Community

It’s never too early or too late to start responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action.

Leveraging technology to create greater value, however, requires a shift in thinking about regulatory oversight. Gone are the days of enough resources and time to monitor every aspect of compliance. The reality of any quality control program is that regulation and policy rarely move at the pace of crisis. To keep up with what feels like regularly recurring climate disasters, innovative regulatory tools are needed along with the following paradigm shifts.

While we may think of mentorship as a way to advance our career, its many benefits go far beyond that. Being a mentor or mentee helps keep you in the game or play a better game. Mentors are often the support their mentees need to overcome an obstacle or reach higher, and mentees help mentors see how far they have come and perhaps where they would like to go next.

In these transformative times, in-house counsel everywhere are under pressure to adapt and innovate to survive and thrive. It’s clear there is a need for tools to support us as we reinvent ourselves and help us find traction moving forward.

human connection may be low. Well-executed mentoring programs – like the one offered by the CCCA – promote feelings of connectedness and empowerment to help you succeed. Mentoring relationships are as rewarding for mentors as it is for mentees. A powerful part of the process is learning with someone who has a different life story than you. We spoke with Gennady Ferenbok, a seasoned mentor, about how this is true.

In today’s hectic world, it can be hard to see the bigger picture at work and in life. However, Evan Olson, CIC.C, is the 2021-22 Vice-Chair of the CCCA Executive Committee, is a prime example of living his values and being an in-house leader. We spoke with Evan about his career journey, living in the Prairies and the CCCA–Rotman Business Leadership Program.

The in-house counsel role appeals to those with a passion for learning and who thrive on challenge and change. It is the ideal profession for ambitious individuals like KJ (Ke-Jia) Chong, the current Treasurer on the CCCA Executive Committee. We spoke with KJ about her career, her motivations and her lifelong commitment to learning.

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.

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.

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.