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Today
Today

Meet Steve Smyth, CIC.C, 2021-22 CCCA Chair

  • February 07, 2022
  • CCCA

As we enter a new year, still full of uncertainty but perhaps seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, the CCCA continues to ensure a strong and supportive presence for in-house counsel across Canada. This is why we exist – to serve you, our members – a purpose that Steve Smyth, 2022-2023 Chair, takes to heart. We spoke with Steve to get his sense of where we are as a profession and where we are going.

ESG and the “triple bottom line”

  • February 04, 2022
  • Carolynne Burkholder-James

Like it or hate it, ESG is no longer a fringe part of business, and lawyers have a key role to play in ensuring organizations develop clear, consistent and credible goals for their environmental, social and governance frameworks.

In-House Legal Practice Management

  • February 02, 2022
  • David Avren

Practising law is the business of law firms; in-house practice and legal departments are just part of a business that has many other priorities. Legal group budgeting, financial systems, hiring, firing, promoting, contract management, records keeping, and IT have to integrate with everything else. General Counsel is just one member of an executive team. The Legal Department (“Legal”) is just a small — but important — part of something much bigger.

Why Diversity and Inclusion are Important — and Difficult

  • February 01, 2022
  • Lisa Picotte-Li

An often repeated phrase is that diversity is having a seat at the table, inclusion is having a voice, and belonging is having that voice be heard. If more voices are heard, then more people will feel valued and, if more people feel valued, then we will have achieved a noble goal. But if people feeling good is not a worthwhile goal, then the driver of that value toward higher performance and better outputs is at least an objective that most businesses understand.

FAQ - Privilege and Confidentiality For In-House Counsel

  • January 28, 2022

The Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee and the CCCA prepared answers to 22 frequently asked questions about solicitor-client privilege and client confidentiality especially for in-house counsel. Please refer to the rules of your governing body for the detailed rules in your jurisdiction.

The In-House Balancing Act

  • January 25, 2022
  • Lilac Bosma

Have you ever tried to explain what you do at work to your friends? Inevitably, this involves gently managing peoples’ glamorous expectations that your day job involves drama and antics that would appear in a script of Suits. We all know the day-to-day lives of lawyers offer disappointingly few drama-soaked storylines.

Time: The Key to Happiness

  • January 21, 2022
  • Lynne Yryku

I’m always trying to get the most out of my time, as I’m sure many of you are, but I feel like something’s got to give every single day. There must be a better way, right? Here are four steps I am trying out to avoid the overwhelm and be more productive without sacrificing my family, fun or sleep time. Spoiler: It isn’t always easy; however, overall, it’s working.

Congratulations, Graduates!

  • September 09, 2021
  • CCCA

Congratulations to the summer 2021 Business Leadership Program for In-House Counsel graduating class.

Managing Your Tax Advisors: Part 3

  • August 12, 2021
  • Steve Suarez

Tax law is a strange and mysterious world for many people, even most lawyers. The law is constantly changing, the concepts are challenging and the results are often counter-intuitive, making it a source of frustration for those forced to deal with it. To help businesses and their legal groups can get the most out of their tax advisors (internal and external) in a productive and cost-efficient way, here is a series of three articles on best practices.