President's Report | February 2021
The
calendar has just rolled over to 2021 as I sit down to write my fifth article
as President of The Hamilton Law Association. I wish all our members a
wonderful and prosperous New Year with many happy days ahead.
Last
year, 2020, will be an unforgettable year. I would say that it was unexpected
for some, horrible for many and should be a wake-up call for all. The
reality of the COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be so different from anything we
may have imagined last January. Jury trials were once again suspended when
Hamilton became a red zone in December. The isolation restrictions tightened
further as we entered the grey zone lock down before Christmas and then the
province instituted a universal public health lock down on Boxing Day.
The concern surrounding the cases of infection that have impacted the court
houses continues to require a response and impact our behavior. This past
year was challenging in many ways, but it did strip away many illusions and has
directed us to focus on what truly matters. The past year has been frightening,
tedious and taxing on civil behavior, but I remain optimistic; several vaccine
options have been developed in double quick time and approved by Health Canada
and some of our most vulnerable members of society are being vaccinated as I
write. I am expectant that better days will return, that we will get to be with
our families again, and that as colleagues our wonderful association of
Hamilton lawyers will meet again, in persona.
One
personal reflection that continues to return to me during this time as the
President of the HLA is that I am blessed in countless ways. Driving by the
homeless encampments in Hamilton and watching the varied political rallies held
outside of City Hall frequently focuses my attention on how fortunate we are.
I have my ability to work and have a warm house, food and family, and I
am privileged to be able to give back. As an example, I have a seat on the
Charity Board of the Lawyers’ Legacy for the Children, a fund of the Hamilton
Community Foundation. Last year the Lawyers’ Legacy for the Children made
a financial donation to Essential Aid, a charity that provides physical
resources to meet the basic needs of the most vulnerable children in Hamilton
by providing families with packages of diapers, baby food and other essential
supplies. In contrast to many when I was a new mother, I was able to stumble to
the store in my eternal state of sleep deprivation and buy what we needed
without any thought to the cost of the nappies and mush. Not everybody is so
fortunate. Nor has everybody been able to continue to support their
families, maintain their businesses or continue to work during the pandemic.
Despite being embroiled in a complicated and highly emotional time for Family
Law, I have been able to keep family and work and finances in hand better than
many. I am proud that as an association, the HLA has donated this Christmas to
the Lawyers’ Legacy for the Children on behalf of our members. I am proud that
we were able to continue the tradition of contributing to a charity each year,
undeterred by the pandemic.
In
our workplaces, as lawyers, we must be responsive to mandated COVID-19 workplace requirements.
Under the Province’s Reopening Ontario Act, we are required to appoint a
manager to develop, implement and actively monitor a Safety Plan. We need to be
cognizant of how we are keeping our workplaces safe from exposure to COVID-19,
screening for COVID-19 and controlling the risk of transmission in our
workplaces. We need to plan what we will do if there is a potential or
suspected exposure to COVID-19 and how risk will be managed. The plan
needs to be reviewed to ensure that it is effective, needs to be in
writing, be made available to any person for review on request and be
posted in a conspicuous place.
Who
knew what Zoom was a year ago? Not me
On
November 12, 2020, I attended the FOLA Fall Plenary via Zoom. Listening to the
keynote speaker, Dr. Hadiya Roderique, was most thought-provoking. Dr.
Roderique, a lawyer, researcher, broadcast commentator, and an award-winning
writer, is perhaps best known for her Globe and Mail piece “Black on Bay
Street” which outlined her experiences as a young Black lawyer working in a Bay
Street law firm. Dr. Roderique provided information and insight into
race-based discrimination and discussed the term “microaggression” which (for
your reference) is a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of
indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a
marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority. Her presentation
provided compelling insight into systemic racism in the legal world and
ideas as to how to combat the injustices.
As
I mentioned in my last report, on November 17, 2020, I attended the 19th Annual
Sopinka Legal Luncheon held in support of the United Way of Halton and Hamilton.
This year the luncheon was, of course, held virtually, and the keynote speaker
was The Honourable Justice Nicholas Kasirer a puisne justice of the Supreme
Court of Canada. The Honourable Justice Kasirer’s lecture combined art
history (namely the paintings in the Supreme Court of Canada) with theorizing
on bridging the gap between judges from an academic vs. a practical background.
On
December 2nd, I was delighted to present Kirsten Hughes with the Ed Orzel award
at the HLA’s 34th Annual Joint Insurance Seminar. The purpose of the
award is to honour a member of the Hamilton Law Association who has
demonstrated excellence in trial advocacy for a single outstanding trial
effort, or for a career in trial advocacy in any area of the law. Kirsten
clearly has a notable career in trial advocacy and was a very worthy
recipient.
The
Hamilton Law Association was dismayed to learn about a 14% cut to its library
grant from the Law Society for 2021. The Trustees feel that these cuts will
have a direct impact on the quality and currency of the information that the
HLA can provide to its members through its library collection. We are cognizant
of the severe and far reaching economic impacts of the pandemic. However, we do
believe that the Anthony Pepe Memorial Library is a crucial link between
lawyers in Hamilton and the legal information that they need to practice law
effectively. With a view to developing a further response to this, the Trustees
would like to hear from you concerning this and in particular as to how you
feel about the usefulness of the library to your practice.
Our
HLA volunteers continue to provide interesting and quality Continuing Legal
Education. In February, the 19th Annual Estates and Trusts Seminar is scheduled;
in April, we plan on having the 20th Annual Advocacy Conference and there are a
number of other interesting shorter seminars like the free Family Law Lunch
Bucket seminars. I will be attending a number of these via webcast and
hope that you can also join in.
The
Hamilton Law Association website has a new look. We attempt to post
important and timely information for you such as COVID-10 notices and links to
the unfortunately ever evolving practice directions. This information is
invaluable to help you stay on top of the newest developments and is easy to
find at www.hamiltonlaw.on.ca. We
have also transitioned to an online membership platform where you will soon be able
to renew your membership and enroll for seminars online.
Over
the last few years, I have also been studying mindfulness as a way to deal with
the stresses of the profession. Mindfulness is the practice of purposely
bringing one’s attention to the experiences occurring in the present moment
without judgment. A repeating theme in mindfulness has been finding
balance through practicing mindful breathing. It is reported that breath
control is one of the most effective ways to calm and restore yourself.
By slowing and regulating your breathing rate you can lower your heart rate and
lessen your feelings of stress or anxiety. One simple way I achieve this is
with a four-count breath. This is a simple cycle, wherein one counts in one’s
head to four as you breathe in, then you hold your breath for a count of four,
then you exhale for four and hold again for four and then repeat the cycle. It
is like working your way around a square in four steps with each step being
four counts long. Once you have a comfortable rhythm you can close your
eyes and visualize the square and working your way around it, while also
bringing your attention to the air entering and leaving your lungs. I
have been using this prior to my zoom court appearances to bring focus and calm
to my presentation. Anxiety is normal and perhaps this little trick might help
you in some way to reduce it.
Finally,
I want to take this opportunity to thank all our volunteers over the past year
for both the small and large efforts made to benefit our Association.
Each contribution big and small helps make our Association
great.