FOLA's Spring 2022 Plenary was held on May 12th via Zoom.
Read our Post Plenary Report here.
View our all our recorded presentation on our Spring 2022 Plenary Video Playlist
Want quick links to select videos? We've got those!
WELCOMING REMARKS, INTRODUCTION OF THE FOLA EXECUTIVE & ROLL CALL OF PRESIDENTS
Douglas Judson, FOLA Chair
WELCOMING REMARKS FROM LAW SOCIETY OF ONTARIO TREASURER
Teresa Donnelly, Treasurer, Law Society of Ontario
REPORT FROM FOLA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Katie Robinette, FOLA Executive Director
FOLA Regional Reps & FOLA Committee
BRIEFING ON LAW SOCIETY ACTIVITIES & THE LSO’S DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT COUNSEL
Diana Miles, LSO CEO & Fay Faraday, Discrimination and Harassment Counsel
UPDATE ON THE LSO’s SANDBOX TECH INITIATIVE
Will Morrison, Manager, Access to Innovation, LSO
20mins of Professional Content
Dan Pinnington, President & CEO, LawPRO
30mins of Professional Content
Neil Guthrie, LiRN Chair, Theresa Leitch, LiRN Managing Director, & Allen Wynperle, FOLA LiRN Committee
PANEL DISCUSSION & BREAKOUT ROOMS - LiRN
Panel Intros only – Breakout rooms not recorded
GETTING BACK TO THE NEW NORMAL; TECH TRENDS THAT ARE HERE TO STAY- CLIO Rio Peterson, Affinity Partnerships Manager, Clio
30mins of Professional Content
Lorna M. Yates, Lawyer
45 mins of Professional Content
MENTAL HEALTH BREAKOUT WORKSHOPS
Voices for Mental Health
Introductions only – Breakout rooms not recorded
Please contact Kelly at Kelly.Lovell@fola.ca if you have any questions about CPD.
SPEAKER ATTACHMENTS & PRESENTATIONS
BENCHER ELECTIONS - DRAFT QUESTIONNAIRE
DISCRIMINATION & HARASSMENT COUNSEL PRESENTATION
CLIO - GETTING BACK TO THE NEW NORMAL PRESENTATION
REGIONAL REPORTS
SPONSORS
LawPRO (Title Sponsor)
Clio (Speaker Sponsor)
Law Society of Ontario (Welcome Sponsor)
Lawyers Financial (Panels Sponsor)
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The Law Society of Ontario governs Ontario’s lawyers and paralegals in the public interest by ensuring that the people of Ontario are served by lawyers and paralegals who meet high standards of learning, competence and professional conduct.
The Law Society regulates, licenses and disciplines Ontario’s more than 50,000 lawyers and over 8,000 licensed paralegals pursuant to the Law Society Act and the Law Society's rules, regulations and guidelines.
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Lawyers Financial is also the content provider FOLA's Financial Solutions blog.
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Teresa Donnelly was elected as Treasurer by the Law Society’s governing body (Convocation) on June 26, 2020. The Treasurer is the top-elected official of the Law Society, which regulates Ontario’s lawyers and paralegals in the public interest. She is the fifth woman Treasurer in the 223 year history of the Law Society.
Treasurer Donnelly was elected as a bencher in 2015 and 2019. She has served as Chair of the Audit & Finance Committee, Chair of the Human Rights Monitoring Group (Equity) and Chair of the Program Review Task Force.
Contact the Treasurer at treasurer@lso.ca
Daniel E. Pinnington was appointed President & Chief Executive Officer of LAWPRO in 2018. From 2012 to 2018, he served as Vice-President, Claims Prevention and Stakeholder Relations, overseeing LAWPRO's claims prevention and outreach initiatives.
Dan joined LAWPRO in 2001 as Director, practicePRO and was the driving force behind the practicePRO program - LAWPRO’s innovative and internationally recognized claims prevention initiative. He used his unique combination of practice experience and technology expertise to provide lawyers with tools and resources to assist them in avoiding malpractice claims and succeeding in the practice of law.
Before joining LAWPRO, Dan practised for eight years in the Litigation Department of a Niagara-area law firm. Dan was called to the bar in 1993, having graduated with a combined LL.B./J.D. from the University of Windsor and Detroit Mercy College of Law.
Read Dan's full bio here.
Diana Miles, BA, LLB, CDir, joined the Law Society of Ontario in 2001 as the Executive Director of Professional Development and Competence. She has since held numerous positions in the organization in addition to the competence portfolio, including Executive Director of Organizational Strategy, of Communications and of Professional Regulation. Diana was appointed Acting CEO in September 2017 and CEO in March 2018.
Throughout her career at the Law Society, Diana has provided proactive and effective policy-oriented leadership to the Board while overseeing significant operational portfolios. Her responsibilities have included strategic and operational planning, financial management, governance assessment, board education, creation of defensible and valid licensure systems, provision of resources and supports for legal practitioners, and the development of progressive regulation, risk management and quality assurance for lawyer and paralegal licensees and their legal practices.
Lorna is a founding partner at Laurel Family Law LLP in Toronto, Ontario.
Lorna is an author for four (4) chapters of the Law Society of Ontario’s Bar Admission Materials for Family Law. She is the past-Chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Family Law Section and past-Chair of the Family Law Practice Group at The Advocates Society. Lorna is proud of her work as a panel member on the Office of the Children’s personal rights panel since 2004. She has been a member of the Superior Court of Justice’s Family Law Bench and Bar in Toronto since 2012, a member of the 361 University User Group (SCJ) since the Spring, 2020, and a Mandatory Information Session presenter for many years.
Lorna is also an active member of the Superior Court of Justice Family Working Group, appointed by the Family Judge for Ontario Suzanne Stevenson in 2020.
Lorna is very proud of her work in founding ASC Toronto, a summary legal advice pilot project at the Superior Court of Justice at 361 University Avenue can be found by clicking the blue button below.
Will Morrison is the manager of the Access to Innovation project at the Law Society of Ontario.
In prior policy roles at the Law Society, Will developed expertise in legal tech as well as a wide range of lawyer and paralegal regulation issues. He has presented to legal regulators, professional associations, and innovators across North America about regulatory reform initiatives.
Will attended the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, and was called to the bar as a lawyer in 2012. Prior to joining the Law Society, Will articled at the Constitutional Law Branch of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General and practised litigation at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto.
Caroline Nevin is the CEO of an independent 30-courthouse library system with 56 employees serving the legal community & public across a land mass twice the size of California. She has an MBA earned while working fulltime with two kids, a CAE (Canadian Association Executive) designation, and 35 years of experience in business management and communications.
Prior to joining BC Courthouse Libraries in 2019, Caroline was Executive Director of the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch and a member of the International Institute of Law Association Chief Executives (IILACE). She currently serves on two Law Society of BC committees: the Innovation Sandbox Advisory Group and the Lawyer Development Task Force.
Fay Faraday is a human rights, labour and constitutional lawyer and the founder of an innovative social justice law and strategic consulting practice in Toronto.
Since 1996 Fay has represented unions, civil society, community coalitions and individuals in human rights, labour, constitutional, pay equity, administrative and public law litigation. She also works collaboratively with organizations and multi-stakeholder coalitions to develop strategic visions and practical action plans to advance human rights and social justice outcomes.
She has taught courses on legal ethics and professional regulation of lawyers since 2010 and has also taught courses on human rights/anti-discrimination law. Since 2015 Fay has been the Course Director of Osgoode’s program on ethical lawyering.
Beth started her legal career as a student and associate in the litigation department of Fasken Campbell Godfrey. She was called to the bar in 1994.
Beth is currently Senior Counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General Civil Law Division, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Long-Term Care Branch. Beth has a broad-based health law litigation practice and has expertise in the areas of human rights, forensic and civil mental health, OHIP eligibility, Coroner’s inquests, and long-term care home compliance. Beth has a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School in alternative dispute resolution.
In 2002 Beth was diagnosed with bipolar disorder following a psychotic episode that led her to being hospitalized for two weeks at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. Because of the prevalence of the stigma surrounding mental illness, she hid her illness for 14 years, telling only her family and closest friends about her condition. Given the stigma surrounding mental illness, Beth endured much angst at the thought that her colleagues, clients and opposing counsel would find out about her illness and hospitalization
In 2017 Beth made the decision to come out of the “mental health closet” and started speaking publicly. Since January 2018 Beth has been a Friend of the Bell Let’s Talk campaign. Her story of living and working with bipolar disorder has been featured on television, radio, print media and billboards across the country. Television appearances include The Marilyn Denis Show, CTV News, CP24 and a CTV prime time special, “In Their Own Words”.
Beth is a founding member of the Voices for Mental Health which is a group of employees at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General who have lived mental health experience or have cared for someone who has lived experience. The Voices provide programming in the Ministry of the
Attorney General and beyond on topics relating to mental health. In 2019 the Voices were awarded the Deputy’s Award of Excellence, the highest honour awarded in the ministry.
Beth is a founding member and captain of The Bipolar Express, a team that raises money for a youth mental health program operated by the Canadian Mental Health Association. The Bipolar Express has been the top fundraising team in the country in the CMHA’s annual fundraising event Ride Don’t Hide (also called Mental Health in Motion) in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Beth has written articles for The Globe and Mail and Lexpert Magazine on the topic of mental health.
Beth has made presentations to thousands of people, primarily lawyers in the public and private sectors. She has made presentations at the majority of Canada’s 20 largest law firms. Beth has made presentations to all levels of government, schools, corporations and social clubs.
Beth is on a mission to help improve the lives of those living with mental illness as well those who care for them.
Jason Balgopal is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School, and an Ontario lawyer, who was called to the bar in 1999. He has been practicing exclusively in criminal law since 2003, and has been an Assistant Crown Attorney in the Scarborough Crown Attorneys’ office since 2004. He has appeared in all levels of court in Ontario, and has conducted all manner of prosecutions, including murder trials and a dangerous offender application.
He is a member of the Elder Abuse Consultation Team (EACT) in Toronto and has presented many times on the topic of Elder Abuse. He is also a member of the Scarborough Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committee (HSJCC) which helps to coordinate the various services offered by different organizations to a diverse population.
After a lengthy challenge with depression, and after getting to a better “head-space” for himself, he wished to give back to the community which had supported him. Thus, in 2015, he created the Mental Wellness Peer Support Groups, which have been operating continuously since in person, and are now (since COVID started) operating virtually through Zoom. The groups offer members an opportunity to unburden themselves to peers (people who have “walked a mile in your shoes”) about how their mental wellness challenge is affecting them and get feedback (empathy or best practices) to support them.
More information can be found at: www.MentalWellness.help , and people may sign up for the Peer Support Group by joining www.MeetUp.com and searching for: Mental Wellness Peer-to-Peer Support Groups, or directly at: https://www.meetup.com/Mental-Wellness-Peer-to-Peer-Support-Groups/
Stephen Lockwood is a Deputy Director with the Legal Services Branch – Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. He was counsel in the branch for 14 years, working on a range of land use planning and municipal law matters.
Stephen is an advocate for mental health in the legal profession, speaks regularly about his lived experience with major depression and anxiety, and is a member of Voices for Mental Health.
Myra Hewitt is General Counsel with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General - Legal Services Branch, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks where she has practiced since 1990. Myra has been a member of Voices for Mental Health since 2019. She feels passionate about the need to destigmatize mental illness – to embrace our collective role in supporting mental health.
Myra graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1986, was called to the Ontario Bar in 1988, clerked for the High Court in 1989 and received her LL.M from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1997.
Imran Kamal recently became Crown Counsel for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, specializing in Aboriginal rights.
Imran was legal counsel at the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Hamilton (CCAS) from 2014 to 2021. Imran is a LSO Certified Specialist in Indigenous Legal Issues and the only child protection lawyer in Ontario with this designation. In 2021, Imran was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada by Canadian Lawyer Magazine.
Imran’s passion is to work front line and grassroots. In 2017, Imran established Hamilton Lawyers Feed the Hungry, which gathers volunteers from the legal community to financially support and prepare and serve meals for 80-100 children and youth in the Hamilton community bi-weekly. Since 2016, Imran has also been a weekly volunteer at a Men’s Live-in Addiction Treatment Centre, providing support and resources for men overcoming alcohol and drug addiction. Additionally, Imran is Board Member of Mission Services of Hamilton and the AIDS Network.
Imran was called to the Bar in Ontario in 2013. Prior to joining the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Hamilton, Imran practiced in domestic family law in Halton region where his main area of practice was custody and access issues.
Voices of Mental Health ("Voices") is comprised of Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG) employees who have lived experience with mental illness or who have cared for a loved one with a mental health condition.
The Voices seek to educate people about mental health issues. The members are committed to facilitating an informed, humane and realistic conversation around mental health. It is through telling stories of lived experience and allowing room for an open exchange of information and ideas that the isolation and stigma surrounding mental illness is reduced.
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CPDOnline's Paula Puddy discusses how the members of Middlesex Law Association benefit from their services
*Note that this video is from Nov 2019 and Paula is no longer affiliated with the MLA
CPDOnline''s Paula Puddy offers highlights of how partnering with them can help your Law Association earn additional revenue!
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