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 Y 2 0 1 8 9
upcoming publication of a best-practices
hiring guide.
Many of those initiatives have
been either fleshed out, filled in and/
or approved at the biannual meetings
between the managing partners of
participant firms and the batônnier of
the Barreau du Québec, Paul-Matthieu
Grondin, the five group meetings that
have been held with at least one repre-
sentative from each firm present and at
the many working group sessions that
have been held over the past two years.
"Panorama will provide us with the
data we want and need in order to begin
addressing the issue of diversity as a pro-
fession," says Grondin.
Similar efforts and solutions are being
developed by bar associations in Canada,
the United States and the United King-
dom.
Unlike in Ontario, where the law soci-
ety's recent adoption of a statement of
principles on diversity has angered many
lawyers, voluntary Barreau-backed efforts
such as the Panorama Project are being
positively embraced by the Quebec legal
community, says Grondin.
"There is broad agreement on the
need for a correction in regards to the
representation of ethnocultural groups
to make our profession more inclusive,"
says Grondin. He says he is confident that
initiatives like Project Panorama will help
to address the situation, much like mentor-
ships, reserved law school seats and other
actions have helped to increase the num-
ber of Indigenous lawyers in Quebec.
"I think awareness, training and
education are fundamental," adds
Apostolatos, a native Montrealer
and Greek-Canadian who represents
Langlois at both levels of Panorama Pro-
ject participants' meetings — the only
lawyer to do so. "Seeing and understand-
ing and embracing diversity in the work-
place is an evolution that, at the end of
the day, makes us all richer and happier
and better off."
— MARK CARDWELL
\ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ P R A I R I E S \ W E S T
REGIONAL
WRAP-UP
Gerry Apostolatos
Paul-Matthieu Grondin
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