Canadian Lawyer

REGIONAL WRAP-UP Women playing in the legal profession? in private practice. The question facing the LSBC is whether women want to play the big law game or are they find- ing greener pastures elsewhere? Statis- tics indicate they are fleeing in droves either to government — now dubbed the "pink ghetto" for the high female content — moving to in-house counsel positions, or opting for other careers. The LSBC announced it is follow- T ing Ontario's lead by launching its own Justicia program. Ontario's program, launched in 2008, has brought together more than 50 firms committed to shar- ing best practices, developing resourc- es, and adopting programs to support women lawyers. "Keeping women law- yers in the profession is a key objec- tive for the law society," says president Gavin Hume. "As the regulator, it's our job to ensure the public interest is met, and we believe people are best served by a legal profession that is representative of the public. That is not the case now." The LSBC tracked new women law- yers from 2003 to 2008 and found fully one-third left the profession in that time period, compared with 20 per cent of their male counterparts. "This issue exists throughout the world and there is no easy fix," says Hume. The figures only measure the dropout rate but do not account for the women who have eschewed working for a large law firm. B.C.'s Justicia program will initially bring together six or seven law firms that want to explore ways of retain- ing women in private practice. "I don't he Law Society of British Columbia is offering up another attempt to retain female lawyers think that there is any doubt that we have to look at different business mod- els for the larger firms," said Hume. He said the challenge is to provide women the accommodation that is required and yet provide the financial compensa- tion that larger firms require. The biggest hurdle the program faces is the corporate clash over billable hours versus a woman's need to balance work with family. In the summer 2009 issue of BC Bencher, Crown counsel Anne Clark, who left private practice when pregnant, mused that "the tight financial margins in private practice sometimes get in the way of creative thinking." She recalls herself and two other lawyers sharing office space and "working seamlessly" together on files. While in private practice it is different. "The whole service of the client by one person 24-7 is built around the premise another person (often a male lawyer's wife) is handling the entire domestic front [and] needs to change." Creating the environment that retains women may only be the first phase of keeping women tethered to larger law firms. The second, more difficult challenge lies in a traditional male-dominated environment at senior partnership level and long-term incentives for staying. BC Business magazine in summer 2010 published an article looking at why women left law. Not many have made it to the top, according to the article. The B.C. Supreme Court fared no better. Hume admitted the financial viabil- ity of firms is still "what it is all about" and lawyers "sell time." Justicia is aimed Correction The name of the union representing Air Canada's pilots was incorrectly stated in "The death of collective bargaining?" Canadian Lawyer, January 2012. The pilots are represented by the Air Canada Pilots Association. 14 FEBRUA R Y 2012 www. CANADIAN Lawyermag.com President Gavin Hume says keeping women in the pro- fession is key for the LSBC. the at finding "best practices" that meet dual needs in a variety of circumstances. Hume said B.C.'s Justicia success would not occur overnight as women leave law for varying reasons and it is expected to be years before there is a measurable impact on the numbers. However, the more interesting ques- tion that may emerge is in how the creative solutions that women lawyers are forging themselves will eventually impact the whole business of law. Will female in-house corporate lawyers who have been short-turned in their career at a larger firm outsource to that style of firm? Will those female lawyers drop- ping from the system and starting busi- nesses want to deal with these firms? Or, will the women simply follow a well-worn path but with a gender twist in their networking and firm building? — JEAN SORENSEN jean_sorensen@telus.net their o wn game

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