Executive Director’s Message

2021 Council Election & Member Engagement

2021 was a Council election year as we set out to elect members for 2021-2023 district & at-large positions.

The Halifax District saw the largest voter turnout to date. Voter turnout for this election was 41.65% - an increase of 10.69% compared to our 2019 Halifax District Election.

We truly appreciate the members who dedicated their time and effort to run in the 2021 election. It is not an easy thing to put yourself out there as a candidate.

We know there are always improvements to be made to help increase Council and committee participation and overall, how we connect and engage with our members.

We welcome your feedback and I encourage you to connect with our Communications Advisor, Collette Deschenes, with your ideas and feedback at cdeschenes@nsbs.org or to connect with me directly at jmullenger@nsbs.org.

Cultural Competence Education Focus Groups

We’re seeking to enhance the cultural competence of Nova Scotia’s legal profession by providing mandatory education to all practicing lawyers.

This education is a key step to fulfilling our obligations under TRC Call to Action #27, and it aligns with our strategic objective to “facilitate education and provide resources and support to members to be culturally competent in the delivery of legal services.”     

For this project to be a success, we knew that the planning must reflect the experience and expertise of those in the community and in the profession so, from February-March 2021, we held a series of formal focus groups to collect formal, focused input to inform the rollout of this initiative.

We met with member-based legal organizations, managing partners of large and medium-sized law firms, solo and rural practitioners, young lawyers, and community organizations.

Members and community organizations provided us with meaningful suggestions and feedback on what this education should focus on and how we can best roll out this education to ensure it is accessible to all members and to non-lawyer staff within firms.  

We’ll provide updates on the rollout of this important education program moving forward into 2021-2022 through our website, InForum and through direct communications with you via email.

TRC Working Group Education Sessions

The Society’s TRC Working Group brought together engaging and informative education sessions for members again this year. You may have joined us at the Roundtable Discussion on Gladue Rights with the Mi’kmaw Legal Support Network or the recent Trauma-Informed Lawyering session with Myrna McCallum both of which were very well attended by members. This group continues to advise and support Council in their work and governance of the Society on Truth & Reconciliation.

Multidisciplinary Practices (MDPs)

One of our strategic objectives is to “explore and where appropriate, support the viability of innovative models of legal services delivery.” We have moved forward with this objective as Council approved Multidisciplinary Practices (MDPs) in Nova Scotia at its January 2021 meeting.

We’re operationalizing MDPs as we need to make necessary amendments to the NSBS Regulations, Code of Professional Conduct and to our internal policies and procedures. Stay tuned in the year ahead for updates on MDPs.

Looking at the Year Ahead

As you know, in April 2021 we acknowledged the existence of systemic discrimination in our justice system and within the Society and outlined our commitment and next steps to address systemic discrimination.

A comprehensive external, independent review of our regulatory policies and processes is underway to identify and address any areas of systemic discrimination that exist within the Society.

We are extremely fortunate to have the assistance of Doug Ruck QC in completing this important work. We look forward to receiving his recommendations in the year ahead and we are committed to taking concrete steps to eliminate barriers facing equity-seeking communities.

Overall, I am encouraged looking at the Society’s year ahead as we work diligently to move the needle on our strategic priorities including one of our key objectives of increasing supports for members in delivering quality legal services and providing tools and tips to lawyers about how to incorporate an equity and diversity lens into their practice.

Expect to see a new practice resource search on the nsbs.org website developed and launched in the next year by our Legal Services Support & Equity and Access teams.

This will be a centralized, searchable resource hub where members can seek out practice resources on a variety of topics from succession planning to trauma-informed lawyering. In the meantime, if you’re seeking practice resources, support or have suggestions on resources I encourage you to connect with our Legal Services Support at lss@nsbs.org.

While I have only been in the acting Executive Director position for a short period of time, as a long-standing NSBS Director, I witness the dedication of Society staff, Council and committees daily. Thank you for your perseverance and hard work over the last year. I especially want to thank Craig Garson QC, for stepping up and taking over as President of the Society. His leadership has been invaluable.

Lastly, before moving into the next year, I want to remind members that, as always, we welcome your feedback, insight, and reflections. I encourage you to reach out to me.

Jacqueline Mullenger
Acting Executive Director