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 M A R C H 2 0 1 7 17 heroic individual effort just don't cut it. But maybe now, inspired by the American example, the time has finally come. So listen up, so-called Seven Sisters and other law firms that aspire to join the pantheon (you know who you are): It's time to form a coalition. A coalition for what? There is no short- age of issues in Canada that would ben- efit greatly from concerted legal atten- tion. Three are obvious. The first is access to justice. From Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin on down, everyone knows that the Canadian justice system is crippled, unavailable to most ordinary Canadians, no matter the need, because of the cost (the chief justice has often spoken eloquently about this appalling situation). Second, there is the complex plight of Canada's indigenous peoples. For years, this situ- ation has been a big and spreading stain on the country's escutcheon. And finally, there is the state of the environment, which becomes more and more frightening as we lurch toward an almost certain ecological disaster that will overtake our children and grandchildren if we don't take quick and dramatic action. There can, of course, be more than one legal coalition. The coalition idea might be a whole new way of simul- taneously addressing many of the big problems that plague us. And it might help repurpose and redraw the legal pro- fession, giving it its rightful role, turning it from a tired, old, traditional business enterprise into a pioneer for justice and a leader of society. Wouldn't that be swell? Any of the complex problems I men- tion will be extraordinarily difficult to address effectively. To do so will require agreement on contentious issues, a care- fully crafted plan, clever and commit- ted lawyers, a lot of money and some self-sacrifice. Above all, it will require leadership of unquestioned credibility and experience. Access to justice should be the first issue to be addressed by a legal coali- tion. It's a well-understood problem. Its contours are clear. It is particularly the domain of lawyers (in some ways, very limited access to justice is a problem they have created and, therefore, own). It is fixable, albeit at some financial and other cost to the legal profession itself. There are many impressive people who could lead a legal coalition to deal with the access to justice problem. Two in particu- lar come to mind. As it happens, both will be out of work soon and may be looking for something to do. David Johnston's term as governor general ends this September. He is a lawyer and former law dean and university president. He is used to mov- ing confidently among the influential and powerful and forging consensus. He has carefully considered views on the problem. Take a look at his excellent 2011 speech to the Canadian Bar Association — available on the governor general's website — which, of course, the profession largely ignored. And then there's McLachlin. She must retire from the Supreme Court of Canada by September 2018. There is wide, virtually unparalleled respect for her person and career. She is obviously deeply troubled by the access to justice issue. Help us! Philip Slayton is immediate past presi- dent of PEN Canada. He is working on a book about freedom in Canada. Fe 2 Please refer to the Federation of Law Societies website: www sc.ca then click on the link to the National Family Law Program for ongoing program information updates. • Summary of topic(s), format of presentation, possible co presenters and estimated time for presentation or workshop. • Presentations and written material must include a national perspective • Your agreement to participate in other presentations as workshop leader or panelist if needed. • Please include a copy of your curriculum vitae and co presenter's as well with your submission. Your written proposal must be received no later than May 30, 2017 • Your agreement to provide an original written paper on the topic(s), short bio for each presenter and summary of the topic to include in conference handbook by May 15, 2018. Note: Presenters will only receive a contribution toward travel and accommodation expenses. Please submit your Family Law proposal by email or mail to: Heather Walker Program Co-coordinator P.O. Box 244 Woodville, ON K0M 2T0 email: nationalfamilylawprogram@sympatico.ca messages: 705-879-3082 (Due to the volume submissions please identify the proposal as a submission for the 2018 National Family Law Program and topic title on the subject line of the e-mail) Federation of Law Societies of Canada National Family Law Program Vancouver British Columbia Monday July 9 – Thursday 12 2018 (Conference Of ce and Opening Reception Sunday July 8) CALL FOR PAPERS Planning for the National Family Law Program in 2018 is already underway. We are inviting submissions of proposals for Papers/Presentations under the following guidelines: FederationOfLaw_CL_Mar_17.indd 1 2017-02-16 8:37 AM

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