The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50809
Q&A with incoming CBA president Trinda Ernst. A fresh breeze from the East BY ROBERT TODD rate-commercial, and real estate law. Appointed Queen's Counsel in 2000, the new Canadian Bar Association president previously worked at the Nova Scotia Legal Aid Commission in Amherst, and articled in Halifax with the Department of Justice. She plans to bring her unique perspective as a representative of the small town, rural bar as she takes the helm in the year ahead as the fifth female president in the CBA's history. T Q: How does it feel to take on the role of president of the CBA? A: It's certainly an exciting opportunity to meet lawyers across the country and outside the country and speak for our 37,000 and more members. It comes with a lot of responsibility of course, because we are a membership-based organization, and we have to make sure that we respond to the needs of our members and advocate on issues that are of importance to them. Q: What perspective do you bring to the table? A: I'm in a rural area of Nova Scotia, so I am familiar with some of the problems facing smaller law firms [that] can't find somebody to come into their practice. We struggled for a number of years to get younger lawyers to come to town, so to speak. So the challenge of find- ing successors in your practice is a real concern. I'm somewhat concerned that rinda Ernst, a partner since 1992 at Waterbury Newton in Kentville, N.S., practises wills and estates, elder, corpo- I'm only the fifth woman president of the association, and one of the things I certainly want to focus on is how we can engage or involve more women and members of underrepresented areas of the population in the work we do at the Canadian Bar Association. Q: Are there any specific issues you plan to tackle in your term as president? A: Well, it's not the job of the president to tackle anything one-handed. Our policies are directed by our national council, of course, and the president is the spokesperson for the organization, and the policies and the resolutions that are passed by council. So whatever the hot issues of the day are, as perceived by council, those are the ones that move forward. My job is to get as much infor- mation as I can about what our initiatives are and encourage people to get involved and participate in our activities. Q: What do you think needs to happen at the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association to refocus it and ensure a strong presence for in-house lawyers? A: Well we're already a strong presence. We have a lot of members. Our mem- bership has increased over last year, in the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association. We just appointed a new executive director. . . . Cathy Cummings is her name, and she was the associate executive director, and there was a hir- ing process and she was the selected candidate. But she has an awful lot of experience as an association professional. She's very experienced, has her MBA and an extensive background in organiza- tional change management and process improvement. So she is really excited, I know, to be moving forward with us. Q: What's your appraisal of the general state of the legal profession in Canada? A: I think the profession is very strong. Perhaps misunderstood by the public in many ways. There are different seg- ments, different types of practices, and each group might have its own issues that we all struggle to appreciate and understand the needs of. Q: Your opportunity to take on the presidency is the culmina- tion of decades of volunteer work for the CBA. Why have you made it such a priority? A: I believe that every lawyer should give back to their communities and their profession. I consider when I was in school, the taxpayers of Nova Scotia subsidized my education. So I give back whenever I can to my community, and the profession is just part of it. Q: What would you say to lawyers out there who aren't actively involved in the CBA to encourage them to come on board? A: If they want to meet people in their profession and find out who there is to know in areas of practice they are inter- ested in, it's at the CBA that you're most likely to meet them, and a broad group of people from across the country. www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com A U GUST 2011 49