2014-2015 has been one of the CBA Young Lawyers – Lower Mainland Section’s (Young Lawyers) busiest and most productive years yet.
The year began with a speed networking event at Salt Tasting Room designed to give young lawyers an opportunity to mingle and meet some new faces while enjoying some wine and delicious food. In October, Bill Knutson and Edna Ritchie shared their advice about how to deal with tricky ethical and professional situations before a packed crowd at Charest Reporting.
In November, Section members participated in a Master Shadowing program in which registrants were able to observe Master MacNaughton in chambers for an entire day followed by a dinner and debriefing. This was an invaluable opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge and insight from behind the Bench and the hope is to expand this program to other Lower Mainland courthouses in the future. November also featured a social event for young lawyers in Surrey and there are plans to hold a similar event in Richmond for young lawyers practising there.
In December, in what is becoming something of a holiday tradition, the Young Lawyers hosted the third annual holiday party at Mahoney & Sons in conjunction with a group of young CFAs and CPAs.
The New Year got off to a busy start with another speed networking event, this time at the Refinery.
The next event was an extremely informative presentation on Examinations for Discovery featuring Lyle Harris, author of the CLEBC Discovery Practice in British Columbia manual, and Stuart Hankinson. The event featured practical tips on preparing for, conducting and defending Examinations for Discovery. Not surprisingly, the highly sought-after speakers once again drew a packed house. This was followed by a two-part pleadings workshop with Master MacNaughton and Chilwin Cheng of Legal Process Solutions, with the first part focusing on pleadings in general, and the second focusing on Affidavits in particular.
In March, the Young Lawyers hosted their third “Going Rogue” event, where three young lawyers who have each established their own practice in very different ways spoke about their experience outside of the traditional law firm model and shared some of their hard won wisdom. This event has proved very popular in the past and this year was no exception.
In April, the Young Lawyers co-hosted a Whiskey Tasting event with the Young Professional Engineers at Shebeen Whiskey House in Gastown.
April also marked the second annual Wellness Challenge in which young lawyers and their firms were challenged to devote a portion of their day to wellness, however defined, each day for ten days and to share these ideas and inspire others on social media.
April 29 was the marquee event of the year, the Judges Dinner, where the chief justices of all three levels of court were once again generous enough to speak to an audience of young lawyers and dine with them at the Sutton Place Hotel.
Events still to come include one of our most highly anticipated events of the year, Monte Carlo Night, in which the Vancouver Club will be transformed into a casino. Once again, the Young Lawyers will be co-hosting with the young accountants and the event will also feature a silent auction and fundraiser.
In sum, the CBABC Young Lawyers – Lower Mainland Section has had a very successful year so far of diverse events ranging from social to educational with a broad range of wonderful speakers. The Executive plans to offer a similar array of wide-ranging events in the 2015-2016 season and looks forward to seeing our Section members at upcoming events.