Canadian Lawyer InHouse

19 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE SEPTEMBER 2017 arbitration model. At that time, there was a signifi cant backlog of several hundred grievances that contributed to lengthy de- lays in having cases heard by arbitrators. The traditional process was also very costly — the TDSB's legal spend on labour arbi- tration alone was approximately 50-60 per cent of its overall legal spend each year. The problem, says Leola Pon, acting gen- eral counsel, was that the traditional arbi- tration approach was taking longer. Hear- ings would sometimes take a year or two to take place. The grievance processing system was also slowing down given the volume of grievances before them. The school board legal department came to a point where it needed to cut its budget for external fees on labour arbitration. "Traditionally, arbitration was supposed to be a quick way of resolving disputes; un- fortunately, the way labour arbitration has evolved over the years, it's become a lot more technical. It was very ineffi cient and costing a lot of money as well," says Pon. Working with counsel for CUPE, a framework was developed for a new process. "Once we got the ball rolling, it showed how we can achieve both outcomes for both sides through an expedited process," she says. The pilot expedited arbitration process in- cluded written briefs as opposed to viva voce hearings and some time limits given to arbi- trators to issue their bottom-line decision. "It may be considered rough, fast justice, but at the same time we were able to clear some backlog. It has evolved over time and we're now at a phase of revising our agree- ment and including mediation upfront with a third party — we didn't have that ini- tially," Pon says. "That has produced even greater benefi ts." Overall, the external legal spend for Q1 and Q2 of 2016/2017 has decreased signifi - cantly — it is currently 22 per cent of the overall total legal spend for 2015/2016. The TDSB anticipates a decrease in overall legal spend by at least 30 per cent by the end of the 2016/2017 fi scal year. "We have cleared a signifi cant backlog of grievances, reduced the number of scheduled arbitration dates and increased the effi ciency of the arbitration process," she says. "We are considering expanding it to our other bar- gaining units. The union counsel have also seen it as benefi cial for their members." In selecting the TDSB for the overall award, the judges noted Pon's leadership in tackling a diffi cult process and bringing value to a public sector organization often under the intense scrutiny of taxpayers and the media. "They're living in a very politically charged world and the fact they have come up with this solution and working collab- oratively in a very charged environment I thought that was really good," says Innova- tio judge Dorothy Quann, general counsel of Xerox Canada. Judge Lynn Korbak agreed, noting that the legal department "took the lead to pro- vide consistency" and are "doing things above and beyond" in the board. As part of its commitment to ser- vice excellence, the legal services team also undertook a number of other initiatives in the past year. "We have been specifi cally asked to de- velop resources to support superintendents of education whose responsibilities have changed signifi cantly under the TDSB's new Learning Centres Strategy. Under the LCS, superintendents play a very key role in supporting school administrators and pro- viding responsive service to parents/guard- ians on school-related issues, including is- sues of a legal nature," says Pon. The project included the launch of an intranet site containing legal information and Q & As on common legal issues such as family law matters, student records and privacy. The site also provides news on legal developments relevant to school boards, and biographic information on members of the legal department, development of knowl- edge management resources for TDSB lawyers and articling students containing precedents and other resources. The team is also prepping for the selec- tion of a new legal document management system. IH Category: Law Department Management Department size: Small, public sector Organization: Toronto District School Board Back row left to right: Dawne Jubb, Patrick Cotter, Neda Ebrahimzadeh, Ryan Goldvine. Front row left to right: Michelle Sun, Gail Geronimo, Leola Pon, Avneet Grewal, Agnes Iliopoulos. ROBIN KUNISKI As part of Canadian Lawyer InHouse magazine's fourth annual Innovatio Awards program recognizing innovation in-house, the Toronto District School Board was chosen by the judges as the winner in the category of Law Department Management, small departments, and from all of the Innovatio category winners it was selected as "Innovation of the Year" for the work it did to improve service to its internal clients.

• Cover