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Diversity and Equity

“ Diversity within the profession is both positive and necessary. Law has traditionally been a male dominated profession even though society is increasingly diverse. People need to feel comfortable with their lawyer and this means providing familiarity in terms of religion, ethnicity, and gender.  In order to serve the public effectively, the profession needs to reflect this diversity as well. Setting targets for women and minority groups along with public scrutiny will benefit the profession.”

Mandatory Continuing Legal Education

“Self improvement through CPD is necessary and beneficial. However, CPD can and should be made more affordable to new calls by increasing the income threshold to qualify for the bursury and by offering more innovative means of delivering of teaching materials such as online and with podcasts, thereby increasing accessibility.”

Issues affecting young lawyers

"Practicing law in some ways is like boxing. You can study the sport for years but the real learning begins in the ring. You can get knocked down but each time you get back up you’re a little stronger and a little wiser. And like boxing, you will be better off if you are taught the right techniques from the start.”  

“I think it is important to provide new lawyers with resources that instill the right habits at an early stage. For example, support in the form of mentorship, effective practice management, and balancing work and life are all important things to know, and the earlier the better.

Debundling of legal services - excerpt from my response to the LAWTIMES

The debundling of legal services and encroachment into areas of practice by non professionals. We earned our status as members of a ‘profession’ through years of education. Our role in the dispensation of legal services is sacrosanct just as the doctor's role in providing medical care. Parceling off legal services and allowing those with less training to intrude into areas of law reserved for lawyers risks commoditizing legal services, the esteem in which the profession is held, and the quality of service offered to the public. Non lawyers have an important role just as nurses do in the medical profession, but not by acting as substitutes to lawyers.

On Access to Justice - excerpt from response on LAW TIMES

This is a complex problem that will require the profession to address a number of external issues as well as internal ones. Access to justice can be denied by the court system as people with valid claims can be scared away by the specter of paying substantial costs to the other side if they lose. Access to justice can be denied to people who cannot find lawyers who speak the same language. Access to justice can be affected by the adversarial system and the unwillingness of either counsel or client to make concessions thereby prolonging dispute and making it prohibitively expensive for less wealthy parties. High legal fees can also be a barrier to justice. However, simply reducing fees can ultimately lead to the degradation in the quality of legal services. Instead, just as the advent of the video conferencing, email, and online researching tools reduced overheads while increasing efficiency, the profession should be looking for new ways to implement current advances to ameliorate legal costs through efficiency. I also believe that lawyers do provide legal assistance pro bono every day without realizing it, we are problem solvers by nature. We would likely do more if we practiced law on our own terms.

What I Want to Accomplish as a Bencher

1. The formation of a  pension plan and availing all members of voluntary work interruption insurance;
2. Enhancing the esteem of the profession through public ad campaigns;
3. Increasing the bursury limit to make CLEs more affordable;
4. Ensuring transparency of the Law Society;
5. Expanding the tools and resources available to members to help make the delivery of legal services more efficient and affordable.