TLABC Wins Two International Awards

TLABC Wins Two International Awards

[San Diego, California] – July 28, 2019 – Trial Lawyers Association of BC has been named a winner of the Continuing Legal Education Program of the Year in the National Association of Trial Lawyer Executives (NATLE) Excellence Awards in the Best Programs category for the Trial by Fire No More education and networking series for new lawyers. These awards honour best-in-class products and services for trial lawyer associations in North America.

NATLE named the 2019 award winners at the 47^th NATLE Annual Conference in San Diego, California, at the Awards Luncheon on Sunday, July 28. The NATLE Annual Meeting is the largest gathering of justice association executives in the USA and Canada.

The CLE of the Year award goes to a NATLE member association whose educational program significantly impacts attorneys in meaningful ways. The program must have clear objectives and provides supportive educational materials, content, and methods that are audience-appropriate. Lastly, the program is innovative and adaptable for other NATLE members to replicate and adapt in their CLE programs.

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About NATLE

The National Association of Trial Lawyer Executives is an organization whose members are chief executives and staff of justice associations throughout the USA and Canada. Over 60 justice associations (voluntary bar associations) collectively represent over 60,000 attorneys, and together we work to ensure justice for all.

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In addition, The Association for Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA) has awarded Trial Lawyers of BC (TLABC) one of only 10 annual awards granted to competitors representing more than 300 organizations worldwide.

An Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Best Programs category was given to TLABC for the Trial by Fire No More education and networking series for new lawyers.

ACLEA members are professionals in the fields of continuing legal education and legal publishing. Its annual ACLEA’s Best Awards are highly competitive and winning projects represent the highest level of achievement for the staff and volunteers involved.

ACLEA formally presented the award at the Annual Meeting of ACLEA in Chicago, IL on July 30, 2019.

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About ACLEA

Established in 1964, ACLEA is an international association. Members are primarily from the United States and Canada, with additional representation from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and Mexico. Administrators, trainers, managers, educators, publishers, programmers and meeting professionals are all members of ACLEA.

 

 

Erin Bids Farewell

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” -A.A. Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh)

Wow. 8 years, almost to the day. August 3^rd 2011 – August 23 2019.

67 seminars, 45 webinars, 8 medical-legal conferences, 8 Women Lawyer Retreats, 8 Holiday Bash’s and 7 Board Retreats (a case of pink eye took me out of 2018). It has been quite a ride, TLABC.

My introduction to TLABC was the week before I officially started in the office, and I was given an invitation to Carla Terzariol’s (our previous Executive Director) surprise 25^th anniversary party. Nervous to start a new job and make a good impression, I accepted the invite not knowing what I was getting myself in to. Within 10 minutes at the event, even before the woman-of-honour had arrived, I knew immediately that I had found my kind of people. Everyone I spoke to made me feel welcome. I was meeting my new family.

You truly are an inspiring group. In my time here, I have worked with some of the most generous, motivated, caring and energetic souls I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I have built friendships instead of just “colleagues”. With the staff, the board, committee members, faculty, registrants and sponsors. All of you.

And yes, what a ride it has been! Cutting a rug on the dance floor with Larry Kancs at every event (even ones with no dance floor), internet crashes during the largest webcast of the year, zip lining in Costa Rica with the bravest of our fellow medical-legal conference registrants, faculty showing up at the wrong hotel, rubber-band battles after hours in the office, breaking my foot dancing at my first ever Holiday Bash… the list goes on. I am spoiled with amazing memories of my time here.

Thank you for welcoming me all those years ago into this wonderful and wacky world. Thank you for always making me feel valued and appreciated. Thank you for helping me grow to where I am today.

It is because of that growth, and the desire for more, that I leave my comfort zone and take the plunge. The courage I have to do this is because of the strength I have gained from your continuous support.

I am thrilled that I get to stay in the legal industry, so you have not seen the last of me. Find me on LinkedIn, or just plain old Google… I’ll be around TLABC. You can’t get rid of family that easily (just ask any of our Family or Estate lawyers).

2019 LAPBC Gratitude Lunch Honours Jim Carroll

By Julia Chalifoux

A recent impromptu visit to Vancouver and the TLABC office allowed me the opportunity to attend the 2019 LAPBC Gratitude Lunch at the Vancouver Courthouse Restaurant with 5 of my fellow TLABC staff members and 2 members of the TLABC Board.

The purpose of the Gratitude Lunch as it states on the LAPBC website is to honour a member of the legal community who has been selfless in his or her actions, and showed great dedication to helping lawyers in need.

This year, The Lawyers Assistance Program honoured Jim Carroll with the “Lawyer Helping Lawyer Award”.

It was inspiring to listen to Jim speak so honestly about his experiences with alcoholism and recovery, and how LAPBC had been of great service to him when he was a young and struggling lawyer.

Today, Jim is paying it forward and dedicates many of his efforts to helping other lawyers in similar situations.

I left the Gratitude Lunch feeling hopeful. Hopeful, that there would be others in the room, like me, feeling inspired. Hopeful that there would be more brave and honest individuals like Jim in the future, speaking up and out about “taboo” subjects such as alcoholism and addiction. And lastly, hopeful Jim’s words would bring optimism, hope and courage to someone in that room that was silently struggling.

“One person speaking up makes more noise than a thousand people who remain silent”
– Thom Harnett

 

About LAPBC
LAPBC is an independent organization of members of the BC legal community (lawyers, judges, families and support staff). We provide peer support and referral services to help people deal with personal problems – including alcohol and drug dependence, stress and anxiety, depression and other issues. Our committed volunteers and staff provide confidential, compassionate, and knowledgeable help; core services include outreach, support and education.

We seek to foster collegiality among our peers and to promote health and well-being in our communities.

Whether you are seeking information for yourself or someone else, the LAPBC website aims to help. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The easiest way to reach us is to phone 604.685.2171 or 1.888.685.2171. Someone will answer your call or you will be connected to a confidential voice message box. If you leave a message, we will return your call as soon as possible. The service is available 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, so there’s no need to worry about calling when the office is closed.

Third Edition of New Lawyers Retreat Meets Rave Reviews

The 3^rd edition of the New Lawyers Retreat took place the last weekend of April – April 26-28. This year we drove just a little further up the Sea to Sky highway to end the Westin Whistler hotel. Almost 50 new lawyers, seasoned legal mentors, speakers and sponsors came together for a weekend of education, networking and mentorship.

Guests got to know one another on Friday night with a casual reception. Giant Jenga and air hockey helped break the ice and got everyone connecting!

Saturday’s education kicked off with the ever-popular Judge David St.Pierre, who spoke about challenges that arise with self-represented litigants in the courtroom. He gave some great tips on dealing with specific situations.

Next up was Law Society Bencher, Karen Snowshoe. Karen shared her emotional story of her family history and the significant challenges that they faced. She emphasized the need for awareness of diversity in law, and the importance of mental well-being.

J.A. Pankiw-Petty gave a fascinating presentation about jury focus groups. It’s about setting the scene and telling a story.

Kyla Lee and Paul Doroshenko QC wrapped up the formal presentations by teaching the audience how to be media savvy. They shared some great info on how to build your personal brand and set yourself up for being a contact to whom the media reaches out.

The education concluded with a mentorship session with the speakers, as well as seasoned lawyers who volunteered their weekend to coach the new lawyers. They broke into small groups and had a chance to ask questions about work-life balance, client management, and the key to a successful practice, and more from their amazing mentors.

The weekend concluded with a delicious dinner where all the attendees came together one more time to celebrate new learning, new connections and new friends. If you were a part of this year’s retreat, thank you. If you didn’t attend this year, maybe we’ll see you in 2020!

 

“I also wanted to quickly say thank you for all the hard work you and your team put into making such an amazing weekend for everyone! I was already very excited to be able to learn from the senior lawyers, but the seminars and “speed dating” rounds with all mentors on Saturday blew my expectations away. I learned so much from this weekend, and really hope I’ll have a chance to stay involved with future TLABC events!” –Yeoman Liang

 

TLABC Statement on Expert Report Announcement – February 11, 2019

 

For Immediate Release – February 11, 2019

Vancouver, BC. – TLABC supports any reasonable effort to at making our system of civil justice fairer, faster and cheaper. However, today the Attorney General David Eby announced sweeping changes to the number of experts that can testify on behalf of even the most grievously injured British Columbians. It is concerning to TLABC that the Attorney General, who is responsible for the administration of justice for all British Columbians, is forcing such severe restrictions on a victim’s right to prosecute her or his claim to the sole benefit of one party, ICBC.

Of particular concern, TLABC understands that the Attorney General is forcing these changes unilaterally. He is doing so despite protest from the independent Rules Committee, which is comprised of justices of the Supreme Court of British Columbia and a number of senior lawyers from around the province from various areas of practice, including lawyers who do defense work for ICBC. Further, it should concern all British Columbians the Attorney General has passed these changes behind closed cabinet doors by Order in Council, thereby precluding public debate in the legislature.

Passing such consequential changes to our system of civil justice with no legislative debate is undemocratic. Time and again this government seems to favor ICBC’s financial interests over the legal rights of British Columbians, and this rush to pass restrictions on how victims of negligence must prove their cases at law is the most recent illustration of making car accident victims pay for reckless driving.

TLABC expects to have further comment to these proposed changes when the Order in Council is made public.

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About TLABC

The mission of the Trial Lawyers’ Association of BC is to support and promote the rights of individuals in British Columbia.

For media or other enquiries:

Todd Hauptman, Public Affairs Director

todd@tlabc.org / 604-696-6519