April InForum

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April InForum: Nominate a Lawyer for the DSA, Upcoming Events & more

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Nominate a Lawyer for the Distinguished Service Award

The Society’s Distinguished Service Award (DSA), established in 1999, recognizes outstanding lawyers who have contributed significantly to their community, the legal profession and/or to the Society.

The 2020 DSA recipient was John Rafferty QC. Review the list of all recipients.

The DSA Committee reviews the nominations and makes a recommendation to Council based on these considerations:

  • Integrity: The recipient is of unimpeachably good character, with a reputation for the highest professional integrity.
  • Professional achievement: The recipient is amongst the leaders in the practice of law or the academic realm.
  • Service to the profession: The recipient has made long-term, exceptional volunteer contributions to elevate the legal profession through work with one or more of the following: the Society, the justice system, legal scholarship or otherwise.
  • Community service: The recipient is an outstanding contributor to the community, through volunteer service and a commitment to making the world a better place.
  • Reform: The recipient has made an outstanding contribution to the betterment of the law or the improvement of the justice system.
  • Overall: The recipient espouses the highest ideals of the legal profession and is a person to whom all members of the profession can look for inspiration.

Do you know an outstanding lawyer who fits the nomination criteria?

Nominate a lawyer by submitting a completed nomination form to klister@nsbs.org by May 31, 2021.2021 DSA Nomination FormDownload

Both members of the Society and members of the public may nominate a lawyer.

Questions? Please contact the Society’s Governance, Policy & Planning Officer, Katie Lister, at klister@nsbs.org.

NSBS Acknowledgement of Systemic Discrimination: Our Commitment Moving Forward

The Society released a statement Wednesday, April 14, 2021, titled NSBS Acknowledgement of Systemic Discrimination: Our Commitment Moving Forward.

Read the statement, our commitment & next steps and FAQs

June Call to the Bar Update

The Society’s June Call to the Bar, held June 18, 2021, will be five separate ceremonies this year with the majority of the admittees being called through a virtual ceremony via Zoom. Some admittees will be called in person at Halifax’s Pier 21 with Justice Christa Brothers presiding over the ceremonies.

The in-person call to the Bar is restricted to the admittees and two guests each and everyone must be masked at all times as we follow all public health guidelines. Please note that if the public health guidelines change, we may be required to hold the Call to the Bar entirely virtual.

During the virtual call to the Bar, those being called sign in online and take their oath of admission virtually.  The admittees can invite guests to join virtually who are able to see the entire ceremony and watch them take their oath.

A virtual call is a way to preserve the ceremony during the COVID-19 pandemic and still permit both those being called and their loved ones to participate in such an important day.

Upcoming Events

TRC Education Session: Trauma-Informed Lawyering with Myrna McCallum

Join the Society’s TRC Working Group for their next education session Trauma-Informed Lawyering with lawyer and host of the “The Trauma-Informed Lawyer” podcast Myrna McCallum.

May 26, 2021 12:00 PM-1:00 PM via Zoom

Register for this Zoom education session

Trauma-informed lawyering is a do-no-further-harm, relational approach to the practice of law which benefits you, your clients, your colleagues and the legal profession generally.

All members are encouraged to attend this free education session.

About Myrna McCallum

Myrna McCallum is a Metis-Cree lawyer and the host of “The Trauma-Informed Lawyer” Podcast. Myrna educates on trauma-informed lawyering, vicarious trauma, cultural humility, and Indigenous intergenerational trauma through keynotes, training sessions, and customized coaching sessions. Prior to founding Miyo Pimatisiwin Legal Services in 2019, Myrna served as an adjudicator in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement claims process, and was a Crown Prosecutor with the Ministry of the Attorney General in Saskatchewan. When she is not FaceTiming her three grandchildren, educating or podcasting, Myrna is advising, advocating or conducting workplace investigations and reviews. In 2020, the Federal Department of Justice awarded Myrna their first ever Excellence in Legal Practice and Victim Support Award.

About the Society’s TRC Working Group

The TRC Working Group makes recommendations to the Society’s Council on a response to the Calls to Action. In developing recommendations for consideration by Council, the TRC Working Group considers the Society’s role in responding to the Calls to Action and the value in supporting any activities the Society may undertake. Learn more.

Questions? Please contact Kerry Foss at kfoss@nsbs.org.

Anti-Money Laundering/Client ID and Verification Webinar – Save the Date

Save the date for this educational webinar about the Society’s cash transactions, client identification and verification Regulations. This webinar is an opportunity to ask questions & learn more about these Regulations. 

Save the date for Wednesday, June 9, 2021, via Zoom.
 
Presenters:  Jillian Barrington (in practice with Sheldon Nathanson Law), Bernadine MacAulay (NSBS General Counsel), and Elaine Cumming (NSBS Professional Responsibility Counsel).

Save the Date for the 2021 Annual General Meeting

When: Saturday, June 19, 2021, at 9:00 AM 
Where: Virtually via Zoom and in-person at Membertou 

This hybrid event will be hosted both virtually via Zoom and in person, at the Membertou Convention Centre (following all public health guidelines) as we welcome the Society’s incoming President Tuma Young QC as our first Indigenous President. We will be asking members to register in advance. Additional details & registration coming soon.

Join Our Team: Executive Assistant Opportunity

We’re seeking an Executive Assistant within the organization who has progressive experience at the senior administrative support level. Learn more about this opportunity closing May 7th. 

Provide Your Feedback on Draft Criminal Law Standards by April 30th

The Society’s Criminal Law Standards Committee is seeking your feedback on two new proposed Criminal Law Standards: Cultural Competence & Charter Applications. 

Submit your feedback by completing our online form(s) specific to the standard you are providing feedback on or by emailing your feedback to epink@lians.ca. Provide your feedback by Friday, April 30, 2021. 

Lawyers’ Insurance Association of Nova Scotia

Council News

2021-2023 Member At-Large Acclamations

The following nominees were acclaimed as At-Large Council members for the 2021-2023 term:

There is an At-Large member vacancy. This vacancy, and the Cape Breton District vacancy from the District Election, will be filled by appointment through the Society’s Nominating Committee. 

Council Meetings

Changes in Category: March 25, 2021-April 29, 2021

In every issue of our newsletter InForum, we provide updates on category changes.

Welcome to the following member who were recently called to the Bar:

Mallory Ellen Adams
Hope Margaret Bell
Katelyn Heather Dempsey
Johannes Nicolaas Stephanus Du Plessis
Jocelyn Zoe Larissa Ferguson
Hugh Bayard Reginald Goodday
Chandima Sandunmalee Karunanayaka
Léa Marie Lapointe
Justin Marshall Luddington
Gwendoline Agnes MacIsaac
Kaitlen Anne Martin
Mary Coleen Morrison
Olajumoke Damilare Odepe
Efe Maris Ogbonmwan
Keiisha Anne Pillai
Ashwin Ramakrishnan
Gagandeep Kaur Randhawa
Liana Margaret Rintoul
Sandra Meredith Smordin
Avram David Spatz
Sarah Marie Evelyn Squires
Joseph Solomon Ur

Welcome to the following new articled clerk:

Aimee Lee Virick

The following members have changed to Practising status:

Erica Anne Green
Justine Patricia Lucas

The following members have changed to Non-Practising status:

Gordon Wallace Blackmore
Warren B. Chornoby
Valerie Barbara Seager

The following member has Retired:

Leanne M. Rodwell Hayes

The following members have Resigned:

Korinda Dawn McLaine
Nadia Arlene Myerthall
Hugh Paton
Emma Mae Wilson

Judicial Appointments:

Three judges were recently appointed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.
Justice Jean M. DeWolfe – Supreme Court (Family Division)
Justice Lloyd I. Berliner – Supreme Court (Family Division)
Justice Gail L. Gatchalian – Supreme Court (GeneralDivision)

Read the NS Courts April 6th news release

Professional Responsibility

For Your Information

Missing Wills

Name on will: Mabel Siefert
Last known residence: Martin’s Point, NS
Any lawyers with information please contact: Shannon Siefert at winteroffire@gmail.com or 778-882-7004

Name on will: Donald MacKenzie MacLeod
Last known residence: River John NS
Any lawyers with information please contact: Maxine Heighton at maxineric@live.ca or 902-956-0339

Name on will: Robert Murrant
Last known residence: Baddeck, NS
Any lawyers with information please contact: Chimene Jewer at chimenejewer@gmail.com or 902-478-0948

Name on will: Frances Wright or Christie-Wright
Last known residence: 20 Sunnyvale Avenue, Dartmouth
Any lawyers with information please contact: Nancy Evans (nee Wright) at nancyleft@hotmail.com or 902-717-3435. As she lived in north end Dartmouth would be somewhere in Dartmouth – just vaguely remember her saying downtown Dartmouth.

Name on will: Susan Jeffries or Jean
Last known residence: Head of Jeddore, NS
Any lawyers with information please contact: James Jeffries at jamesjeffries902@gmail.com or 902-225-0708.

Name on will: Geraldine MacMullin
Last known residence: Dartmouth, NS
Any lawyers with information please contact: Nancy Mariotti at najmariotti@gmail.com or 902-434-1224. My parents had their wills completed in the 90’s in Cape Breton. Their home address at that time was 48 Peel Street, Glacé Bay, NS. B1A 2S4.

Name on will: Marie LeLoup
Last known residence: Spryfield, NS
Any lawyers with information please contact: Brenda LeLoup at bleloup60@gmail.com or (902) 371-5884.

Notice of Spring 2021 ABC Advertisement Campaign

Serving on an agency, board, or commission can help you grow personally and professionally while making a real impact in your community. The deadline for some applications is Tuesday, May 25, 2021. Learn more or call 1-866-206-6844 (toll free).

Halifax Regional Municipality’s Legal and Legislative Services moving

Halifax Regional Municipality’s Legal and Legislative Services will be moving on May 28, 2021. Effective, May 31, our new civic address will be:

Halifax Regional Municipality
Legal and Legislative Services
1809 Barrington Street, 7th Floor
Halifax NS  B3J 3K8

There is no change to our mailing address or phone/fax numbers.

Masterworks Award Foundation Board seeking Board members

The Masterworks Award Foundation Board administers the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award. This is the most prestigious award for any work of art, of any discipline, in the province of Nova Scotia, awarding up to $37,000 to Creators annually.  The Board is currently seeking a lawyer with interest in non-profit/charity law, governance, and/or corporate law to join them. The Board meets 5 times a year, plus some committee work and event attendance (in the range of 1-2 hours per month), as applicable. 

For more information or to apply, please contact rillabanks@gmail.com by April 12th with a paragraph expressing interest in the role. 

News from the NS Courts

Career Opportunities

Upcoming Events

These events include NSBS events as well as professional development opportunities and related events posted to the events page on our website.