2024

The OBA's Privacy and Access to Information Law Section is pleased to announce Molly Reynolds, Torys LLP, as the recipient of the 2024 OBA Karen Spector Memorial Award for Excellence in Privacy Law.

The OBA's Public Sector Lawyers Section is pleased to announce Daniel J. Abrahams, of the Professional Engineers Ontario, as the recipient of the 2024 OBA Tom Marshall Award of Excellence for Public Sector Lawyers. Daniel J. Abrahams will be honoured at a dinner on January 21, 2025 at OBA Conference Centre in Toronto. Stay tuned for the registration open.

Colin Lachance will work with lawyers to integrate AI into profession

The Ontario Bar Association (OBA) is excited to introduce Colin Lachance as its 2024-25 Innovator-in-Residence. In this role, he will spearhead a groundbreaking initiative aimed at assisting lawyers with effectively integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into their practice to better serve their clients.

The Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) will be moving to the Sensitive Content Management (SCM) service which is now available. This is to ensure continued service for LAT’s stakeholders as EATS will be decommissioned effective March 1, 2024. Lawyers have the option to begin using SCM immediately. The Enterprise Attachment Transfer Service (EATS) will be decommissioned, effective March 1, 2024.

We live in unsettling times and it is affecting lawyers personally in many ways, including worries about loved ones in harm’s way, growing tensions in the workplace and a rise in acts of hate.

OBA Annual meeting will be held on Friday, February 2, 2024 at 12:00pm EDT

The Ontario Bar Association has introduced a new award to encourage and recognize initiatives that improve mental health in the profession. The award will be named in honour of Orlando Da Silva, a former OBA president whose 2014 Opening Remarks initiative opened up a critical conversation about mental health in the profession, and who bravely shared his own story to help reduce stigma.

On this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we spotlight the unique challenges faced by many lawyers. The demanding nature of our work, coupled with personal struggles, underscores the critical need for a supportive community.

Legal Aid Ontario has announced amendments to the Legal Aid Services Rules (Fees and Disbursements). This section impacts the fees that private bar lawyers are paid for legal aid services.