Canadian Lawyer - sample

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 29 Stephen Harper rolled back environmental protections in 2012. Many key changes were deeply buried in a 400-page omnibus bill headlined by the federal budget. "A reporter had gotten a leaked copy, and he called me every half hour, looking for comment," Clogg says, recalling the need to be up to speed on the proposals in a highly compressed time frame. But that, as she notes, is part of the job. "Being in the media spotlight, your submissions, your legal opinions, will be publicly released and there will be a different level of scrutiny. You have to be up for that, perhaps even enjoy that, because it is a reality of this area of practice." And there is little room for error. "I expect my lawyers here to be really impeccable in their work," Clogg says, "because I know the scrutiny they are going to be under. Just being very, very prepared, knowing the law and knowing the facts better than anybody is a pretty good antidote for any criticism." David Estrin is one of Canada's most senior lawyers practising environmental law, with decades of experience that range widely from non-profits to academic appointments to private practice. He is the co-founder and co-academic director of the Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinical Program at Osgoode Hall Law School, a founder of CELA (in 1971) and counsel to Gowling WLG. While some members of the public, government and pri- vate sector firms may view this type of environmental activism as extreme or lacking in balance, that is not a view he shares. For one, these clinics use and adhere to the existing justice system. "They don't push radical [agendas] in the courtroom, because they know they won't be listened to," he notes. Indeed, he says, their efforts are part of an evolution in the jus- tice system that is long overdue, a shift aimed at improving access to justice. "There are many things that could be changed in the legal system, and need to be changed, if there is going to be better access to climate justice. Organizations should go out and articu- late that," Estrin says. "The current system we've inherited, when it comes to trying to get into court on climate change, doesn't work really well. We have a system where people who are suffering from climate change, [such as] indigenous communities or communities that may be flooded out on coastal areas, [can't afford legal sup- port]. It's not a just system. It's tilted towards those who continue to emit these contaminants." Making things more difficult, it appears that lawyers who do wish to practise in this area require an unusual level of personal commitment. That includes a willingness to become knowledge- able in non-legal areas, many with a science component. That can include diving into the molecular composition of pesticides, absorbing the oral legal traditions of First Nations communities or finding novel ways to enforce existing laws. Lisa Mitchell, the only full-time staff lawyer at ECELAW in Halifax, grew up in rural areas and had early ambitions to be a veterinarian. She became a lawyer instead and then did a masters in environmental studies, including many science courses, all with a view to environmental protection. Now, with many years of private practice behind her and acting as both the executive director and senior lawyer for the clinic, she still spends much time educating herself about the science of the issues ECELAW takes on. She also acts as fundraiser (it does not get legal aid), communications professional, government liaison and public outreach. "It is certainly big," she says, when asked about the range of functions her role entails. As head of one of the most thinly funded environmental non-profits, Mitchell has also learned how to be creative. A cur- rent push to establish a new bill of environmental rights for all provinces was recently launched in Nova Scotia with the assistance of the Wooden Monkey, a local restaurant whose owner sits on the board of ECELAW. "We look for people who are really passionate about the area and who have varied interests," Mitchell says, not- ing that connections like this in the community can assist on less traditional but effective fronts, such as using social media to reach potential supporters. Mitchell speaks from experience about the years of dogged effort that achieving even one victory can require. She notes a recent, innovative strategy to move forward in a stalled dispute over allegations of contaminated drinking water in Harrietsfield, a tiny community on the Chebucto Peninsula. With the assistance of Mitchell and ECELAW, local resident Marlene Brown spent more than six years writing letters, complaining to the provincial govern- ment and taking various legal steps to get action on her concerns about tainted water in her community. Getting nowhere, Brown, with a private lawyer and the assistance of ECELAW, launched the first private prosecution in Nova Scotia on an environmental issue. Then, in July, the province's Public Prosecution Service took over the prosecution. "This was after really struggling to get the government to take this forward," Mitchell says. "[The private prosecution] seemed like the only option." Indeed, the complex, sometimes delicate balancing act between these non-profits and governments may be the single most chal- CORPORATE COUNSEL Connect with Find almost 4,000 corporate counsel and over 1,500 organizations along with fresh editorial content, information on deals and links to important resources. Lexpert.ca/ccca ntitled-3 1 2017-11-01 4:00 PM

• Cover