CPD: OPA, The Goal Isn’t Diversity: It’s Inclusion.

Overview

This course highlighted the essential distinction between diversity and inclusion, focusing on practical strategies to foster inclusion and support equity-seeking groups.  Designed for legal professionals, the program provided tools to address implicit bias, navigate regulatory obligations, and break down barriers faced by marginalized groups.

Omar Ha-Redeye, a Toronto and Durham Region lawyer, legal academic, and influential voice in the legal profession, delivered the impactful course, "The Goal Isn’t Diversity, It’s Inclusion," in 2018.  Holding a JD from Western Law and an LLM from Osgoode Hall, Omar also teaches part-time at Ryerson University.  Known for his active leadership in advocacy and professional organizations, Omar is a frequent media commentator on legal issues and a recognized expert in fostering equity and inclusion within the legal profession.

Guest Speaker

Omar Ha-Redeye

What Will You Learn?

• Overview of the Final Report of the Challenges Faced by Racialized Licensees.
• Definition of compelled expression under constitutional law.
• Components of Competence,” Slaw, October 15, 2017.
• Practical solutions for preventing and addressing discrimination and harassment for small and solo firms.
• Need for continuing education in light of evolving definitions of human rights and understanding of discrimination.
• Strategies for promoting diversity and inclusion for small and solo firms.
• Review of studies on blind resumes and implicit bias.
• Description of behavioral interviews, and their benefits to employers.
• Identifying existing mentorship programs, and some of their limitations.
• Provide an overview of the uneven regulatory burden on equity-seeking groups, and the impact on law society dues and insurance premiums.
• Highlight opportunities for developing skills outside the profession which would promote diversity and inclusion.
• Suggest future areas of development and support currently not available in the profession.
• Explain the value of diversity and inclusion, and the purpose of promoting both.
• Discussion over the controversy around the Statement of Principles.
• Analysis of compelled expression in light of the regulatory obligations.
• Rules 5.6-1, 6.3 and 6.3.1 of the Lawyers Rules of Professional Conduct, ss. 2.03, 6.3 and 6.3.1, of the Paralegal Rules of Professional Conduct.
• Internal controls and mechanisms, including monitoring and reporting obligations under employment law.
• Strategies for acting proactively instead of reactively, and how this can provide a financial benefit.
• Recruitment, hiring, retention, and advancement of licensees from equity-seeking groups (e.g., competency-based hiring, bias-free interview procedures, clear career paths).
• Overview of illegal questions in human rights/employment law.
• Creating support systems within and outside the legal workplace (e.g., mentoring, advising, networking, coaching, sponsorship, and opportunities for open discussions about the challenges in addressing barriers faced by equity-seeking groups).
• Discuss alternative sponsorship strategies, such as chambers, associations, and incubators.
• Strategies to support the professional development and advancement of equity-seeking groups, including leadership skills, coaching, mentorship, sponsorship, business development, career opportunities or set-backs.
• Review identified or reported challenges for those who have left the profession or taken leave, and post-practice careers that have been pursued.

Materials Included:

• No Handout Materials