Submitted by Section Chair, Deborah H. Taylor
Summary of Meetings
Number of Meetings Held: 10
September 17, 2014
Guest Speakers: Laura Bakan, Q.C., Guild Yule, Rita Andreone, Q.C, Lawson Lundell, Maria Morellato, Mandell Pinder LLP, Lisa Vogt - McCarthy Tetrault, Mary Buttery, Davis LLP, Jennifer Chow, Department of Justice Canada, Barbara Norell, Harper Grey and Roseanne Kyle, JFK Law Corp.
Meeting Title/Topic: WLF FALL LAUNCH EVENT
featuring HOT TIPS FROM HOT MENTORS
October 30, 2014
Guest Speakers: N/A
Meeting Title/Topic: Fall Potluck
Synopsis: 50 registrants. This popular event was held in the party room at the home of Deborah Taylor.
November 26, 2014
Guest Speakers: Various
Meeting Title/Topic: CBABC Women Lawyers Forum Fall Education Event: "Have Dinner with a QC"
Synopsis: 44 Registrants at the Sutton Place Hotel. 3 QCs explained what a QC is, the process for becoming a QC and what becoming a QC has meant to her career. Other QCs were seated at each of the 8 tables to share their experiences with others.
January 15, 2015
Guest Speaker: Madame Justice Linda Loo of the Supreme Court of British Columbia
Meeting Title/Topic: Senior Women Lawyers Dinner
Synopsis: This event is for senior lawyers. This dinner was held at the Vancovuer Yacht Club and Madam Justice Loo shared her stories of her career before and after becoming a Judge.
February 4, 2015
Guest Speakers: N/A
Meeting Title/Topic: Junior Women Lawyers Event
Synopsis: 38 registrants. This event was held at The Blackbird and was a network opportunity for young women lawyers to connect.
March 6, 2015
Guest Speakers: N/A
Meeting Title/Topic: International Women's Day
Synopsis: This was a drop in event held at Earls. In keeping with the National WLF anti-harassment campaign toiletries were collected for the Downtown Eastside Women's Shelter in addition to raising money to support Ovarian Cancer Canada the chosen charity for BC WLF.
April 23, 2015
Guest Speaker: The Right Honourable Kim Campbell
Meeting Title/Topic: The 2015 WLF Awards Luncheon
Synopsis: 232 tickets sold. This biennial event was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in honour of the BC WLF's award recipients, Judge Patricia Janzen, Award of Excellence and Carla Forth, QC, The Debra Van Ginkel Mentoring Award.
May 21, 2015
Guest Speakers: Mary-Jane Wilson, Wilson Rasmussen LLP, Georgialee Lang, BA, JD, FCIArb and Rose Keith, Rose Keith Law Corporation
Meeting Title/Topic: "Building and Maintaining Your Practice: Hard Won Lessons from the Pros"
Synopsis: 40 registrants in person and on line. This luncheon provided information on established your own practice and maintaining it. Each of the speakers shared her experiences.
June 22, 2015
Guest Speaker: Madam Justice Ballance
Meeting Title/Topic: WLF Annual General Meeting
Synopsis: 55 registrants. Madam Justice Ballance debunked the myth of the superwoman.
August 2, 2015
Guest Speakers: N/A
Meeting Title/Topic: Snooker Night at the Vancouver Club
Synopsis: This event was the first joint venture event held with FACL and was a huge success with 63 registrants held at the Vancouver Club. This evening provided networking opportunities with snooker instruction for all.
Reports of Resolutions
There were no reports or resolutions prepared by our Forum, however, we participated in LEADR, Justicia and a grant proposal to the Federal Government for the economic advancement of women lawyers. In addition, we supported the National WLF Anti-Harasment campaign and our Chair attended the National meeting in Halifax.
Comments and Observations of the Co-Chair
The BC WLF continues its mission to support women lawyers at all stages of their careers as well as represent women lawyers in the community through charitable work. We are very proud of our collaboration with the other WLF forums in Kamloops and Vancouver Island and hope to continue this collaboration. This year was a busy one and from the feedback we have received from our membership we and attendees at events, our work is appreciated.
The highlight of the 2014-2015 year was the Awards Luncheon in which The Right Honourable Kim Campbell was our keynote speaker and we welcomed one of our founders Kerry Lynn Findlay home to help us celebrate our award recipients.
It is our belief that the BC WLF goes a long way to serve the membership of the BCABC by providing interesting programs and opportunities for networking and to advance equality and diversity in the profession.