Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Series

Lawyers with disabilities are no strangers to overcoming personal and professional barriers. The legal profession can do more to improve access, challenge discriminatory practices and educate practitioners about the ability for lawyers with disabilities to succeed in this profession. 

Our speakers will shed light on the barriers that lawyers with disabilities continue to face in their practice, how including lawyers with disabilities fosters collaboration and boosts creativity, and what you can do to create an inclusive disability strategy for your firm. 

Unconscious bias can be detrimental to growing a diverse and innovative workforce. If everyone is the same, everyone will have the same ideas and come to the same conclusions. And that’s not how great businesses are built. 

This session covers unconscious bias in the workplace – what it is, when it happens, and what strategies can be used to challenge the behaviour.

The traditional practice of law, by its very nature, pits lawyer wellness against professional obligations to clients, employers, and the courts. The constant struggle to achieve balance and gain access to resources for help results in many lawyers feeling high levels of stress, fatigue and psychological distress. 

This session explores how the practice of law can have a disproportionate impact on professionals with visible and invisible disabilities, 2SLGBTQSI+ lawyers, and IBPOC lawyers, and how to establish more inclusive workspaces.