Studies have shown that diverse and inclusive workplaces are happier workplaces, promoting higher levels of employee satisfaction, productivity and profitability. Lerners LLP is committed to the diverse community we serve and wants to promote a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Lerners LLP has a Diversity and Inclusion Committee comprised of the following lawyers and staff members: Ryan McNeil (Chair) Andrea Catlin, Benish Hassan, Carolyn J. Lloyd, Cherie Vlahos, Christina Weir, Jennifer Hunter, John B. Brennan, Karen Simpson, Kim Elliott, Kimberly Cura, Kirsten M. Parker, Lianne J. Armstrong, Lisa Munro, Marie Bertucci, Mark McAuley, Megan Quinlan, Michelle Guerra, Mitchell C. Brown, Nada Nicola-Howorth, Nancy M. McAuley, Narissa Leon, Natalee Davis, Olinda Manuel, Tammy R. Ring, Yola Ventresca, and Zahra Vaid. The committee’s mandate is as follows:
Lerners LLP is a proud member of the Law Firm Diversity and Inclusion Network (LFDIN), which consists of a group of Canadian law firms that have agreed to work together to promote diversity and encourage a culture of inclusion in our firms and the broader legal profession. Diversity and inclusion are core values of LFDIN members. We believe that valuing and enhancing diversity and inclusion will help us attract and retain the best talent and better serve our clients’ needs in an evolving global marketplace. LFDIN members undertake to practice and advance diversity and inclusion by:
Among Lerners lawyers and staff, we speak various languages, in addition to English and French, including:
In 2017, Lerners conducted a firm wide survey, asking lawyers and staff to evaluate the firm’s current diversity and inclusion programs and policies, and to provide recommendations for improvement. As a result, in addition to our current and ongoing initiatives, Lerners has now undertaken further initiatives to implement recommendations for improvement, with a view to ultimately making our workplace better.
Diversity and Inclusion Policies/Programs
Volunteer Work
We have a long-standing tradition of supporting charities and local communities with a wide variety of missions and constituencies. Our support includes financial donations, hosting events, acting as pro bono counsel and volunteer work by staff and lawyers, whether as board directors, committee members or simply organization members. Select examples include:
Lerners has a long-standing commitment to pro bono initiatives. Current programs include:
National Disability Employment Awareness Month: During the month of October 2018, Lerners will be highlighting the importance of all individuals within our communities by focusing on the accomplishments and achievements of people with disabilities.
In London we will be raising funds to support Community Living London, an organization dedicated to supporting people with development disabilities. Susie Matthias, a member of the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists, will be in our offices working on watercolour paintings for her children’s book. Lerners and our clients will have an opportunity to see some of Susie’s artwork and speak with her about her passion for the arts.
Toronto celebrated by engaging everyone to have an open mind to the day-to-day challenges people with a disability may experience, encouraging them to experience how the environment around us can impact even the most ordinary of tasks. We also raised funds for the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS).
Extraordinary Women’s Event (EWE): For the past 12 years, Lerners’ Toronto office has hosted this Event, which gathers women who have positively impacted the lives and careers of the women at Lerners, celebrates those women and those relationships, and connects women to one another. In its early incarnation, this event was an intimate social gathering, attended by 20-40 women. It has since evolved into an eagerly anticipated, hugely popular signature event for our firm, attracting more than 200 women professionals every year, helping us to strengthen, develop and nurture professional networks. The Event is often profiled as a “must-attend” event by legal media, continuing to showcase our reputation for leadership in gender parity and broader diversity initiatives.
Lerners Women’s Symposium: The Lerners’ London office is pleased to have launched this dynamic new speakers series centered around educating, inspiring and empowering professional women to achieve their goals. Lerners Women’s Symposium will serve to showcase inspiring and dynamic women who have made significant achievements in their lines of work, from entrepreneurs to leading political figures. Most recently, this event was held on November 23, 2017, and featured Marlene McGrath, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at 3M, in an intimate one-on-one talk with Janet Stewart, Partner and former Managing Partner for over 30 years at Lerners. The conversation focused on mentoring, diversity and inclusion, career change and advancement for women in the workplace. Watch our short YouTube video showcasing the Women’s Symposium.
International Women’s Day Event: March 8, 2018 marked International Women’s Day (IWD) and provided an opportunity to acknowledge the ongoing struggle for gender equality in compensation, representation in business and politics, education and health while also recognizing improvements and progress.
In addition to wearing purple, the official colour of IWD, Lerners celebrated by hosting Delee Fromm to present on her recent book, “Understanding Gender at Work: How to Lose, Use and Expose Blind Spots for Career Success”. Relying on neuroscience, Delee explained how gender blind spots arise and result in bias in the workplace. She also explored different communication styles from a gendered perspective. Over 40 firm members attended over their lunch hour. To find out more information about Delee Fromm, her books, and her blogs watch her YouTube video.
In addition to hosting Delee, Lerners organized a clothing drive for Toronto’s “Dress for Success Toronto” and London’s “Clothing Works”. Firm members have generously donated gently used professional clothing, in particular for women, to provide job seekers who don’t otherwise have the resources the clothing and confidence to make the best possible impression with prospective employers.
Lerners is proud to have joined millions of people around the world in recognizing IWD as part of the ongoing fight for gender equality.
Black History Month: In February, 2018, Lerners welcomed Robyn Maynard and Justice Donald McLeod as speakers in our London and Toronto office.
Robyn Maynard, is the author of Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present. Robyn has spent the better part of the past decade doing frontline harm-reduction outreach work in Montreal and continues to provide training for health and social service providers on the harms created by systemic racism, criminal laws and stigmatization.
Justice McLeod grew up in Regent Park and knew he wanted to be a lawyer from the age of 10. He cofounded the youth organization 100 Strong, a non-profit organization borne out of the passion and vision of a group of accomplished, professional black men compelled to change the narrative of young African-Canada black boys as it exists today. He also co-founded Stand Up: Redefining the Colour of Success, a conference for boys in the seventh and eighth grades.
Indigenous Treaties and Laws Workshop: The Calls to Action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission inspired Lerners’ Diversity and Inclusion Committee to raise awareness of Indigenous Treaties and Laws. As a Committee member, I volunteered to organize a workshop on the subject and invited Windsor Faculty of Law Professor Beverly Jacobs to lead lawyers and staff in meaningful discussions on this topic.
For me, an important takeaway was learning that the treaties and laws of Indigenous people cannot be interpreted by lawyers and judges in the same way they do our contemporary laws. Treaties and laws of Indigenous people need to be interpreted in conjunction with their unique history, cultures, identities, traditions, languages, etc. For example, land is not just a physical “thing”, but a representation of sanctuary and spirituality of their ancestry and future. I found it interesting to learn that Indigenous people start each event with what is called, “The Thanksgiving Address”. This is a spiritual acknowledgement of the powers of the natural world, including the land, people, plants, and air. Understanding Indigenous peoples’ connection to the land for the purposes of creation and sustainability is a lesson learned that we all took away. Professor Jacobs’ passion was overwhelming. Her expertise is incredibly valuable to the legal profession.
I also had the privilege of speaking one-one-one with Professor Jacobs about the roles of Indigenous women. Traditionally, they have been revered as life-givers and caregivers. Discussing with her the roles of women in the Creation and Mother Earth stories hit home both as a woman and as a mother when comparing these narratives to those which have necessitated the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
This workshop was yet another well-attended event by lawyers and staff. The opportunity to have gained new insights into Indigenous treaties and law and matters affecting my community and those around me was invaluable and I am certain that my colleagues would agree.
Ginny Lacasse, CEDS
Litigation Support Specialist
Diversity and Inclusion Committee member
Diversity and Inclusion Potluck: I attended the Diversity and Inclusion Potluck, where lawyers and staff got together to celebrate each others’ cultures through food. From savoury appetizers and main dishes to sweet treats, the Potluck offered a welcomed chance to try various new foods. Most importantly, the Potluck was a great way to meet new people and learn more about their lives outside of the office.
The food is only one aspect of any good meal. I find that the best meals I enjoy involve a warm environment and the opportunity to meet new people in a relaxed setting. The Potluck provided just that – a group of eight to ten people, along with myself, congregated in the Porthole Boardroom to eat together and discuss various family recipes. As a relatively new addition to Lerners, I valued the chance to meet other team members who I do not regularly see. Centring the event around food was a great way to encourage people to showcase their unique cultural backgrounds while also providing a relaxed environment in which to meet others. As an articling student, I was very thankful to welcome a change to my daily diet – while the food court downstairs has some good options, its comfortable and sociable ambience can be lacking.
While I would encourage all to pace themselves while eating to avoid the urge to take an afternoon nap, I would recommend everyone to participate in the next Diversity and Inclusion Potluck. I find food to be one of the best conversation starters – and it doesn’t hurt to show off your cooking skills to some fellow hungry co-workers!
Jessie Gomberg, Student-at-law
2017
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R. v. Jarvis: Former Lerners’ partner Gillian Hnatiw represents the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) in this Supreme Court of Canada case, which considers a decision by a majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal that upheld the acquittal of a high school teacher who had used a camera pen to surreptitiously take videos of female students and of one female teacher, while he was conversing with them in school, and which focused on their chests and cleavage area.
Frank et al. v. Attorney General of Canada: Mark Freiman and Jameel Madhany represent the Canadian Civil Liberties Association as an intervener in this Supreme Court of Canada case, which considers whether the government has the power to deprive Canadian citizens of the right to vote when it deems Canadian citizens to be “non-residents.”
Bowden Institution v. Khadr: Former Lerners’ partner Gillian Hnatiw represented the Canadian Civil Liberties Association as an intervener at the Supreme Court of Canada in a case considering the interpretation of a foreign criminal sentence for purposes of implementing the sentence domestically, and the need to balance the offender’s rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, fundamental Canadian values and procedural fairness.
LC v. Alberta: Lerners’ Lucas Lung represented the plaintiffs in this class action involving a government department in a fiduciary relationship to vulnerable children who had been removed from their parents’ or guardians’ care by government authority that regularly failed to follow legislated requirements with respect to hundreds of children.
Miceli-Riggins v. Canada (Attorney General): Lerners’ Cynthia Kuehl acted on behalf of the appellant before the Federal Court of Appeal arguing that the combined operation of the proration and disability provisions in the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) had a discriminatory effect on women, particularly working mothers, contrary to s.15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Spence v. BMO Trust Company: Lerners’ Earl Cherniak represented the Respondents in this appeal of an order setting aside a will. The Respondents had brought an application to set aside the will of their deceased father, which disinherited the Respondents (the deceased’s daughter and grandson). The application judge set aside the will on the grounds of public policy, finding that the deceased had racist motivations.
Mavi v. Canada: Lerners’ Lucas Lung represented sponsors of family class immigrants who, for reasons beyond their control, had defaulted on undertakings they had given to the federal and Ontario governments to repay social assistance benefits given to their family members. The challenge to the matter, in which the governments enforced these so-called sponsorship debts, was pursued through to the Supreme Court of Canada.
SHRC v. Whatcott: Lerners’ Mark Freiman represented the Canadian Jewish Congress as an intervener at the Supreme Court of Canada in a case considering whether Human Rights Commissions have the right to sanction hate speech.
Chaoulli and Zeliotis v. Attorney General in Right of Quebec: Lerners’ Earl Cherniak was counsel to 10 senators on a senate committee that completed a study of Canada’s health care system in a matter relating to the constitutionality of the current health care regime.
Chippewas of Sarnia Band v. Attorney General of Canada et al.: Lerners’ Earl Cherniak and Elizabeth Grace were counsel to the Band in an action for declaration of aboriginal title to land in Sarnia.
Representation of First Nations sexual assault survivors of pedophile ex-priest Ralph Rowe: Lerners’ Elizabeth Grace, Anna Matas, and former Lerners’ lawyer Gillian Hnatiw were counsel to First Nations sexual assault survivors of Ralph Rowe, an Anglican priest and Scouts Canada leader who was convicted of sexually abusing nearly 60 First Nations boys in remote communities over almost two decades.