Search for Equity Resources: Practice Resource Search Tool
The Society’s practice resource search will help you find websites, articles, webinars, podcasts, videos and more to support you in your legal practice. The Equity and Cultural Competence category includes resources focused on 2SLGBTQIA+ and gender issues, anti-racism, trauma-informed lawyering, restorative approaches, implicit biases, African Nova Scotian issues, TRC resources and more.
Are you seeking a specific equity and access related practice resource? Connect with our Equity and Access team at equity@nsbs.org.
The Equity Lens Toolkit
The Society’s Equity Lens Toolkit provides lawyers, law firms, and Society staff and volunteers with instructions on how to apply an ‘equity lens’ to their decision-making. It includes a description of the equity lens and a set of worksheets and reference material to help users apply it in practice.
Introduction
Advancing diversity and fostering inclusion is the responsibility of every lawyer. These guidelines are a starting point for lawyers, law firms, Society staff and volunteers who want to understand how they can apply an equity lens to their work, decision-making and interactions with others.
This toolkit describes how specific groups of people are at risk of being excluded and are impacted by systems of oppression: racism, sexism, ableism, and ethnocentrism, to name a few. It can help you become more aware of the diversity around you; develop and deliver services that are responsive to clients and communities you work with every day; create positive changes within your work environment and our profession, ultimately addressing systemic barriers and inequities people from equity seeking groups face.
We tend to design our processes to be used by people who seem similar to us, which allows many exclusionary practices to persist. Instead of “treating people the way that you’d like to be treated,” we should instead treat people the way that they would like to be treated and avoid providing services based on our own preferences. This approach, which supports and respects the diverse skills and experiences of members of equity-deserving communities, is called inclusion.
This section provides foundational resources that explain the roots and harms of systemic inequalities, describes how these impact access to legal services, and provides descriptions of the Society’s access to justice initiatives.
What is an “equity lens”?
A lens is a way of looking at policies and practices to see how they address certain issues – which can be applied by asking ourselves a series of questions. An equity lens, therefore, is a series of considerations to guide us as we seek to understand how our decisions and actions either break down or reinforce the barriers that prohibit equal participation and benefit in the legal profession and the justice system.
To examine something using an equity lens, take the following steps when making a decision:
- Reflect the needs of people with a range of experiences;
- Apply a knowledge of history, including the history of racism in Nova Scotia;
- Find a diversity of ways for people to participate (no one-size-fits-all); and
- Understand how and why exclusion happens, resulting in actionable steps to take.
Where can I learn more about historic/systemic inequities in Nova Scotia society and the justice system?
Please use the following resources to learn more:
- The Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr., Prosecution, also known as the Marshall Inquiry or Marshall Commission, investigated the wrongful conviction of Donald Marshall Jr., a Mi’kmaq man falsely convicted of murder. The 1989 inquiry report made several recommendations that brought significant changes to Nova Scotia’s criminal justice system, including the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. Notable recommendations include:
° #13 Programs for law students, lawyers, judges: We recommend that the Dalhousie Law School, the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society and the Judicial Councils support courses and programs dealing with legal issues facing visible minorities, and encourage sensitivity to minority concerns for law students, lawyers and judges.
° #27: Liaison with bar: We recommend that a program of ongoing liaison between the bar—prosecutors, private defense and legal aid—and [Indigenous] people, both on and off reserve, be established through the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. The Society must also educate its members concerning the special needs of [Indigenous] clients.
- The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action contain several recommendations specific to lawyers, law societies, and other aspects of the justice system which include:
° #27: We call upon the Federation of Law Societies of Canada to ensure that lawyers receive appropriate cultural competency training, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal-Crown relations. This will require skills- based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.
° #28: We call upon law schools in Canada to require all law students to take a course in Aboriginal people and the law, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.
° #50: In keeping with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal
- The Society made its own Acknowledgement of Systemic Discrimination which committed us to retaining Doug Ruck KC to conduct a regulatory and operational review culminating in a report with recommendations to change or improve our legislation, regulation, policies, procedures and practices to eliminate systemic discrimination. Mr. Ruck’s report was released in October 2024.
What is the Society currently doing?
The Society has several initiatives underway, which can be found in more detail here.
Your Obligations
A lawyer’s commitment to equity, non-discrimination and cultural competence is not merely theoretical. In addition to obligations all Nova Scotians are required to abide by as outlined in the Human Rights Act and Accessibility Act, additional obligations for lawyers are articulated through the Society’s legislation, Regulations, the Code of Professional Conduct, and Standards. NSBS Council has also at times required lawyers to complete subject-specific education to improve their cultural competence in defined areas.
Where can I learn more about what my obligations are?
Code of Professional Conduct: 6.3 Discrimination and Harassment
Discrimination
6.3-1 A lawyer must not directly or indirectly discriminate against a colleague, employee, client or any other person
Harassment
6.3-2 A lawyer must not harass a colleague, employee, client or any other person
Sexual Harassment
6.3-3 A lawyer must not sexually harass a colleague, employee, client or any other person.
Reprisal
6.3-4 A lawyer must not engage or participate in reprisals against a colleague, employee, client or any other person because that person has: (a) inquired about their rights or the rights of others; (b) made or contemplated making a complaint of discrimination, harassment or sexual harassment; (c) witnessed discrimination, harassment or sexual harassment; or (d) assisted or contemplated assisting in any investigation or proceeding related to a complaint of discrimination, harassment or sexual harassment.
Standards
Standards and their featured resources are intended to be an articulation of the existing statutory and regulatory obligations for lawyers and to provide some guidance with respect to “how” responsibilities might be met, taking into account the variances in practice around the province. Several Standards deal directly with equity, diversity, and cultural competence:
What special obligations has Council required of members?
- The Path
- Council has approved the creation of an African Nova Scotian cultural competence course and its development is underway.
What obligations does the Society have?
- For more information about the Society’s obligations, refer to the Society Work section of this toolkit.
What are cultural competence, cultural humility, and cultural proficiency?
Cultural Competence is the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures. Cultural competence comprises five essential capacities:
- We must understand our own cultural positions and how they differ from and are similar to others (critical cultural self-analysis)
- We must understand the social and cultural reality in which we live and work and in which our clients live and work
- We must cultivate appropriate attitudes towards cultural difference
- We must be able to generate and interpret a wide variety of verbal and non-verbal responses
- We must understand structural oppression and demonstrate awareness and commitment to social justice
Cultural Humility involves humbly acknowledging oneself as a learner in order to understand another’s experience. It has three core elements: institutional and individual accountability, lifelong learning and critical self-reflection, and mitigating power imbalances. It offers a deeper foundation to begin the work of eliminating inequity, emphasizing an understanding of personal and systemic biases to develop and maintain respectful processes and relationships.
Cultural Proficiency comprises the policies and practices of an organization that enable that organization to interact effectively with clients, colleagues, and the community using the essential elements of cultural competence. It is an inside-out approach that encourages a deliberate exploration and reflection of deeply rooted cultural assumptions, thereby relieving members of historically disadvantaged groups from the responsibility of doing all of the adapting. Ultimately, it involves integrating knowledge of other cultures into specific standards, policies, practices and attitudes to increase the quality of services to all.
For a more detailed explanation of cultural competence in the delivery of legal services, refer to:
- Lawyers Meet the Social Context: Understanding Cultural Competence (Voydovic, 2006).
- Reconciliation and Ethical Lawyering (Parmar, 2020)
Our Work at the Society
The Society’s obligations to ensure equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and cultural competence in the delivery of legal services are enshrined in our governing documents.
The Regulatory Objectives
Our six Regulatory Objectives set out the purpose and parameters of how legal services are regulated in Nova Scotia, and provide guidance to the Society, those we regulate and the public. Regulatory Objective #4 obligates us to establish required standards for professional responsibility and competence for lawyers and legal entities. Regulatory Objective #5 obligates us to promote diversity, inclusion, substantive equality and freedom from discrimination in the delivery of legal services and the justice system.
We fulfill these objectives through a range of programs and initiatives that exist throughout the organization.
Educating Lawyers
° As part of the Bar Admission Program, articled clerks are required to attend a one-day Cultural Competence Workshop.
- The Path and other mandatory cultural competence education for practicing members
° The Society has required all practicing lawyers to complete The Path, an Indigenous Intercultural Awareness and Competency Training curriculum. This is part of the Nova Scotia Barristers’
Society’s commitment to improving the cultural competence of the legal profession and responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.
- Direct support for lawyers and firms
° The Society provides direct support to lawyers and firms via its Legal Services Support Office and the Practice Resource Search.
Equity & Access Office
The Society’s Equity & Access Office works across the organization and directly with lawyers, Council, Committees and the public to advance the Society’s equity, diversity, inclusion and cultural competence objectives. The Equity & Access section of our website and Appendix B of the Ruck Report describe current Equity & Access initiatives.
Council and Committees
As the Society’s governing body, Council ensures we carry out our purpose to uphold and protect the public interest in the practice of law. The Society’s various Committees, task forces and working groups support Council’s work and initiatives, including:
° The Society has four equity committees who advise, monitor and support Council in the work and governance of the Society on issues related to the protection, advancement and promotion of equity-deserving groups. These committees are:
- The Racial Equity Committee
- The Gender Equity Committee
- The Truth & Reconciliation Committee
- The Disability Equity Committee
Resources
This section provides an overview of several equity concepts, including information about different equity-deserving communities in Nova Scotia, different types of discrimination, and other related concepts. The purpose of this section is to provide you with the substantive, specific knowledge you may need to apply to the other sections of the toolkit.
This list will be periodically updated. If you would like to suggest information or resources to be included here, please contact info@nsbs.org.
An overview of diverse communities in Nova Scotia
Mi’kmaq and Indigenous People
Indigenous people make up 5.5 per cent of Nova Scotia’s population. The Mi’kmaq (L’nu) people are the traditional Indigenous peoples of this land, having been here since time immemorial with oral history dating back for more than 10,000 years. The traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq, known as Mi’kma’ki, spanned throughout what is now the Maritimes and the Gaspe peninsula at the time of contact, with settlements later in New England and Newfoundland.
For further information:
African Nova Scotians and People of African Descent
Black people make up 3 per cent of Nova Scotia’s population. Nova Scotia’s Black population is the most long-established in Canada, with nearly 60 per cent of Black people in Nova Scotia being of the third generation or more. Throughout the 1700s, most Black people in Nova Scotia were enslaved by settlers. As slavery was abolished in what is now Canada and Black Loyalists were offered freedom in Nova Scotia in exchange for their support for the British in the American War of Independence, the population grew, eventually establishing Nova Scotia’s over fifty historically Black communities. Descendents from these communities are known as African Nova Scotians.
People of African descent have continued to settle in Nova Scotia, immigrating from other parts of Canada and from around the world.
For further information:
- Nova Scotia Chapter – Canadian Association of Black Lawyers
- Nova Scotia Office of African Nova Scotian Affairs
- The Diversity of the Black Populations in Canada, 2021: A Sociodemographic Portrait
- African Nova Scotian Justice Institute
- The Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia
- Canada’s Black Justice Strategy
- Land Titles Initiative
- Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent
- Report on Lord Dalhousie’s History on Slavery and Race
Persons with Disabilities
Approximately 38 per cent of Nova Scotia’s adult population has one or more disability. While there are several types of disabilities, Nova Scotians most commonly face pain related, flexibility, mobility, and dexterity disabilities, and neurodiversity challenges. Others will also experience mental health, learning, and seeing disabilities. Individuals can have multiple disabilities at one time, that are either visible or invisible, ranging in their severity and frequency.
For further information:
- Accessibility in Nova Scotia
- Truths of Institutionalization: Past and Present
- Inclusion Nova Scotia
- Reports on Disability and Accessibility in Canada
- Organizations representing people with disabilities in Nova Scotia
- The Disability Rights Coalition of Nova Scotia
- Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion: Neurodiversity 101: Supporting a neurodiverse workforce
Persons of Asian Descent
Approximately 2.5 per cent of Nova Scotia’s population is of East (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan) and Southeast (Laotian, Cambodian, Filipino, Vietnamese) Asian descent and approximately 2 per cent of Nova Scotia’s population is of South Asian (Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan) descent.
Persons of Asian descent began arriving in Canada in the late eighteenth century to work in mining, hospitality, construction, fisheries, forestry, and shipping. While their work was essential to Canada’s development, they were frequently subjected to discriminatory legislation and racist treatment. Descendents of these immigrants have established longstanding communities throughout Canada.
In Nova Scotia, persons of Asian descent represent a small but growing population, making increasingly visible contributions to workplaces and communities throughout the province.
For further information:
- Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers – Atlantic Chapter
- A statistical snapshot of Asians in Canada
- Asian Heritage Month
- Born in Asia, Raised in Halifax: Stories of Asian Immigrants to Canada
- Chinese Canadians on the East Coast
- An Educator’s Guide to Teaching Asian Canadian History
- Asian Heritage Month – Resources for Teaching and Learning
Newcomers to Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is breaking records in the annual intake of newcomers, and the driving force behind this surge is a strategic response to the declining birth rates. The province has witnessed a significant drop in birth rates, with the death rate surpassing the birth rate in the early 2010s. This became apparent between 2019 and 2020, with a birth rate deficit of 1,527 people in Nova Scotia, and the province’s national population shrunk (Tanweer, 2021). Faced with these challenges, provincial officials took notice and took a proactive approach to immigration as a solution.
In 2021, Nova Scotia welcomed a total of 9,020 immigrants, marking a substantial increase compared to the 4,515 immigrants in 2017. The province has experienced a notable influx of newcomers, particularly from countries such as India, China, the Philippines, South Korea, and Nigeria. As the birth rates in Nova Scotia are on a steady decline, the province aims to double its population to two million by 2060. The push towards newcomers highlights the importance of immigration as a key driver for the sustainable growth of the province.
For further information:
- New Record for Highest Number of Landed Immigrants in a Year
- Nova Scotia’s Long Population Decline Might be Ending, and Immigration Could be Why
- Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia – Employer Supports
- Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia – Welcoming Communities
- NSBS: Transfer to Nova Scotia from outside Canada
- Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia and Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society’s Internationally Trained Lawyer Observership Program
Women and 2SLGBTQIA+ Persons
Nova Scotia is among the most gender diverse populations in Canada: over 51 per cent of Nova Scotians identify as women, and 1.2 per cent of Nova Scotians aged 15-34 identify as transgender or non-binary.
The letters in 2SLGBTQIA+ refer to the following communities:
Two-spirited (2S), lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, plus all other sexual and gender minorities (+).
For further information:
- Status of Women
- Nova Scotia Women’s History Society
- Statistics Canada: Nova Scotia has the highest gender diversity among people aged 15 to 34 among the provinces
- The Youth Project
- Halifax Pride: Nova Scotia Health, Gender, & Sexuality Resources
- Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project
- The 519 Glossary of Terms
Religious and spiritual communities
As Nova Scotia’s population grows, it is becoming more religiously diverse. While Christian denominations continue to make up the majority of Nova Scotia’s population, other religious groups are making up a larger share of the province’s makeup, including Hindu (0.9 per cent of Nova Scotia’s population), Jewish (0.2 per cent), Muslim (1.5 per cent), Sikh (0.5 per cent), and traditional (North American Indigenous) spirituality (0.6 percent). Additionally, 38 per cent of Nova Scotians report having no religious affiliation or beliefs.
For further information:
Acadians and Francophones
Acadians have been in Nova Scotia since the founding of Port Royal in the early seventeenth century. They established agricultural communities along the Bay of Fundy where they lived until they were ordered deported by Governor Charles Lawrence after Acadian leaders refused to take an oath of allegiance to Britain. Tens of thousands of Acadians were forcibly expelled from Nova Scotia.
Today, Acadians live in communities throughout Nova Scotia. According to the 2021 census, there are 98,940 French speakers in the province (10 per cent of the population).
For further information:
Low-income persons
Nova Scotia has the highest poverty rate in Canada: In 2022, 13 per cent of Nova Scotians lived in poverty according to the Market Basket Threshold, which estimates the share of the population that do not have sufficient income for a reference family to afford the cost of a basket of essential goods and services. According to Feed Nova Scotia, 22 per cent of the Nova Scotians were living in food-insecure households in 2022.
For further information:
An overview of different types of discrimination
Ableism and Ageism
Ableism refers to beliefs and practices that discriminate against people with physical, intellectual and psychiatric disabilities.
Ageism refers to beliefs and practices that associate certain stereotypes to people on the basis of age. While anyone can be subjected to ageist beliefs, it is mostly commonly used to refer to discrimination against the elderly.
For information about ableism and ageism, refer to the following resources:
- Canada Department of Justice: Serious Problems Experienced by People with Disabilities Living in Atlantic Canada
- #Ableism – Center for Disability Rights
- Ontario Human Rights Commission: Ableism, negative attitudes, stereotypes and stigma
- Ontario Bar Association: How to Combat Ageism in the Practice of Law
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health: Addressing Stigma
Racism, systemic racism, and colourism
Racism refers to prejudice, discrimination or antagonism directed against someone of a different raced based on the belief that one’s own race is superior, with those views reinforced by systems of power.
Systemic racism, as described by Douglas Ruck KC in his investigation into systemic racism at the Society, involves the procedures, routines, and organizational culture of any organization that, often without intent, contribute to less favourable outcomes for racialized and marginalized groups than for most of the population, from the organization’s policies, programs, employment, and services.
Systemic discrimination also may be referred to as “structural discrimination” and “institutional discrimination.”
Systemic discrimination tends not to be a matter of deliberate action. It is rooted in the way organizations go about their day-to-day business as policymakers, employers, or service providers. It is a product of the systems, structures, and cultures that organizations have developed and implement in their work. Systemic discrimination can operate across the full spectrum of employment, income, education, health, housing, culture, policing, public infrastructure, and beyond.
Colourism refers to beliefs and practices that discriminate against members of a particular racial group who have a darker skin colour than others within that group.
Amongst racialized communities, Black Canadians face the highest rates of hate crimes in Canada.
For information about racism and colourism, refer to the following resources:
- Nova Scotia Community College: Racism in Nova Scotia and Canada – Anti-Racism Resources
- University of Toronto: Anti-Black Racism Resource List
- Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada: Resources for Combatting Anti-Asian Racism
- Canadian Human Rights Commission: Discussion paper on systemic racism
- World Economic Forum: What is colourism and how can skin-tone bias affect your career?
- Do Something: Confront Colorism Guide
Colonialism and anti-Indigenous racism
Colonialism refers to policies and practices of forcibly acquiring political and military control over another territory, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting its economic resources.
Anti-indigenous racism refers to beliefs and practices that perpetuate discrimination, injustices and harmful stereotyping against Indigenous people in Canada.
For information about colonialism and anti-Indigenous racism, refer to the following resources:
- Impact Organizations of Nova Scotia: Decolonization Learning Journey
- Canadian Bar Association: Understanding the Truth and Engaging in Reconciliation
- Thompson River University: Defining Colonialism
- APTN: Global project shows most common attacks on Indigenous Peoples
- Canadian Heritage: What We Heard report: Indigenous Online Safety
- Addressing systemic racism against Indigenous peoples in the justice system: Government of Canada investments and initiatives
- Code of Professional Conduct 6.3-1, Equality, Harassment and Discrimination – Commentary #3
Transphobia and homophobia
Transphobia refers to beliefs and practices that perpetuate discrimination, injustices and harmful stereotyping against transgender people or people perceived to be transgender. Colloquially, the term refers not just to discrimination against transgender people but also all gender diverse and gender non-conforming people.
Homophobia refers to beliefs and practices that perpetuate discrimination, injustices and harmful stereotyping against gay, lesbian or bisexual people or people perceived to be gay, lesbian or bisexual. Colloquially, the term refers not just to discrimination against gay, lesbian and bisexual people but also anyone in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
For information about transphobia and homophobia, refer to the following resources:
- Canadian Bar Association: Why the experiences of trans people with the legal system are so often negative (Report: Access to Justice for Trans People)
- Department of Justice: A Qualitative Look at Serious Legal Problems – Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual People in Central and Eastern Canada
- Department of Justice: A Qualitative Look at Serious Legal Problems: Trans, Two-Spirit, and Non-Binary People in Canada
- Resources – Egale Canada
Sexism, misogyny and misogynoir
Sexism refers to beliefs and practices that discriminate against people on the basis of sex, particularly against women and girls.
Misogyny is a form of sexism. It refers to the hatred or intolerance of women and girls.
Misogynoir is a form of sexism and racism. Coined by the scholar Moya Bailey, it refers to the unique, combined form of anti-Black racism and misogyny directed at Black women specifically.
For information about sexism, misogyny and misogynoir, refer to the following resources:
- Lexpert: Women in Law: How the legal sector still fails female lawyers and why true equality remains elusive
- Canadian Women’s Foundation: The Facts Gender Equality and Gender Justice
- 7 Things to Know About Pregnancy Discrimination
- Canadian Human Rights Commission: What is Pay Equity
- Black Voice: Misogynoir 101: What is Misogynoir?
- Dale & Lessmann LLP: Gender Identity and Expression – What Employers Should Know
Xenophobia and discrimination against linguistic minorities
Xenophobia refers to beliefs and practices that perpetuates discrimination and hatred of anyone perceived as a foreigner. In common usage, it refers to immigrant populations and their descendants, even if those descendants have been rooted in a community for multiple generations.
The discrimination against linguistic minorities, sometimes called linguistic racism, refers to a phenomenon where people experience hatred or are denied opportunities on the basis of the language they speak, if they speak English with an accent, or if they have a name that is unfamiliar to English speakers.
For information about xenophobia and discrimination against linguistic minorities, refer to the following resources:
Classism
Classism refers to beliefs and practices that perpetuate discrimination against those of “lower” social or economic classes. Class can refer to income, net worth, family lineage, type of employment, place of residence, or education level.
For information about classism, refer to the following resources:
Religious discrimination
Religious discrimination refers to the set of beliefs and practices that perpetuate unfair treatment against a person based on their real or perceived religious affiliation. Notable examples of religious discrimination include antisemitism, which refers to a set of beliefs and practices that perpetuate harmful stereotypes and discriminatory treatment against Jews, and Islamophobia, which refers to a set of beliefs and practices that perpetuate harmful stereotypes and discriminatory treatment against Muslims. Amongst religious communities, Jewish and Muslim communities face the highest rates of hate crimes in Canada.
For information about religious discrimination, refer to the following resources:
Other important concepts
Unconscious Bias
For information about unconscious bias, refer to the following resources:
Trauma and trauma-informed lawyering
For information about trauma and trauma-informed lawyering, refer to the following resources:
- Government of Nova Scotia: Trauma-informed approaches: An Introduction and Discussion Guide for Health and Social Service Providers
- Government of Nova Scotia: Recognizing and Responding to the effects of trauma: A Discussion Guide for Health and Social Service Providers
- Canadian Lawyer: Vicarious trauma: the cumulative effects of caring
- CBC News: Healing generations of trauma
- Marshall Law: What is Trauma-Informed Lawyering
- Podcast – The Trauma-Informed Lawyer – Myrna McCallum
Social determinants of justice
For more information about the social determinants of justice, refer to the following resources:
Intersectionality
For more information about intersectionality, refer to the following resources:
- What Is Intersectionality and Why Is It Important?
- An Intersectional Approach to Inclusion at Work
- The Australian Dispute Resolution Research Network: So You Want to Incorporate Intersectionality Into Your Legal Practice? A Primer
- Columbia Law School Kimberlé Crenshaw on Intersectionality, more than Two Decades Later
Technology and equity
For more information technology and equity, refer to the following resources:
- The UD Project: What is Universal Design?
- Centre for Excellence in Universal Design: The 7 Principles
- MIT Technology Review: Biased by Design: Exclusion hurts tech companies more than they know
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council: An equity lens on artificial intelligence
- How to Meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Access to Justice
For more information about access to justice, refer to the following resources:
- Department of Justice Canada: Access to Justice
- Department of Justice Canada: Access to Justice, Community Justice Help and Legal Empowerment
- Nova Scotia Access to Justice and Law Reform Institute
Access to Justice: A Societal Imperative – Remarks of the Right Honourable Richard Wagner, P.C.
Law Office Management
Nova Scotia’s population, including its legal profession, is becoming more diverse: The 2024 Annual Lawyer Report shows that 17.1 per cent of lawyers in the province identify as being from an equity- deserving community. Creating a legal workplace that is welcoming for employees and clients of all backgrounds is one of the most important and impactful ways we can make our profession and justice system more equitable.
We all know law office management involves far more than just the practice of law: it includes business management, staff supervision, building community relationships and more. This section provides resources to assist you with making your legal workplace inclusive.
How does exclusion happen?
We tend to make decisions based on our own abilities and biases. We make assumptions, both conscious and unconscious, about gender, age, language ability, technical ability, access to particular social networks, race, etc. In short, we tend to design our processes to be used by people who are most like us.
Our justice system often entrenches such assumptions, through both formal and informal systems with its policies, procedures and practices. While the justice system and the legal profession are becoming more diverse and formally equitable, members of equity- deserving communities often report the legal services they receive lack the cultural awareness, knowledge, attitude and skills required to meet their needs.
Where do I start?
The Society has guiding documents that describe appropriate standards and goals for equitable and inclusive legal workplaces:
Making your practice more accessible
- Lawyers should be familiar with the duty to accommodate as both an employer and a service provider.
- If applicable, consider having a professional conduct an accessibility audit of your physical space.
- Learn about how to make your technology tools more accessible: Apple, Microsoft (Windows) and Google (ChromeOS) all provide tools and training.
- Refer to Law Office Management Standard #2 – Client Service and Communication for guidance and resources on providing clear, culturally competent information to clients using plain language.
- Work through these scenarios in our Equity in Action series to consider other ways to eliminate barriers in your workplace.
Using best practices in recruitment, retention and advancement
- Consider what barriers might exist in your recruitment process: use these scenarios from our Equity in Action series to review how you can value diverse experiences in hiring.
- Use our Interviewing for Equity Competency Exercise to assess a job candidate’s awareness and experience in working with diverse populations.
- Learn about common biases in hiring and how it can negatively impact hiring.
- The Law Society of Ontario uses the Canadian Bar Association’s “Equity and Diversity Guide and Resource Manual for Successful Law Firms and Legal Organizations” to provide a series of recommendations to improve recruitment, retention, and advancement of employees from equity deserving communities.
- Review the Accessible Recruitment Checklist to ensure your recruitment process effectively considers applicants with disabilities.
Improving your workplace’s policies and procedures
There are many templates and resources to assist you with developing or improving your firm’s policies and procedures using an equity lens. These include:
- NSBS: Developing Policies to Support Equitable Workplace Practices
- NSBS: Model Accommodation Policy
- USLaw Magazine: Drafting a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy for your Company
- Ontario Human Rights Commission: A policy primer: Guide to developing human rights policies and procedures
- Canadian Bar Association: Measuring Diversity in Law Firms: A Critical Tool for Achieving High Performance
- Employment and Social Development Canada: How to improve workplace equity: Evidence-based actions for employers
- Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications: The Path to Becoming an Antiracist Organization
Expanding supervising and mentoring offerings
- Use these scenarios from our Equity in Action series to learn how to expand your definitions of CPD, networking and mentorship.
- Learn more about the mentorship programs offered by the Equity & Access Office
Creating an inclusive workplace culture
- Our Equity in Action blog series provides scenarios to help you think about how to make your workplace more inclusive through re-examining your firm’s dress code, social activities, and use of inclusive language.
- Learning how to create a sense of belonging in your workplace can help employees feel more fulfilled, valued and satisfied.
- Conduct a workplace culture assessment to ensure your efforts to establish a positive and inclusive culture are working as intended.
- A remote workplace is still a workplace! Learn about how to foster a remote work culture, and about how to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in a remote work context.
- Consult a days of significance calendar to ensure you avoid important religious holidays when planning important meetings or events.
- Consider whether specific activities promoting equity, diversity and inclusion could help your workplace become more inclusive and culturally competent.
- The Society’s Racial Equity Committee released survey results examining racial discrimination and harassment in the legal profession. The report contains several recommendations for addressing racial discrimination and harassment in legal workplaces.
- The Society’s Gender Equity Committee also released survey results examining gender-based discrimination and harassment in legal workplaces. The committee also provided recommendations to Council based on the report’s findings.
- The Federation of Law Societies of Canada recently released their Omnibus Report for Phase II of the National Study on the Psychological Health Determinants of Legal Professionals in Canada, which contains recommendations for addressing the psychological challenges faced by legal professionals. It also included recommendations specific to Nova Scotia.
Interpersonal Interactions
When lawyers and clients report experiencing discrimination and harassment within Nova Scotia’s legal system, one of the most common things they describe is harmful treatment by a colleague, supervisor or lawyer. A single instance of discrimination or harassment can have a defining impact on their career, or their trust in the legal system.
As individual lawyers, we all have the ability to be more culturally competent and respectful in our interactions with clients and colleagues.
What does it look like when lawyers or clients experience discrimination and harassment?
The Society has published several reports featuring first voice descriptions of discrimination and harassment from those accessing and working in the delivery of legal services:
Is it possible to engage in discriminatory behaviour or harassment inadvertently?
Yes. It is possible to engage in discriminatory behaviour even when there is no intention to do so. Learn more about intention vs. impact.
Unconscious bias describes social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness. Everyone holds unconscious beliefs about various social and identity groups, and these biases stem from one’s tendency to organize social worlds by categorizing. Unconscious bias is far more prevalent than conscious prejudice and often incompatible with one’s conscious values. Certain scenarios can activate unconscious attitudes and beliefs. For example, biases may be more prevalent when multi-tasking or working under time pressure.
To learn more about unconscious or implicit bias, and to learn about which implicit biases you may have, take Harvard University’s Implicit Association Test.
How can I learn to ensure my interactions with clients and colleagues are respectful?
While it is impossible to never make a mistake when interacting with others, you can reduce your chances of making a mistake by examining your knowledge and assumptions in the following areas:
- Accessibility: for example, do you know how to communicate, verbally or in writing, with people with a varying levels of legal system knowledge, literacy, language proficiency or ability to use certain technologies?
- Relationships with communities: for example, do you have awareness of the diverse communities in your area, where your clients or colleagues could potentially come from? How do you ensure your services are known and accessible to those communities?
- Substantive knowledge: for example, do you ensure you have the understanding of systemic discrimination and harassment required to address these issues in the context of your work?
Visit our Equity Resources Portal or Resources section of this toolkit for more information.
What should I do if I make a mistake?
Making mistakes is inevitable! If you realize or are informed that you have made an error, provide a succinct, sincere apology and then move on. The apology should be thoughtful; there is no need to become defensive or to endlessly self-criticize. Mistakes should be seen as opportunities for learning and self-reflection, not as a personal failing.
The most effective apologies tend to include the following five elements:
RECOGNITION: A description and recognition of the wrong and an acknowledgement of the harm caused.
RESPONSIBILITY: An acceptance of responsibility for the problem.
REASONS: An explanation of the cause of the problem, or a promise to investigate the cause.
REGRET: An expression of sincere regret.
REMEDY: An explanation of what you and your organization are going to do to address the problem.
5 Rs adapted from Kleefeld, J. C. (2007). Thinking Like a Human: British Columbia’s Apology Act. UBCL Rev., 40, 769 and New South Wales Ombudsman. (2009). Apologies: A practical guide.
- If you are unsure of where to start when making an authentic apology, consider the following resources:
° TEDEd: The best way to apologize (according to science)
° You’ve Been Called Out for a Microaggression. What Do You Do?
What should I do if I see someone engaging in discriminatory or harassing behaviour?
The victims of discrimination and harassment often have to carry the burden of responding to inappropriate behaviour on their own. Because of this, intervening when you see another person behaving inappropriately is one of the best ways you can demonstrate that your diverse clients and colleagues are seen and cared about. This approach is called bystander intervention.
Many organizations offer resources on training and bystander intervention. Introductory resources with a focus on legal workplaces include those provided by Canadian Lawyer Magazine and the American Bar Association.
Note that it is a violation of the Code of Professional Conduct for anyone to engage in reprisals against a colleague, employee, client or any other person because that person as witnessed discrimination, harassment or sexual harassment; or assisted or contemplated assisting in any investigation or proceeding related to a complaint of discrimination, harassment or sexual harassment.
Legal Practice
Lawyers play a crucial role in advancing the cause of equity in Nova Scotia. Through their legal practice, they can create dramatic positive change by upholding values of our profession: fairness, respect for the dignity and worth of all persons, and a commitment to equal justice for all. Nova Scotians depend on us to use our independence, brought by self-regulation, to uphold these values free of interference or political influence. Given the importance of our role, it is incumbent upon all lawyers to work in a manner that inspires public confidence in us.
How can I learn more about important caselaw that has advanced the cause of equity or the administration of justice?
Nova Scotian lawyers have advanced the cause of equity and the improvement of the administration of justice through many landmark rulings including:
- R. v. S. (R.D.) (1997)
- R. v. Marshall (1999)
- R. v. X (2014)
- Disability Rights Coalition v. Province of Nova Scotia (2021 NSCA 70)
- R. v. Anderson (2021)
Other landmark Canadian rulings include:
- Examples of Charter-related cases
- CN v. Canada (Canadian Human Rights Commission) (1987)
- R. v. Gladue (1999)
- R. v. Morris (2021)
How do I ensure I am practicing law in a manner that upholds public confidence in the profession?
Lawyers can inspire confidence in the justice system by practicing with civility. Our system works best when all lawyers treat each other, their clients, and others with courtesy and good faith. When lawyers are hostile, aggressive or demeaning in their treatment of others this not only gives us a bad public reputation, it harms lawyers’ mental health and wellbeing.
The Federation of Law Societies of Canada has noted that incivility is a particular problem in Nova Scotia, recommending in their Towards a Healthy and Sustainable Practice of Law in Canada Research Report: Nova Scotia that we must “prevent all forms of violence and incivility in the relationships between professionals in the legal community.”
Resources to assist with improving civility in practice include:
- Improving your emotional intelligence
- Being mindful of microaggressions and other forms of exclusionary behaviour
- Learning about compassion fatigue and how to prevent it, something particularly important for lawyers working with vulnerable clients.
° There are also specialized resources about self-compassion and compassion fatigue for members of equity-deserving communities, including women, Black people, and people with disabilities.
- Learning about trauma, including vicarious trauma, intergenerational trauma, and trauma-informed lawyering.
- Learning about high conflict people and how best to deal with them.
- Practicing in ways mindful of psychological safety and cultural safety.
- If you find yourself struggling to control or regulate your own emotions, consider accessing resources via the Nova Scotia Lawyers Assistance Program.
How do I practice in a way that improves the administration of justice in Nova Scotia?
The Society’s Management System for Ethical Legal Practice Element 10: Working to Improve the Administration of Justice and Access to Legal Services provides detailed self-evaluation guidance and resources.
For information about access to justice, refer to the Resources section of this toolkit.
Appendix: Exercises
Exercise: Self-Reflection
Purpose: To encourage the user to consider how bias may influence their decision-making, and to identify ways to curtail it.
Instructions: Reflect on the following questions regularly. Identify areas in need of improvement, and create goals to address them.
Have you ever…
- Educated yourself about the experiences of people from backgrounds other than your own?
- Reflected on your upbringing in order to understand your own biases?
- Examined your own behaviour and attitudes to identify how they may either contribute or combat prejudice?
- Changed how you use language to eliminate terms that may be hurtful to others?
- Caught yourself generalizing someone based on one of their group identities?
- Discredited someone’s identity (or example, by saying something like “I don’t even think of you as ”)?
- Comfortably discussed issues of racism, prejudice, or systemic discrimination with others?
- Spoken up when other people use prejudicial language or behaviour?
- Openly received feedback about how your behaviour may be insensitive or offensive to others?
- Made a conscious effort to ensure people can contribute to a conversation, regardless of their background?
- Worked to ensure that your workplace, staff, volunteers, etc. reflect the diversity of your community?
- Critically consumed media (e.g. news, fictional programming, social media posts) with negative stereotypes or biases in mind?
Exercise: Interviewing for Equity Competency
Purpose: To assess a job candidate’s awareness of equity issues, and experience working with diverse populations.
Instructions:
- Probe for past experiences and lessons learned. Past behavior is the best predictor for future behavior, so prompt the candidate to tell stories about their experiences and takeaways. Here are two questions you can ask:
To what extent has pursuing racial or other types of equity and inclusion been a priority in your work, and how did you approach it?
- Why was this important to you?
- What were some of your core challenges?
- What have you learned from these experiences?
Can you talk about a time you navigated dynamics around race or other identities in your work? What did you do?
- What do you think were the root causes of those dynamics?
- What were some of your core challenges?
- What lessons did you learn?
- Use scenarios and simulations to see your candidate in action and observe their ability to spot and manage complex issues of identity. Give them a chance to complete an exercise that’s similar to what they’d be doing on the job and include an equity and inclusion component.
Below are two examples:
- For a lawyer position: “Here’s a fact pattern describing a hypothetical matter. What are some equity considerations that arise for you?”
- For an IT position: “We serve people of many different ages, backgrounds and experiences, and our staff and interns reflect this diversity. Given this, how would you approach training and supporting our staff in meeting their technology needs?”
- Weave in opportunities for your candidate to demonstrate their competence throughout the process. Testing someone’s ability to navigate issues of equity and identity shouldn’t just be relegated to an “equity section” of your interview process. It should be integrated throughout. Here are two ways to weave it in:
- Get your candidate to demonstrate their understanding in the context of other topics by asking specific follow-up questions, like:
° How did you account for equity and inclusion when you were setting recruitment goals for your firm?
° Do you think there were any differences in race/gender/other identities that influenced how that conflict played out?
- Have them interact with a cross-section of your team that is diverse both in role and across identities. Then observe and ask for feedback from those people, with an eye for patterns or discrepancies.
Adapted from: 3 Ways to Test for Racial Equity & InclusionCompetency, The Management Center
Exercise: Learning From Real Clients – Plain Language Communication
Purpose: To learn how to incorporate client-centered thinking into your practice, using a real story from a client submitted through the #TalkJustice initiative.
Instructions: Read the story below, and then consider the questions that follow.
“When I bought my first house, I had some difficulties communicating with my lawyer. He was a great lawyer and tried to make sure I understood and asked me in each meeting that if I had any questions. The problem was I did not have much knowledge on this. A lot of time I did not understand what he was talking about so I could not raise any questions or my questions were about simplest things that hardly be a question.”
- How do you think this situation happened? Try to imagine:
° How the conversation between lawyer and client might have unfolded.
° How you might know the client could be feeling this way.
- Is this an experience someone could have in your workplace?
° If not, why not? What processes or training do you have that would prevent this from happening?
° If so, what can you change to reduce the chance of something like this happening?
Exercise: Quick Questions to Get Started
Ask yourself:
What is the culture of my workplace? Are equity-deserving groups represented and do all individuals feel included?
- E.g. Does it have pictures on the wall that reflect a commitment to make all people feel welcome? Are there other artifacts or materials in the reception area/lobby that foster a sense of belonging in all people that enter?
Does my workplace take opportunities to be more representative? Do groups feel that they can bring their culture to work?
Are there ways to expand the culture to include the life experiences and personalities of diverse groups of people?
- E.g. Am I valuing extensive work/volunteer experience with marginalized groups the same as other experience?
Does my workplace offer formal learning opportunities to learn about diverse issues and groups?
Are work social activities representative of the values of the dominant group? Do all employees feel comfortable attending?
- E.g. Do they always take place at a bar? Are food options varied to accommodate all peoples’ lifestyles?
Does my workplace encourage employees to attend events in the community that would allow them to learn about systemic discrimination and first-hand experiences? Does my workplace welcome people into “our space”?
- Do I actively listen to and believe the lived experiences of community members without external validation and without judgment?
Does my workplace celebrate equity-seeking groups all year long or only during designated periods?
- E.g. Pride Month, National Indigenous History Month, Mi’kmaq History Month, African Heritage Month, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Women’s History Month etc.
Thinking outside of the dominant culture at my workplace, would people who are not like me feel free to be themselves at work?
- How can I encourage all employees to be their authentic selves, including myself?
What assumptions do we make as we carry out our work? What equity implications do these assumptions have?
- E.g. As a client walks into my office, am I assuming anything about them based on stereotypes or assuming that they are like me? Am I letting them tell their story and asking questions after?
Ask your clients:
Is there anything else you think I should know about your background so I can better represent you?
Is there anything that we discussed that I could explain better? How do you feel about the services I have provided you with so far? Is there anything I can do to help you further?
Exercise: Getting Comfortable With Terminology
Purpose: For many people, identifying the right terminology to use when speaking with or about equity-seeking groups is a source of concern. They want to know what the “correct” term is, to avoid causing offense. While there are no simple answers to this concern, we can articulate some basic principles to assist readers with navigating these conversations.
Instructions: When identifying appropriate terminology, keep the following principles in mind:
- Because there will never be consensus over which terms are correct, it is best to defer to more formal language at first.
- For example, use “2SLGBTQ+” rather than “gay”.
- When referring to a personal characteristic, use adjectives rather than nouns.
- Examples include using “people in the Black community” rather than “the Blacks”, or “persons with a disability” rather than “the disabled”.
- Keep abreast of which terms are considered outdated.
- For example, terms like “Oriental”, “visible minority”, or “Indian” are considered outdated in Canada. Use “East Asian”, “People of Colour” or “Racialized people”, or “Indigenous” instead.
- Consider keeping up to date with terminology to be part of your ongoing self-education, as you engage with individuals and other cultures. Helpful resources include, but are not limited to:
° Law Society of British Columbia’s Guidance for Lawyers on Using Inclusive Language
° Queen’s University’s Inclusive Style Guidelines
° British Columbia Public Service’s Guidelines on using inclusive language in the workplace
- Avoid use of “in-group language”.
- Sometimes, people from equity-seeking groups will refer to each other using terms that are widely considered slurs or are otherwise offensive.
It is not appropriate for people outside the group to use these words. Even if someone in your social circle has granted you “permission” to use such words in their presence, do not use them elsewhere. It is also inappropriate to use them under the guise of quoting song lyrics, television shows, or other pop culture artifacts.
- Only refer to descriptors of these characteristics if they are relevant.
- Referring to characteristics superfluously can cause as much offense as using an outdated or inappropriate term.
- Above all else, defer to the preferences of the person about whom you are speaking.
- Listen to how the person with whom you are speaking describes themselves, and echo this terminology.
- There is nothing wrong with asking, for example, “Do you have a preference for which term I should use?”
Reference: Key Terms
Racism: prejudice, discrimination or antagonism directed against someone of a different raced based on the belief that one’s own race is superior, and whose views are reinforced by systems of power.
Anti-Black Racism: policies and practices embedded in Canadian institutions that reflect and reinforce attitudes, prejudice, stereotyping, and/or discrimination with the belief in Black inferiority – in relation to other racial classifications, White is at the top and Black at the bottom. It is directed at people of African descent and is rooted in their unique history and experience of enslavement and colonization.
Cultural competence: an ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures. Cultural competence comprises five essential capacities:
- Understand our own cultural positions and how they differ from and are similar to others (critical cultural self-analysis).
- Understand the social and cultural reality in which we live and work and in which our clients live and work.
- Cultivate appropriate attitudes towards cultural difference.
- Be able to generate and interpret a wide variety of verbal and non- verbal responses.
- Understand structural oppression and demonstrate awareness and commitment to social justice.
Cultural Humility: humbly acknowledging oneself as a learner in order to understand another’s experience. It has 3 core elements—institutional and individual accountability, lifelong learning and critical self-reflection, and mitigating power imbalances. It offers a deeper foundation to begin the work of eliminating inequity, emphasizing an understanding of personal and systemic biases to develop and maintain respectful processes and relationships.
Cultural Proficiency: the policies and practices of an organization that enable that organization to interact effectively with clients, colleagues, and the community using the essential elements of cultural competence. It is an inside-out approach that encourages a deliberate exploration and reflection of deeply rooted cultural assumptions, thereby relieving members of historically disadvantaged groups from the responsibility of doing all of the adapting. Ultimately, it involves integrating knowledge of other cultures into specific standards, policies, practices and attitudes to increase the quality of services to all.
Ethnocentrism: a conscious or unconscious bias where someone considers their own culture to be superior or natural.
Heteronormativity: refers to the commonplace assumption that all people are heterosexual and that everyone accepts this as “the norm”. It describes prejudice against people that are not heterosexual, and is less overt or direct and more widespread or systemic in society, organizations, and institutions. This form of systemic prejudice may even be unintentional and unrecognized by the people or organizations responsible.
Intersectionality: the complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination combine, overlap, or intersect especially in the experiences of historically excluded groups. The term was originally coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in her analysis of the experiences of Black women with racism and sexism.
Equity: the absence of barriers, biases, and obstacles that impede equal access and opportunity to succeed in society.
Diversity: differences in race, colour, place of origin, religion, immigrant and newcomer status, ethnic origin, ability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and age.
Inclusion: active engagement of equity and diversity concepts in all aspects of your decision-making. This includes fostering a sense of belonging for all, making all people feel included, and having those values reflected in all that is said and done in your work. Lawyer and diversity and inclusion consultant Ritu Bhasin explains the difference between diversity and inclusion as follows:
Diversity in the workplace is important in that it tells us which groups are represented within our organizations—for example, the number of people of colour, women and members of other diverse groups who are present. But this is strictly quantitative.
Inclusion is the qualitative experience: do diverse professionals feel that they have equal access to opportunities within their organization? Do they feel that they are able to bring their differences to work, and that they can leverage these differences for success? Inclusion is where real change lives—and it’s through inclusion that we can better distribute power and privilege throughout all echelons of our society.
Systemic Discrimination: the result of organizational policies, practices and cultures that perpetuate unequal treatment of individuals or groups.
Unconscious Bias: social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness. Everyone holds unconscious beliefs about various social and identity groups, and these biases stem from one’s tendency to organize social worlds by categorizing.
Unconscious bias is far more prevalent than conscious prejudice and often incompatible with one’s conscious values. Certain scenarios can activate unconscious attitudes and beliefs. For example, biases may be more prevalent when multi-tasking or working under time pressure.
Privilege: unearned power, benefits, advantages, access and/or opportunities that exist for members of the dominant group(s) in society.
Key Terms References:
Colin A. Palmer: Defining and Studying the Modern African Diaspora
Canada Research Chairs: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: A Best Practices Guide for Recruitment, Hiring and Retention
Melanie Tervalon & Jann Murray-Garcia: Cultural Humility versus Cultural Competence
Brock University: Five Questions with Ritu Bhasin
University of California, San Francisco, Office of Diversity and Outreach:
Ontario Human Rights Commission: Appendix 1: Glossary of human rights terms
The 519: Glossary of terms facilitating shared understandings around equity, diversity, inclusion and awareness
Cultural Competence Information and Training
We work to ensure that Nova Scotia’s lawyers are culturally competent, trauma-informed and broadly reflective of Nova Scotia’s diverse populations. We are focused on:
- providing articled clerks and practicing lawyers with cultural competence instruction;
- supporting lawyers and law students with practice advice, resources and opportunities for mentorship; and
- celebrating and reflecting on progress through events honouring our profession’s diversity, such as our annual pride reception and the Racial Equity Committee’s reception honouring racialized and Indigenous articled clerks.
Equity & Access Mentorships
Equity & Access Mentorship Program
This mentorship program is offered in conjunction with the Indigenous Black and Mi’kmaq Initiative at Dalhousie University (IB&M).
Interested in the equity & access mentorship program? Connect with our Equity and Access team at equity@nsbs.org.
The Internationally Trained Lawyers (ITL) Observership Program
This observership program provides internationally trained lawyers with an opportunity to connect with the local legal profession and to learn about the practical and procedural aspects of practising law in Canada.
The Society runs this program in collaboration with the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS) in Halifax.
Pride Mentorship Program
The Pride Mentorship Program, for 2 Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lawyers, is offered in collaboration with the CBA Sexual Orientation Gender Identity Conference (SOGIC) section.
2SLGBTQ+ lawyers face specific challenges and barriers, and this program provides a forum for discussion, strategy and support designed to improve the practice experience for this community of lawyers.
The Ku’TawTinu: Shared Articling Initiative
This initiative provides Mi’kmaq and Indigenous law students with an opportunity to engage in the process and practice of Aboriginal Law specifically related to legal research and litigation within Indigenous communities.
The Ku’TawTinu: Shared Articling Initiative creates articling positions that will provide a well-rounded articling experience, which will focus on contemporary Mi’kmaq and Indigenous legal issues.
Are you a law student interested in the Ku’TawTinu: Shared Articling Initiative? Connect with our Equity and Access team at equity@nsbs.org.
The Ujima Shared Articling Initiative
Ujima is an African Proverb that means to build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems (collective work and responsibility).
The number of African Nova Scotians graduating from law school each year continues to climb, but the number of opportunities do not.
To support and increase the number of practising African Nova Scotian lawyers the Society is extending the Shared Articling Initiative to include African Nova Scotians.
This will provide a well-rounded articling experience with the opportunity to include a grassroots approach with issues affecting African Nova Scotian communities.
Are you a law student interested in the Ujima Shared Articling Initiative? Connect with our Equity and Access team at equity@nsbs.org.