutier and Denis Bouchard, both playing lawyer roles in the legal drama Toute la vérité, a popular TV show broadcast on TVA since 2010. — Pe ride, eaT, raise money Denis Bouchard, Émile Proulx- Cloutier, Claude Provencher, Ugo Brisson, Donald Audet, Jean-Yves Lacasse ARE YOU RECEIVING CANADIAN LEGAL NEWSWIRE? Keep abreast of essential late-breaking legal news and developments with our electronic newswire. VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM AND LOOK UNDER "LINKS" SIGN UP FOR FREE From the publisher of and

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