Canadian Lawyer InHouse

37 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE MARCH 2017 L a w D e p a r t m e n t M a n a g e m e n t would just like to know, when is this done? "It's diffi cult for some people to under- stand that it will never be done." Pentney aims to instill in the staff a sense that their work involves continual change — not just for the sake of it but with a purpose: to work better, provide greater value and serve the public as effectively as possible. The department says it's on track to have saved $52 million by the end of the 2016 fi scal year. Not everyone believes that will happen. Ursula Hendel, president of the As- sociation of Justice Counsel, points out that too often in government, cost-saving initia- tives backfi re. For instance, Public Services and Procurement Canada introduced a new payroll system, Phoenix, in early 2016. It was supposed to save $70 million a year. In- stead, the glitch-fi lled program is expected to cost an extra $50 million to fi x. Hendel's also worried about benchmark- ing. "There's a lot of . . . concern that it will be used as a tool to force us to do more un- paid overtime. We have ethical obligations. We have to prepare our cases to the point where we are comfortable as professionals knowing it has been fully and thoroughly defended." She says mentors, not bench- marks, are the way to manage this. Justice should pay more attention to its human resources, Hendel says. "They seem to have cut jobs. . . . So who's going to put your book of authorities together? That's just photocopying cases. It's not legal work. That's the sort of thing we were hoping we'd get out of doing when we were moving to the billable hours target. But if there's no one there to do it and you have a fi ling deadline . . . you're going to photocopy your own cases if that's what it takes." Pentney says the department's staffi ng quotient is down by about 330 employees, but Justice is also adding paralegals. He's aware of those obligations Hendel men- tioned. For his part, Pentney sees technol- ogy and business-process improvement as a way for the department's lawyers to meet the requirements ethically and effi ciently. "One of the harder things for many lawyers to accept is it's OK to work differently. You can still meet your professional obligations and take great pride in what you're doing." The transformation continues. The de- partment plans to roll out the new tech- nologies beyond the early user group phase so everyone across the organization can access them. Justice is also monitoring the artifi cial intelligence technology market for software and systems that can do even more to speed up the disclosure process. "Value" seems to be the word that sum- marizes the department's changes. Justice aims to be a place where lawyers spend as much time as possible using their high skills. That's how the department can max- imize its value to clients and to Canadians. As Pentney puts it, lawyers in this orga- nization "didn't join the public service to stand by a photocopier and waste time in meetings. They joined because they wanted to do great things for Canada. Supporting that is very important." IH This is more than a phone book. With Canadian Law List 2017 you have access to: • an up-to-date alphabetical listing of more than 80,000 barristers, solicitors and Quebec notaries, corporate counsel, law firms and judges across Canada • all contact information supplied for the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, Federal Cabinet Ministers, departments, boards, commissions and Crown Corporations • legal and government contact information related to each province for the Courts of Appeal, Supreme Courts, County and District Courts, Provincial Courts, law societies, law schools, Legal Aid and other important law-related offices Continually updated by a dedicated team of professionals, Canadian Law List includes value added features such as: • last name first identification in the federal and provincial listings • separate section of corporate law departments for more than 1,250 companies • professional cards of prominent Canadian law firms • International Agency Referral Cards Hardbound • Published February each year • L7798-5933 • On subscription $174* • One time purchase $194* Multiple copy discounts available * Plus shipping/handling and applicable taxes ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY! Call 1.800.387.5164 or visit www.carswell.com for a 30-day no-risk evaluation YOUR INSTANT CONNECTION TO CANADA'S LEGAL NETWORK Untitled-3 1 2017-02-02 2:40 PM

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