CCCA Magazine - Summer 2017

The Future is Now: Innovations in the Legal Industry Spotlight On... Modern Slavery: How Many Slaves Work for You?

CCCA

Capturing Your “Innerpreneur”

Blockchain for In-House Counsel

magazine SUMMER 2017 ÉTÉ | Vol 11, No. 1

Leading Corporate Counsel Le conseiller juridique d’entreprise – Droit devant

Marc-André Blanchard, Canada's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations

PM 42929530 — Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Canadian Corporate Counsel Association, 1210 – 20 Toronto Street, Toronto, ON M5C 2B8

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CCCA

SUMMER 2017 ÉTÉ | Vol 11, No. 1

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In this issue…

Features 12 Capturing Your “Innerpreneur”

CANADIAN CORPORATE COUNSEL ASSOCIATION L’ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE DES CONSEILLERS(ÈRES) JURIDIQUES D’ENTREPRISES 1210 – 20 Toronto Street Toronto, ON M5C 2B8 Tel: 416-869-0522 Email: ccca@ccca-cba.org CCCA Chair / PRÉSIDENT de l’ACCJE Stephen Rotstein: Chair@ccca-cba.org EXECUTIVE EDITOR / Rédactrice en chef Lynne Yryku: LYryku@ccca-cba.org ADVERTISING / PUBLICITÉ Brian Trotter: BrianTrotter@outlook.com DESIGN / CONCEPTION ARTISTIQUE Hume Media Inc. Editorial Board Olumide Adetunji Marianne Bolhuis Graeme Deuchars Vera Dokter Sébastien Guénette Wendy King Laurie MacFarlane Sarah McKinnon Michael Rothe Yasmin Visram ISSN No. 1913-0562 Publications Mail Agreement No. 42929530 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Canadian Corporate Counsel Association 1210 – 20 Toronto Street Toronto, ON M5C 2B8

All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without permission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is not legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for review of your specific situation with legal counsel. Every effort has been made to provide accurate information; however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions.

Tous droits réservés. Le contenu du magazine ne peut pas être reproduit sans autorisation. Les opinions exprimées dans les articles ne sont pas nécessairement partagées par l’éditeur. Le contenu du magazine ne constitue pas un avis juridique et vous ne devriez pas vous en servir pour évaluer votre situation particulière. Nous avons tout mis en œuvre afin de fournir des renseignements exacts. Cependant, l’éditeur n’assume aucune responsabilité en cas d’erreurs ou d’omissions.

As you strive to maximize efficiencies in the legal department, perhaps what you need is a change in mindset. Entrepreneurs are out working with people, willing to take risks to develop different and better processes. See how you can learn from them to move legal from a cost centre to a competitive advantage. By Jim Middlemiss

18 Blockchain for In-House Counsel

Blockchain has tremendous potential to change the way information is shared in the digital world. While there are risks, the benefits of using blockchain for smarts contracts and other legal transactions are huge. Learn how it can help your legal department.

By Julie Sobowale

24 The Future is Now: Innovations in the Legal Industry

Today’s legal technology market is expanding quickly. Learn about some start-ups that are helping boost efficiency, improve services and move the legal sector forward. They may be just what your organization needs to get ahead. By Pablo Fuchs

columns

departments

5 From the Editor Innovation is the evolution of effectiveness. It is key to setting yourself apart from your competition.

7 From the Chair Our successful spring conference showed in-house counsel are agile and innovative. Let your association continue to help you grow.

10 Profile: Marc-André Blanchard Canada's ambassador to the UN describes how you, as both an in-house counsel and a Canadian, are well-equipped to succeed— in your career and on the world stage.

By Lynne Yryku 30 Spotlight On… Modern Slavery: How Many Slaves Work for You? Exploitative or forced labour in supply chains is an increasingly urgent problem. Discover how your organization can help end this crime.

By Lynne Yryku 34 CCCA News Wrap-up of the CCCA National Conference, including the 2017 award winners.

8 Legal Performance Apply the lessons books have to offer in developing innovative approaches and strategies for success. By Jonathan Cullen 41 HR Impact To stay ahead of the curve in the ever-shifting employment law landscape, develop your communication skills. By Liz Bernier 42 Legal Innovation What does it take to create a culture of innovation and solutions? Put people first.

By Judith McKay with David Cohen and Kathleen Hogan.

44 Strategic Management Part 2 of this fourpart series on the internal controls of an anti-bribery program looks at the legal framework influencing your approach.

By Isabelle Pierre 46 Inside Edge Becoming a good storyteller gives you the power to guide, influence and inspire in all areas of your life.

By Mark Weber

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{ From the Editor / Mot de la rédactrice }

I

The Innovation Issue

Question d’innovation

By Lynne Yryku

Par Lynne Yryku

nnovation seems to be the new buzzword, but all of us are and always have been innovators at heart—even if some of us are out of practice. It does not mean we are all developing new technology or inventions. Innovation can come from simply thinking in a different way or looking at something from a different perspective.

At the simplest level, innovation is born of problem solving. Indeed, many business innovations are the result of business challenges. However, unless done methodically, this tends to be a reactive, rushed approach to innovation. The limitations of focusing on only the fires is obvious.

John West of Canada Post saw the danger in this (page 12): “Over the course of time, [the legal team] had become a very reactive group.” His objective is to “push them forward so they will enhance their profile (…) instilling the notion that we are a value-added service.”

Working together, we can be proactive, heading off problems before they occur and improving processes that may be working well but have the potential for better. That is where the legal innovators on page 24 step in, offering applications that automate tasks you can do but really shouldn’t. Your time and your organization’s resources are better spent making a real impact in more significant areas.

Finally, we have innovation that creates a new future. With today’s relentless pace of change, staying relevant and competitive is no easy task. You need to step out of your legal box and look at the bigger picture. Things like blockchain—with “the potential to have a major impact on how we do business and practice law” (page 18)—are here.

As you strive to get ahead of the curve, you will see opportunities to tap into—and contribute to—the frontiers of innovation. It’s a challenge. But, as Marc-André Blanchard, Canada’s ambassador to the UN, said in his keynote at the CCCA’s conference, “You have all the tools. […] You can make things happen.” ❚

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’innovation semble être le nouveau concept à la mode, mais pourtant, nous innovons tous et nous l’avons toujours fait – même si certains ont un peu perdu la main. Innover n’implique pas nécessairement de développer des inventions ou des nouvelles technologies : il suffit parfois de penser autrement et d’examiner les choses sous un angle différent.

Au niveau le plus simple, l’innovation naît de la résolution de problèmes. En effet, bien des innovations sont le résultat de défis commerciaux. Mais à moins de procéder méthodiquement, cette forme d’innovation a tendance à être réactive et précipitée. Lorsqu’on se concentre uniquement sur les feux à éteindre, les possibilités sont limitées.

John West de Postes Canada a vu le danger (page 12) : son équipe juridique étant devenue très réactive avec le temps, son objectif a été de les pousser à se dépasser et à offrir un service à valeur ajoutée.

En travaillant ensemble, c’est possible d’être proactif, de tuer les problèmes dans l’œuf et d’améliorer les processus qui peuvent l’être.

C’est là qu’entrent en jeu les innovateurs juridiques de la page 24 et leurs applications qui automatisent les tâches à ne pas faire, même quand on peut. Il vaut mieux employer le temps et les ressources de l’organisation à des tâches qui ont un impact réel plus important. À cela s’ajoute l’innovation créatrice d’avenir. De nos jours, le rythme implacable du changement oblige à rester pertinent et concurrentiel. Il faut sortir de la « boîte » juridique pour avoir une vision plus globale. Par exemple, des nouveautés comme la chaîne de blocs sont à nos portes et pourraient transformer radicalement la pratique des affaires et du droit (page 18).

Lorsque vous voudrez prendre une longueur d’avance, vous aurez l’occasion de découvrir les nouvelles frontières de l’innovation et de les exploiter. C’est tout un défi. Mais comme l’a expliqué Marc-André Blanchard, ambassadeur du Canada à l’ONU à la conférence de l’ACCJE : « Vous avez tous les outils. [...] Vous pouvez faire avancer les choses. » ❚

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{ From the Chair / MOT DU PRÉSIDENT }

A

Evolve or Evaporate

Évoluer ou disparaître

By Stephen Rotstein

Par Stephen Rotstein

smart guy named Steve Jobs once said, “Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. (…)

It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it." When I think of what change and innovation mean in the legal world, this quote rings particularly true.

Over the past year, the CCCA has had its hand on the pulse of the changing needs and realities of its members. Case in point: this year’s outstanding CCCA National Conference.

With a fitting theme, the “Agents of Change” spring conference was a resounding success for several reasons. For instance, many of the workshops directly addressed forward-thinking topics like innovation in legal department management, navigating the realities of virtual workplaces, and the new “currency” of data and financial literacy. The line-up of conference panelists and keynote speakers was also refreshing and diverse. Attendees gained valuable perspectives from a wide range of industry experts, including communications professionals, government officials, CEOs and more. Over the course of the three-day event, there was an overarching understanding by all attendees that the role of in-house counsel is undergoing much-needed reinvention.

As in-house lawyers, we are beginning to add a new level of value to our respective executive teams, and the CCCA has played an important part in this regard.

Since its beginning in 2014, the Business Leadership Program for In-House Counsel, led by the CCCA and the Rotman School of Management, has made it possible for over 120 members to earn their Certified In-House Counsel – Canada (CIC.C) designation. This unique designation has given lawyers the competitive edge they need to evolve from legal advisor to strategic and financially savvy business partner.

The fifth cohort of the program is currently underway— which only reinforces the fact that in-house lawyers are eager to rethink their current roles, redefining what it means to be a leader and contributing to their organization’s strategic planning and success.

To drive innovation, the in-house community must equip the leaders of tomorrow with the skills they need to solve the broader issues of the future. After all, resistance and failure to change is the surest way to evade true success! ❚

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n sage nommé Steve Jobs a dit, un jour : « L’innovation n’a rien à voir avec l’argent consacré à la R&D. […] Ce qui compte, ce n’est pas tant l’argent, mais bien l’équipe que l’on a, le leadership que l’on exerce et notre capacité à comprendre. » Je crois que cette citation s’applique particulièrement bien au changement et à l’innovation dans le milieu juridique.

Depuis un an, l’ACCJE s’adapte à l’évolution des besoins et des réalités de ses membres. La formidable Conférence nationale de cette année en est un bon exemple.

Le thème « Les agents du changement » était approprié pour cette conférence printanière qui a remporté un franc succès pour plusieurs raisons. Plusieurs des ateliers portaient sur des sujets avant-gardistes, comme l’innovation dans la gestion du service juridique, les réalités du milieu de travail virtuel, ainsi que la nouvelle unité monétaire, les données, et la littératie financière. La brochette de panélistes et de conférenciers était rafraîchissante et diversifiée. Les délégués ont tiré des enseignements précieux des présentations de nombreux experts de l’industrie, parmi lesquels figuraient des professionnels des communications, des représentants des gouvernements, des chefs d’entreprise et d’autres. Sur les trois jours de la conférence, tous ont bien compris que le rôle du juriste d’entreprise se doit de se réinventer.

En tant que juristes d’entreprise, nous commençons à apporter une valeur additionnelle à nos équipes exécutives respectives, et l’ACCJE a joué un rôle important à cet égard.

Depuis ses débuts en 2014, le Programme de leadership en entreprise pour les juristes d’entreprise, sous la direction de l'ACCJE et la Rotman School of Management, a permis à 120 membres d’obtenir le titre de Juriste d’entreprise agréé – Canada (JEA.C). Avec ce titre unique et l’avantage concurrentiel qu’il procure, les avocats cessent d’être de simples conseillers juridiques pour devenir des partenaires stratégiques et financièrement compétents.

Déjà, la cinquième cohorte du programme est en formation, ce qui confirme que les juristes d’entreprise sont impatients de repenser leur rôle pour devenir des chefs de file et contribuer à la planification stratégique et au succès de l’organisation.

Pour stimuler l’innovation, la communauté des juristes d’entreprise se doit de munir les leaders de demain des compétences nécessaires pour répondre aux grandes questions de l’avenir. Après tout, la résistance au changement est le moyen le plus sûr de repousser le succès! ❚

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Make Ideas Happen:

The 100-Book Experiment Continues

By Jonathan Cullen

In the spring issue, I introduced my attempt to read 100 books last year and its impact on my advice as in-house counsel in safeguarding my business. Now I’ll apply those learnings to driving innovation.

1. Change frames. A powerful way to foster innovation is to reframe a problem.

The next time you approach an issue ask, “How would an octopus handle this?” Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus is a revolutionary exploration of the consciousness of one of the world’s most unique creatures. An octopus has three hearts, a brain wrapped around its throat and venom like a snake. It changes colour based on emotion, tastes with its skin and can outweigh an adult human. Yet, it can squeeze its boneless body through an orange-sized opening, and it is a wildly intelligent problem solver, from Ru-

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bik’s cubes to brazen aquarium escapes.

However, because its brain is organized in a very different way than ours—50 to 75 lobes and most of its neurons in its arms—we have not figured out how to measure its intelligence. So while thinking like an octopus is hard to imagine, the next time your organization faces an insurmountable dilemma, challenge colleagues to consider unconventional perspectives, thereby finding solutions that are difficult for competitors to replicate.

Develop a trigger phrase for the mindset: “Okay everyone, how would an octopus get out of this aquarium?”

2. Practice lateral thinking. “You can’t dig a new hole by digging the same one deeper.” Lawyers are usually excellent vertical thinkers: each step to solve a problem is deemed the most “correct” and are sequential in nature. We are trained to exclude the irrelevant and stop when we discover the best option. While necessary, vertical thinking is not sufficient for organizations to make innovative leaps in products, services and technology. What is also required, and where lawyers receive no formal training, is lateral thinking.

This thought process seeks out the irrelevant, ignores the order information is received in, and continues even when a solution is found. The absolute need for the irrelevant is counterintuitive to us. However, if we seek only information relevant to an existing mental construct, it will be difficult to change that construct. Lateral thinking allows us to both generate new

{ Legal Performance }

constructs (insight) and break free of the old ones. But it has to be practiced. I highly recommend the tools in Edward de Bono’s groundbreaking Lateral Thinking.

3. Live the Stockdale Paradox. The most poignant part of Jim Collins’ Good to Great is his interview with Jim Stockdale, a Vietnam POW who was tortured over eight years: “This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” Studying survivors, such as in Unbroken and Escape from the Deep, is very powerful. As Laurence Gonzales, author of Deep Survival, says, “The word 'experienced' often refers to someone who's gotten away with doing the wrong thing more frequently than you have”. Difficult Conversations can provide tools to ensure you have the skill set to foster entrepreneurial spirit while also confronting the brutal facts.

4. Study genius and patient problem solvers. Genius, when properly examined, is often revealed to be a combination of pure will and unrelenting practice, such as in Beethoven: Universal Composer. The story of how one scientist solved the greatest navigation problem in history in Longitude is the perfect example of problem solving as a patient, iterative process. Pay attention to your organization’s high-risk projects but don’t neglect long-term policy change, which requires patience. Glaciers make for big change.

“

Removing the faults in a stage-coach may produce a perfect stage-coach, but it is unlikely to produce the first motor car.

- Edward de Bono, author of Lateral Thinking

5. Allow your business to trail blaze with intelligent risk. Pierre Burton's tales of exploration from Canada's past in Wild Frontier and Earnest Shackleton's incredible story of leadership and survival in Endurance are harrowing reminders that someone has to go first. Your role is to ensure that your business is taking intelligent risk. Don’t be the explorers who are never heard from again!

6. Encourage innovation in your team.

You can't expect to drive innovation all by yourself. Learning how to manage a team is an essential step toward being a broad change maker. In Linda Hill’s Becoming a Manager, we follow a group of new managers over the course of their first year and watch as their preconceived notions of "being the boss" bows to the reality of that tricky skill set.

7. To spark change, knowledge is not enough. In Switch, Chip and Dan Heath use the analogy of riding an elephant to describe change efforts. We must direct the rational rider, motivate the emotional elephant and clear the environmental path. Each component requires its own approach: “Trying to fight

”

inertia and indifference with analytical arguments is like tossing a fire extinguisher to someone who’s drowning. The solution doesn’t match the problem.”

8. Execute, execute, execute. Innovation driven but unexecuted is like the best meal you’ve ever made being left to get cold on the kitchen counter. It’s a waste and the downfall of many an organization. Use The Knowing-Doing Gap and the 1985 gem, Executive Survival Manual, to ensure your organization follows through on its strategy. If you can’t because you are bogged down by too many emails, ask me about the system I follow from Getting Things Done.

An in-house legal department that creates fertile ground for innovation and thoughtful risk taking is one of the last untapped bastions of competitive advantage that our organizations deserve and crave.

You have an opportunity to unleash this.

Just find your octopus. ❚ Jonathan Cullen is Vice President, Legal Affairs & General Counsel at Pfizer Canada Inc. He is a member of the CCCA Executive Committee and occasionally thinks like a human. jonathan.cullen@pfizer.com

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Cana da on th e

Worl

By Ly n

ne Yr

yku

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“It is the best job in the world,” said Marc-André Blanchard of his position as Canada's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations. The opening keynote at the 2017 CCCA National Conference in April, he spoke of Canada, the world stage and the endless opportunities— adding, of course, his perspective as a lawyer.

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he UN, he began, is the only place where all the countries in the world come together and issues are dealt with multilaterally. “That is where Canada thrives, in the multilateral forum,” he explained. “That is where we punch above our weight. And that is why it is so important for us.”

Focus is of prime importance. Previous to this role, he was with McCarthy Tétrault for over 20 years, including the last six as Chair and CEO. However, he said, “I have never worked so hard in my life [as now]. And why? Because it is endless what you can do. The scope of UN is so big.”

Canada’s role in the UN is not that dissimilar to that of in-house counsel. As increasingly more business responsibilities shift to in-house shoulders, your window of influence into strategic and organizational decision-making opens wider.

And just as you look to increase your profile, Blanchard is focused on building Canada’s relevance on the world stage.

While he admitted we get “a lot of ice time for the size of our country,” he is looking for us to be more audacious, particularly the private sector. “We need to contribute to the world agenda in a significant way.”

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Part of this involves tapping into our innovative spirit to change the way we work and engage with the rest of the world. For instance, he suggested Canadian businesses should be looking to do business with different partners, such as Singapore, Korea, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Brazil—countries with which our interests and standards may not always align. “We need to find where we have a common interest. We need to develop partnerships.”

Leadership As ambassador, Blanchard admitted, he does not have a lot of power. But his career as a lawyer prepared him well: “Everything happens in a law firm [or department].” Whether it is in your job description or not, you must take on a leadership role and handle it. “You are in the relationship business,” he said. “Relationships and making it happen.”

You need to be proactive, ambitious and out there with stakeholders. “The quality of the ambassador does not [depend on] the size of the country,” he said—just as your influence is not limited

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by the size of your organization. Your relationships and circle of influence are “how you make changes, how you progress.”

And you must always act according to your values. He spoke of a meeting where he stressed the importance of human rights, specifically for the LGBTI community. Later, an ambassador from a country that does not support such rights told him that although he did not agree with Blanchard, he commended his actions: “You are not the ambassador for my country; you are the Canadian ambassador. (…) You should be a beacon of human rights.”

“This is where Canada can play a big leadership role,” he said. “First of all, [the rule of law] is so fundamental for our country, for our prosperity. But it is also something we can help [advance].”

As an example of what we do as a country, Blanchard spoke of China: “Everybody talks about making sure we do not forget human rights in China, in our relationship with China. We are not, but what we are focusing on as a country is the rule of law. So we do a lot of training for judges from China here in Canada. (…) It is one big contribution we can make for our own security and our own well-being.”

The Rule of Law

Responsible Partnerships

In 2015, the UN announced its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development— essentially a plan with 17 goals to end global poverty and inequality, and build peaceful societies and a healthy planet.

According to Blanchard, the rule of law—the raison d’être of lawyers—is “more important than ever” to achieve this agenda. “The biggest thing is economic development,” he explained. “[For example,] what is needed for Haiti to succeed now is more investments from the private sector. How are you going to get more investments by the private sector?

By making sure the rule of law is observed and making sure that there is better governance and making sure that countries like Canada are more aware of the opportunities there.”

He feels Canada’s potential to contribute to all 17 goals is virtually unlimited— which will only contribute to our success as well. For instance, one area is affordable and clean energy: 16% of world is not connected to electricity or energy.

“We have the expertise to connect those people. (…) By being a responsible partner, we are going to [not only help] stabilize the world but also create work in the immediate fashion for us here (…) and actually we are going to create thousands of consumers for Canada.”

As another example, in terms of our influence on labour practices, he suggested we think long term—and consider how Canadian businesses act when they go abroad. “We need to make sure that we have a very high standard and that is

very fundamental. (…) You are all ambassadors when you go out and do things.”

He added, “It is so key to get the standards higher. Then we get more on the level playing field around the world.”

Being Canadian Blanchard encouraged everyone to translate Canada’s ambition to their own careers. He believes in-house counsel have the critical knowledge and skills to lead their companies into the future. “You are a strategic person in your enterprise. (..)

You have a lot to bring to the strategic discussion in your company—and in the world. It is the same thing.”

One of the leaders of the UN in Africa told him shortly after he started, “We are so glad Canada is back. It brings so much hope.” Why? “Because Canada is trusted. (…) Not only are you trusted but you can make things happen. (…) Because of your culture, because of your history, because of your values, because of your leadership, because of who your friends are, because of who you can bring to table.”

Let this inspire you in your career and for your country.

“If you only keep one thing of what I am saying, be proud of being Canadian (…) because of what we can do. That is what makes it so exciting. We can do so much and so many things.” ❚ Lynne Yryku is the Executive Editor of CCCA Magazine.

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Capturing Your

“Innerpreneur” Sébastien Guénette had a crash course on how to think like an entrepreneur, and the Director, Legal, at the Canadian operations of Japan Tobacco International (JTI) says he’s a better in-house lawyer because of it.

“Being in the shoes of an entrepreneur for a week and taking your legal hat off was a very good exercise,” Guénette says of a course that his company’s legal department put on in Madrid for 80 of its senior in-house lawyers two years ago.

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ne of the big benefits for him was learning to “take the risk to make decisions, even if the data is not entirely complete, which business people often do, but it is very counter-intuitive for a lawyer to do that.”

In fact, it was the whole approach to risk management that stood out the most for him as the contrast between how lawyers approach problems versus entrepreneurs. “We are very good at raising red flags, and they are very good at going around flags. Learning how to be creative was a very good takeaway for me,” Guénette observes.

The legal entrepreneurship program grew from the efforts of Wade Wright, JTI’s Senior VicePresident, Legal & Scientific Regulatory Affairs, who is pushing his legal team to become more solutions-oriented so that the department is seen as a competitive advantage within the organization. Olivier Blanc, JTI’s Geneva-based Assistant General Counsel, Business Development and Operations, was tasked with creating the program.

He worked with the London Business School to put together a week-long event that included a blend of workshops, sessions and presentations on everything from leadership to risk management. There were also discussions on the mindset of entrepreneurs, how you foster entrepreneurism in an organization, and how company guidelines and policies can either enhance or impede such efforts.

The program had the support of the company’s CEO and was rooted in an earlier survey the legal department had undertaken to see how the lawyers perceived their

efforts versus how others in the organization perceived them. The law department learned it had to be more solution-oriented and was looking for ways to get closer to the business lines.

“The idea was to have lawyers doing much more than being lawyers, but being real entrepreneurs,” in a bid to take them to the “next level,” Blanc explains.

Blanc says the efforts have helped move the needle on how the legal department is viewed internally by the business lines. The feedback is that “we are truly business advisors with a legal background instead of only lawyers.”

The Entrepreneurial Mindset While JTI’s efforts to build more “entrepreneurial lawyers” might seem extreme to some, the reality is that the legal education industry does a poor job of grooming lawyers to be business people. Rather, law schools focus on the technical art of lawyering. Therefore, unless you enroll in the CCCA’s Business Leadership Program for In-House Counsel, pursue an MBA or take business courses in your undergrad, you will learn little about the process of business. Yet, it’s in-house counsel’s job to advise the business minds on how to jump through the legal hoops to get their latest product or service to market. After all, isn't that what most companies strive to do?

So training lawyers on the entrepreneurial mindset isn’t that far-fetched.

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In fact, a growing number of law schools in the U.S. are creating entrepreneurship clinics to bring out the “inner entrepreneurs” of their law students and expose them to early-stage and startup companies that need legal help, notes the Financial Times in a November 2016 article.

“Law students are really concerned with developing entrepreneurial skills,” says lawyer Dana Thompson, Founding Director of Michigan Law School’s Entrepreneurship Clinic. “We encourage our students to understand what the entrepreneurial mindset is so they can become better lawyers and counsel to clients.”

Developing entrepreneurial skills is something that law schools need to get better at doing, she adds.

However, should in-house legal departments be focused on such efforts? Rees Morrison, a former in-house lawyer who is now a consultant at Altman Weil in the U.S., questions whether it's a good use of the lawyer’s time to have them trying to develop products and services. “That's what business people should be doing,” he says.

Moreover, the traditional role of a lawyer as the legal guardian who tries to minimize risk plays against the traditional role of an entrepreneur, which is usually someone willing to push against the grain and take on undue risk.

Take Uber, for example. It’s hard to believe that many lawyers would have green-lighted a company whose core service butted up against long established regulatory regimes around taxi services. The regulatory risk was and still is huge.

Moreover, Altman’s Morrison denotes one key difference in the DNA between lawyers and entrepreneurs. “Most entrepreneurs fail,” he notes. Lawyers, he says, don’t have the same appetite for swallowing risk. “You don't have a career as a lawyer if you fail on legal issues too often.”

It’s true that lawyers are good at spotting risks—law schools drill that in. However, it’s the ability to overcome the fear of assuming risk that often separates entrepreneurs from lawyers (or most other occupations for that matter).

Interestingly, though, if you examine the character traits and skill sets of successful entrepreneurs and lawyers, there are many similarities, suggesting that lawyers might be more in tune with entrepreneurs than at first blush.

In 2015, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI) identified 17 skills shown by successful lawyers. They include things such as self-motivation and self-direction, dedication to lifelong learning, resilience, analytical thinking, good communication skills, leadership capabilities, problem-solving skills, risk management abilities, strategic thinking about client’s needs, financial literacy and accountability.

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Contrast that with entrepreneurs. In a March 2015 article for Entrepreneur.com, author Thomas Smale identified 10 traits of successful entrepreneurs. Some are similar to lawyers, such as they are determined, crave learning, are passionate, understand financial matters and can tackle risk management. They also exhibited confidence, as do most lawyers. However, there were some additional traits not identified in the PBI’s list of traits: entrepreneurs understand that failure is part of the game, can adapt, are good networkers, and have the ability to sell and promote.

It is the latter traits of networking, selling and promoting, that lawyers often lack—rainmakers excluded—and which become key stumbling blocks when in-house counsel are looking to transition from a pure legal advisor role to a trusted member of the decision making team.

Find the Opportunities Developing a crash course on how entrepreneurs think is certainly one way to skin the cat, but there are other methods being used in corporate law departments to help lawyers develop what amounts to better business skills.

Take John West, who was recently appointed Senior VicePresident, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Canada Post, which has been forced to reinvent itself as customers abandon traditional letter mail services.

West quickly determined that his legal team of 25 lawyers had great skills and deep knowledge about the company and the challenges it faced in its move to become a solutions provider in the areas of delivery, marketing and e-commerce. He felt his job was to make sure the lawyers were “given opportunities to step out of the shadows.”

“Over the course of time, they had become a very reactive group,” he says. He wanted them to become more proactive, and gave his team the green light to “look for opportunities to get out with the client groups.”

He says the objective is to “push them forward so they will enhance their profile and better integrate with the corporation. It’s about stepping away from the notion of being a cost centre and instilling the notion that we are a value added service.”

“You have to make an effort to learn the business so you can be relevant to your client,” he says, adding, “It’s not enough to be a good lawyer.”

Canada Post is a leader in e-commerce fulfillment, which means the company must have a grasp on things such as privacy law—an emerging and rapidly developing field—as well as e-commerce. “Our lawyers have had to step up and they have done so,” he says.

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Bring Solutions Sometimes it's the little things a law department can do that can make a difference and help stoke the entrepreneurial fires within an organization. At the National Bank of Canada (NBC), the corporate law department recently established a digital committee to help focus efforts on the fast-rising area of FinTech, which is expected to revolutionize the way Canadian consumers and businesses conduct financial transactions.

Jillian Friedman, a digital banking and payments lawyer at NBC, says the objective of the committee is to “build and maintain digital expertise in legal affairs and make sure that legal affairs is up to speed and even ahead of the curve in terms of innovation and banking.” She says at the committee “there is less focus on legal analysis and more on the bigger picture and what is happening.”

Denis Brind’Amour, Senior Manager, Legal Affairs, Contracts, Acquisitions and Corporate Treasury at NBC, says his department looks to bring together legal expertise from the different areas and build a resource that can support the business lines going forward on digital matters. “The objective is to bring all these people together to share their experience and educate each other and increase our visibility with the business lines.”

He believes the legal department’s mandate is to be not only guardians or gatekeepers—a necessary role that he says will never go away—but also “strategic advisors to the business.”

The digital committee is doing its part. It has its own key performance indicators and is building a mobile app team. It has identified gaps in legal skills it needs to fill to carry out its mandate. It is also making presentations internally to clients and raising its profile.

While Brind’Amour is not sure that you can teach lawyers to think like entrepreneurs, he says lawyers can learn more about the businesses they advise, develop skills such as project management, and network better within their organizations to promote the service and value they bring to the table. “We can go a few steps further and be more of a strategic partner.”

Marc-André Blanchard, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations and former head of McCarthy Tétrault, who spoke at the CCCA’s spring conference, says in-house counsel have the skill set to make a mark on their companies and help drive them into the future. It’s a future that bodes well for Canadian businesses abroad, provided we continue to be a progressive country, he says. That’s because Canada is a country that is trusted and known for making things happen.

“You have a lot to bring to the strategy discussion,” he told the attendees. “You don’t want to be stuck in the legal box.”

“We are all in the business of making things happen. You need to bring solutions.”

That might very well mean tapping into your inner entrepreneurial spirit. ❚

A Strategic Partner If you are looking for ways to build your entrepreneurial spirit and raise your profile, one great option is the Business Leadership Program for In-House Counsel, delivered by the CCCA and the Rotman School of Management. One full day of the in-person program focuses on the management of the legal department, internally and externally.

Both of these have components that need a future focus on how to do the work more efficiently and effectively.

Your “inner entrepreneur” voice will speak up to solve the following problems: “Do products such as legal tech start-up, Closing Folders, help in on a merger file?” “How is AI affecting contract management?” “Does using a service such as Simplex, Delegatus or Axiom help with staffing up?”

Like an MBA, the program also focuses on communication, organizational dynamics, human resources, executive decision-making, governance, leadership and teambuilding—important components of overall business success.

The informal discussions that spring from all this content are invaluable. Students share what has worked for them, what they are piloting, what new legal services they hope to see, and more. While industries and levels may vary, they all often have the same pain points.

All these learnings give in-house counsel the knowledge and skills needed to bring better, more innovative solutions to their organizations.

Jim Middlemiss is a writer based in London, Ontario.

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Développer

l’entrepreneur en vous

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ébastien Guénette a suivi un cours sur la manière de penser comme un entrepreneur, et le directeur des affaires juridiques pour les opérations canadiennes de Japan Tobacco International (JTI) croit que la démarche a fait de lui un meilleur conseiller juridique interne. « Se mettre dans la peau d’un entrepreneur pendant une semaine en enlevant votre chapeau juridique était un très bon exercice », dit Me Guénette au sujet de ce cours que le département juridique de sa compagnie a organisé à Madrid il y a deux ans pour 80 de ses conseillers juridiques internes.

L’un des grands avantages pour lui a été d’apprendre à « prendre le risque de prendre des décisions, même si toutes les données ne sont pas entièrement disponibles, ce que les gens d’affaires font souvent, mais qui est souvent contraire aux réflexes d’un avocat ».

En fait, c’est toute l’approche de la gestion du risque qui s’est démarquée pour lui en tant que différence entre les avocats et les entrepreneurs dans la manière d’approcher un problème. « Nous sommes très bons pour signaler des problèmes, et ils sont très bons pour les contourner, dit-il. Apprendre à être créatif a été une très bonne leçon pour moi. » Le programme d’entrepreneuriat juridique est né des efforts de Wade Wright, vice-président des affaires juridiques et des affaires réglementaires, qui a poussé son équipe juridique à devenir plus orientée vers les solutions afin que le département soit perçu comme offrant un avantage compétitif au sein de l’organisation. Olivier Blanc, avocat général adjoint basé à Genève, a été chargé de créer le programme.

Me Blanc a travaillé avec la London Business School pour bâtir un événement d’une semaine qui incluait un mélange de groupes de travail, de séances et de présentations sur un éventail de sujets allant du leadership à la gestion de risques. Il comptait aussi des discussions sur l’état d’esprit des entrepreneurs, comment d’encourager l’essor de l’esprit entrepreneurial au sein d’une organisation, et la manière dont les lignes directrices d’une compagnie et les politiques peuvent encourager ou nuire à ces efforts.

Le programme avait le soutien du PDG de la compagnie et trouve sa source dans un sondage mené par le département juridique pour déterminer la manière dont il était perçu par ses membres, puis par les autres membres de l’entreprise. Le département a appris qu’il devait être plus orienté vers les solutions, et cherchait dès lors un moyen de se rapprocher des départements d’affaires de l’entreprise. « L’idée était d’avoir des avocats qui font beaucoup plus que de simplement être des avocats, mais qui sont de réels entrepreneurs », explique Me Blanc.

Celui qui est aussi responsable de développement d’affaires et d’opérations chez JTI indique que ces efforts ont aidé à changer la manière dont le département juridique est perçu par les membres des départements commerciaux de l’entreprise. Les commentaires ont été que « nous sommes réellement des conseillers d’affaire avec des connaissances juridiques, plutôt que simplement des avocats », dit-il.

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L’état d’esprit entrepreneurial Tandis que les efforts de JTI pour bâtir un esprit plus entrepreneurial au sein de son équipe d’avocats peuvent paraître un peu extrêmes pour certains, la réalité est que l’industrie de l’éducation juridique a fait un travail médiocre sur le plan de l’enseignement des affaires.

Ainsi, à moins de vous enrôler dans le Programme de leadership en entreprise pour les juristes d’entreprises de l’ACCJE, un programme de MBA ou de choisir des cours dans le domaine commercial à l’université, vous en apprendrez très peu sur le processus commercial. Malgré tout, ça demeure la responsabilité du juriste de conseiller les décideurs du secteur commercial quant à la manière de naviguer les écueils juridiques pour mener le dernier produit à bon port.

Donc de former les juristes pour qu’ils développent un esprit entrepreneurial n’est pas superflu.

En fait un nombre croissant de facultés de droit aux États-Unis créent des cliniques entrepreneuriales pour développer cet esprit chez leurs étudiants, et les mettre en contact avec des entreprises en démarrage qui ont besoin d’un coup de pouce juridique.

Cependant, le rôle des départements juridiques est-il de mener ces efforts? Rees Morrison, un ancien conseiller juridique interne qui est aujourd’hui consultant au sein de la firme Altman Weil aux États-Unis, n’est pas certain que de former un avocat à développer et vendre des produits et une bonne utilisation du temps d’un avocat. « C’est ce que les gens d’affaires devraient faire », dit-il.

De plus, le rôle traditionnel d’un avocat en tant que gardien des questions juridiques, qui tente de minimiser les risques, s’inscrit en faux par rapport au modèle de l’entrepreneur, qui tente généralement de défoncer des portes et de prendre des risques.

Prenez l’exemple d’Uber. Il est difficile de croire que des avocats auraient donné le feu vert à une compagnie dont les services vont à l’encontre de régimes qui encadrent l’industrie du taxi. Les risques réglementaires étaient et demeurent énormes.

Rees Morrison perçoit une autre différence importante entre l’ADN des avocats et celle des entrepreneurs : « La plupart des entrepreneurs échouent », dit-il, et les juristes n’ont généralement pas le même appétit pour le risque. « Vous n’aurez pas de carrière en tant qu’avocat si vous échouez sur les questions juridiques trop souvent. » Fait intéressant, toutefois : si vous examinez les traits de caractère et les compétences d’entrepreneurs et avocats accomplis, vous trouverez plusieurs similarités. En 2015, le Pennsylvania Bar Institute a identifié 17 compétences propres aux avocats qui ont du succès.

Elles incluent la motivation, l’indépendance, l’accent mis sur la formation continue, la résilience, l’esprit d’analyse, de bonnes capacités à communiquer, du leadership, des compétences pour la résolution de problèmes, la littératie financière et la responsabilité.

Comparez cela avec les entrepreneurs : dans un article de 2015 publié sur le site entrepreneur.com, l’auteur Thomas Smale a identifié 10 traits de caractère typiques chez un entrepreneur à suc-

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cès. Certains sont semblables à ceux que l’on retrouve chez les avocats, dont la détermination, le désir d’apprendre, la passion, la compréhension financière et la capacité de gérer le risque. Ils font aussi preuve d’une certaine confiance, tout comme les avocats. Par contre, il y avait certains traits de caractère qui n’étaient pas identifiés dans la liste des juristes, dont le fait que les entrepreneurs comprennent que l’échec fait partie du jeu, qu’ils peuvent s’adapter, qu’ils sont habiles pour le réseautage et qu’ils ont l’habilité de vendre et de promouvoir.

Ce sont ces derniers traits de caractère relatifs à la vente, la promotion et le réseautage qui font souvent défaut chez les conseillers juridiques internes – à l’exception des développeurs de clientèle – et qui deviennent des atouts importants lorsqu’ils cherchent à faire la transition d’un rôle purement juridique à celui d’un membre de confiance de l’équipe commerciale.

Opportunités et solutions Développer un cours sur la manière dont les entrepreneurs pensent est certainement un moyen d’aborder la question, mais d’autres méthodes sont utilisées par les départements juridiques internes pour aider à développer de meilleures aptitudes pour les affaires chez leurs membres.

Prenez l’exemple de John West, qui a récemment été nommé premier vice-président, avocat-conseil général et secrétaire de la Société chez Postes Canada, et qui a été forcé de se réinventer tandis que les consommateurs s’éloignent des services traditionnels de la livraison de courrier.

Me West a vite déterminé que son équipe de 25 avocats avait des compétences exceptionnelles et une connaissance approfondie de la société, ainsi que des défis auxquels elle était confrontée dans sa transition pour devenir un fournisseur de solutions dans le domaine des livraisons, du marketing et du commerce en ligne. Il a senti que son travail était de s’assurer que les avocats aient « l’opportunité de sortir de l’ombre ». « Nos avocats devaient élever leur travail d’un cran, et ils l’ont fait », dit-il.

Parfois, ce sont les petites choses qu’un département juridique peut faire qui peuvent faire la différence et contribuer à alimenter la fibre entrepreneuriale au sein d’une organisation. À la Banque Nationale du Canada, le département juridique a récemment établi un comité numérique pour aider à concentrer les efforts sur le domaine en développement rapide des technologies financières.

Denis Brind’Amour, gestionnaire des affaires juridiques, contrats, acquisitions et trésorerie à la banque, dit que son département tente de réunir l’expertise juridique de différents secteurs pour bâtir des ressources qui pourront soutenir les opérations commerciales sur des questions numériques. « L’objectif est de rassembler toutes ces personnes, de partager leur expérience et de s’éduquer mutuellement pour améliorer notre visibilité », dit-il.

Il croit que le mandat du département juridique est non seulement celui de gardien ou de portier – un rôle nécessaire qui ne disparaîtra jamais, selon lui –, mais aussi de « conseillers stratégiques auprès de l’entreprise ».

Marc-André Blanchard, un ancien dirigeant de la firme McCarthy Tétrault actuellement ambassadeur du Canada aux Nations unies, et qui a fait une présentation à la conférence du printemps de l’ACCJE, estime que les conseillers juridiques internes ont les compétences pour faire leur marque au sein de leur compagnie et de les guider vers l’avenir. Cet avenir augure bien pour les entreprises canadiennes, ditil, à condition de demeurer un pays progressiste. « Vous avez beaucoup à apporter dans les discussions stratégiques », a-t-il lancé à l’audience. « Vous ne voulez pas être enfermé dans un cadre juridique. » « Nous sommes tous dans l’état d’esprit de réaliser des choses. Vous devez apporter des solutions. » ❚

Un partenaire stratégique Si vous cherchez des moyens de développer votre esprit entrepreneurial et d'accroître votre visibilité, une excellente option est le Programme de leadership en entreprise pour les juristes d'entreprises, offert par l'ACCJE et la Rotman School of Management. Le programme d'une journée complète se concentre sur la gestion d'un département juridique, tant au niveau interne qu'externe.

La voix de l'« entrepreneur en vous » devra s'élever pour résoudre des problèmes comme : Est-ce que des entreprises en démarrage dans le secteur des technologies juridiques telles que Closing Folders peuvent être utiles dans un dossier de fusion? Comment l'intelligence artificielle affecte-t-elle la gestion des contrats? Est-ce que le recours à des services comme Simplex, Delegatus ou Axiom peut aider au niveau de l'embauche du personnel?

Comme un MBA, le programme se penche aussi sur la communication, la dynamique organisationnelle, les ressources humaines, la prise de décision, la gouvernance, le leadership et l'esprit d'équipe – des composantes importantes pour le succès d'une entreprise.

Les conversations informelles qui peuvent en émerger sont inestimables. Les étudiants discutent de ce qui a fonctionné pour eux, des projets qu'ils dirigent, des nouveaux services juridiques qu'ils aimeraient voir émerger, et plus encore. Si leurs niveaux et leurs industries peuvent varier, les difficultés que les participants affrontent sont très souvent similaires.

Cet apprentissage donne au conseiller juridique en entreprise les connaissances et les compétences nécessaires pour apporter des solutions améliorées et innovantes à leur organisations.

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Blockchain fo r In - H o us e Co u n s el

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By Julie Sobowale

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Jillian Friedman fell into the Bitcoin world three years ago. After finishing her articles, she started taking notice of the cryptocurrency and began working with the Bitcoin Embassy in early 2014.

I

“

started reading a lot about Bitcoin and went down the rabbit hole,” says Friedman.

“I’m not a libertarian but I was intrigued by the application of libertarian philosophy to a technology and economic system.”

Friedman quickly became an expert in blockchain and the National Bank of Canada took notice. The bank hired her in 2015 to focus on technology law. She believes blockchain will have a big effect in commerce.

“I’m far more involved in the business side of things,” says Friedman. “I’ve been working closely by tech people for two years. It makes my job to identify risks a lot easier. I learn how things work.”

Blockchain is the legal tech darling of the year. Beyond the hype, blockchain is revolutionary technology that could change how we interact with one another. From financial transactions to health records, blockchain promises to be the next major legal tech frontier.

Blockchain 101 Before we discuss the benefits and risks of blockchain, let’s start with technology itself.

Blockchain is a shared distributed ledger within a decentralized system. The digital ledger can be public or private and different computer nodes help to verify information placed in the blockchain. The “blocks” are bits of information. With each transaction, a new “block” of information is added to the chain.

The power of blockchain lies in decentralization and immutability. In traditional financial markets, transactions go through third parties (i.e., banks) for verification and are posted to ledgers. This system prevents double spend so digital dollars can’t be copied and spent again. In blockchain, because the ledger is decentralized, everyone has access to the shared data. When a new transaction is posted to the ledger, the network verifies the information through consensus. Once data is added to the blocks, it cannot be changed and it’s very difficult to create fraudulent transaction.

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“I started reading a lot about Bitcoin and went down the rabbit hole. I’m not a libertarian but I was intrigued by the application of libertarian philosophy to a technology and economic system.”

Jillian Friedman, Digital Banking, FinTech and Payments Lawyer, National Bank of Canada

“What you need to know about blockchain is that at its core, it is software and database technology enabling a new way of interacting with information,” says Joseph Guagliardo, a partner at Pepper Hamilton LLP who leads the Technology and Blockchain Group.

“The technology will enable business, government and individuals to transact in ways that are not possible now. It has the potential to have a major impact on how we do business and practice law.”

Canada is experimenting with blockchain technology. Last year, the Bank of Canada launched Project Jasper, a research initiative used to test distributed ledger technology and how blockchain can manage clearing and settling large value payments. Most of the major banks including CIBC, RBC, Bank of Montreal and TD along with Payments Canada and financial innovation firm R3 Lab and Research Centre are involved in the project.

“We are also all thinking to the future,” says Anne Butler, Vice-President, Policy, Research, Legal and General Counsel at Payments Canada. “We want to ensure that as distributed ledger experiments transition to live production, our central systems are ready for them so that new platforms can connect to the core clearing and settlement systems of the future.”

While most conversations about blockchain revolve around FinTech, the technology also has big ramifications in healthcare. The healthcare industry is experimenting with blockchain through MedRec, a program that creates electronic health records through blockchain in hopes to create more secure health records. Other innovative uses of the technology include the State of Delaware creating “smart records” at the Delaware Public Archives.

While all these innovations are very forward thinking, you can’t mention blockchain without Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency is by far the most famous application to use blockchain.

Launched in 2009, Bitcoin was the first digital currency to use a decentralized ledger. According to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, Bitcoin has 72% of the market share.

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“The technology will enable business, government and individuals to transact in ways that are not possible now. It has the potential to have a major impact on how we do business and practice law.”

Joseph Guagliardo, Partner, Pepper Hamilton LLP

Through blockchain, Bitcoin is able to bypass traditional financial systems, which use third parties.

"There are different layers of technology and not everyone needs to understand every layer,” says Dave Bradley, a Bitcoin and blockchain broker and consultant. “Most people don't know how to set up an email server but they are perfectly comfortable sending an email. Down the road people will be using application powered by Bitcoin or blockchain technology and won't even know what’s under the hood."

Bradley, who describes himself as a serial entrepreneur, is also a firm believer in Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency is one of many, with Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin also in the market.

However, Bitcoin is the most successful and received the most valuation in part because of its anonymity and openness.

“People are not solving real-world issues with blockchain alone but they are solving problems already with Bitcoin,” says Bradley. “People who sell digital items for computers game have a problem. Teenagers will use their parents’ credit card and the parents will just take it back. Now some sellers only use Bitcoin.

In Colorado, it’s hard to handle payments of medical marijuana because it’s not legal under federal law and it’s hard to get financing. Bitcoin is a safe way to solve that problem.”

The Rise of Smart Contracts What makes blockchain so important within the legal world is the use of smart contracts. Would you like to have a contract that issues payments automatically? Smart contracts use blockchain to automatically fulfill different obligations, allowing for better monitoring of contracts. For example, a contract for purchase of a product could electronically identify when the product is finished from the manufacturer and trigger payment, or when a title deed is entered into a ledger, payment would automatically be paid.

“Efficiency and certainty in the execution of contracts, any complex multi-party transaction that is repeated with frequency, has great potential to benefit from this new ap-

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“We want to ensure that as distributed ledger experiments transition to live production, our central systems are ready for them so that new platforms can connect to the core clearing and settlement systems of the future.”

“There are different layers of technology and not everyone needs to understand every layer.

Most people don't know how to set up an email server but they are perfectly comfortable sending an email.”

Anne Butler, Vice-President, Policy, Research, Legal and General Counsel at Payments Canada

Dave Bradley, Bitcoin and Blockchain Broker and Consultant

proach,” says Butler. “The technology is still evolving and there will be new use cases every month that get tried and tested. We need to keep an eye on this space to see what use cases are successful, learn from them, and inform how we adapt it moving forward.”

Testing is underway. This year, JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, Intel along with a few start-ups and non-profits founded the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), a consortium working to create blockchain applications for the financial market, and smart contracts are part of the process. The R3 Consortium, founded in 2015, is also working with member organizations to create new FinTech applications. In March, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation became the first U.S. regulator to join R3. Delaware will begin having “smart UCC” filings this year and is developing a distributed ledger for public shares.

“Not all the use cases will be viable business models but many will and we need to understand how it all works if we are going to advise our clients,” says Butler. “Our work will be transformed as our business partners get their jobs done in new and innovative ways. We need to keep up.”

The major legal concerns are privacy and security. Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency exchange in Hong Kong, was hacked last year and thieves took off with $68 million. In June 2016, the DAO, a venture capital using the Ether digital currency, had $60 million worth of currency taken from the fund by exploiting a weakness in the code.

“There was a hole in the code so it was exploited,” says Friedman. “In legal terms, we would think of the hole in the code as using a loophole in a contract. It’s the truth in the code, so they exercised the loophole and took advantage. One school of thought in the crypto community contends that if the majority says you left $100 on the counter with the door open and someone took it, that’s okay because you left the $100 on the counter and there’s nothing in the smart contract that says that the person can’t take it. I don’t think lawyers would see it that way because there is principle that considers

the intention when drafting the contract that goes against the philosophy of ‘code is law.’”

If your organization decides to participate in any blockchain projects, look for rules and regulations in managing the system.

Private organizations provide more security than the public ledgers. When looking at the risks, take a close look at the governance structure. Because transactions can’t be changed once posted to the ledger, there should be agreements in place to deal with settlements for any errors.

“You want to ask, ‘What are we looking to replace?’,” says Friedman. “If you’re using the financial markets, then what are the rules now? You might just be replacing infrastructure but it might be more complicated than that. How will the ledger work? What about industry-wide agreements?”

Now you should have a good grasp on blockchain but if you’re still a bit puzzled, don’t be discouraged. YouTube videos abound with simplified explanations. And as Blockchain is still in its early stages of development, you have time to catch up.

In the meantime, remember this simple advice from Friedman: “Follow what’s happening in the market. Where it’s necessary, be well versed in the details.” ❚ Julie Sobowale is a writer and journalist based in Halifax.

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La chaîne de blocs pour les conseillers juridiques internes

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illian Friedman est tombée dans le monde du Bitcoin il y a trois ans. Après avoir terminé ses stages, elle a commencé à s’intéresser à la monnaie cryptographique, puis à travailler avec l’organisme Bitcoin Embassy au début de 2014. « J’ai commencé à lire beaucoup au sujet […] et je suis tombée dans le terrier du lapin, dit-elle. Je ne suis pas libertarienne, mais j’étais intriguée par l’application de la philosophie libertarienne à une technologie et un système économique. » Me Friedman est rapidement devenue une experte de la chaîne de blocs (NDLR : Blockchain en anglais) et la Banque Nationale du Canada l’a remarquée. « Je travaille de près avec des gens du secteur des technologies depuis deux ans. Ça rend mon travail d’identification du risque beaucoup plus facile.

J’apprends comment les choses fonctionnent. » La chaîne de blocs est l’une des technologies juridiques les plus en vue. Mais au-delà de l’engouement, la chaîne de blocs est une technologie révolutionnaire qui pourrait changer nos interactions. Des transactions financières aux dossiers du système de santé, elle promet d’être la prochaine frontière majeure en technologie juridique.

Chaîne de blocs 101 Avant de discuter des bénéfices et des risques de la chaîne de blocs, commençons avec la technologie elle-même. La chaîne de blocs est une base de données partagée à partir d’un système décentralisé. Cette base de données numérique peut être publique ou privée et différents ordinateurs aident à vérifier l’information qui y est inscrite. Les blocs sont des bribes d’informations; avec chaque transaction, un nouveau bloc d’information est ajouté à la chaîne.

La puissance de la chaîne de blocs repose dans sa décentralisation et son caractère inaltérable. Dans des marchés financiers traditionnels, les transactions passent par l’entremise de

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tierces parties pour leur vérification (des banques par exemple), et sont publiées dans des registres. Avec la chaîne de blocs, puisque ce registre est décentralisé, tout le monde a accès aux données partagées. Lorsqu’une nouvelle transaction est inscrite dans la base de données, le réseau vérifie l’information par voie de consensus. Une fois les données ajoutées aux blocs, elle ne peut être changée et il est ainsi très difficile de créer des transactions frauduleuses. « Ce que vous devez savoir de la chaîne de blocs c’est qu’à la base, c’est un logiciel et une technologie de base de données qui permet une nouvelle manière d’interagir avec l’information », explique Joseph Guagliardo, un associé chez Petter Hamilton LLP qui dirige le secteur des technologies et de la chaîne de blocs. « La technologie permettra aux entreprises, aux gouvernements et aux individus de transiger de manières qui ne sont pas possibles à l’heure actuelle. Elle a le potentiel d’avoir un impact majeur sur la manière de faire des affaires et de pratiquer le droit. » Le Canada expérimente avec la technologie de la chaîne de blocs. L’an dernier, la Banque du Canada a lancé le Projet Jasper, une initiative de recherche utilisée pour tester les bases de données décentralisées et la manière dont la chaîne de blocs peut coordonner des transactions de grande valeur monétaire. La plupart des grandes banques, incluant CIBC, RBC, la Banque de Montréal et TD, de même que Paiements Canada et la firme d’innovation financière R3 Lab and Research Centre sont impliquées dans le projet. « Nous regardons aussi vers l’avenir », dit Anne Butler, viceprésidente des politiques, de la recherche et des contentieux et avocate-conseil à Paiements Canada. « Nous voulons nous assurer que tandis que les expérimentations sur une base de données décentralisée transitent vers une production en temps réel, nos systèmes sont prêts et nos plateformes pourront se connecter aux systèmes de compensation et de règlements à l’avenir. »

{ article de fond }

« La technologie continue d’évoluer et il y a plusieurs utilisations qui sont testées chaque mois.

Nous devons garder un oeil sur cet espace et voir quelles applications ont du succès, apprendre et voir comment on peut s’adapter pour l’avenir. » Anne Butler, vice-présidente des politiques, de la recherche et des contentieux et avocate-conseil à Paiements Canada

Alors que le gros de la conversation entourant la chaîne de blocs se concentre sur les technologies financières, la technologie elle-même a aussi plusieurs implications pour le domaine de la santé. L’industrie expérimente avec la chaîne de blocs avec MedRec, un programme qui crée des dossiers électroniques par l’entremise de la chaîne de blocs dans l’espoir de créer des dossiers de santé plus sécuritaires. D’autres utilisations émergentes incluent le Delaware qui crée des « dossiers intelligents » dans les archives publiques de l’État.

Bien que toutes ces innovations soient très avant-gardistes, vous ne pouvez mentionner la chaîne de blocs sans parler de Bitcoin. La monnaie cryptographique est de loin l’application la plus connue qui utilise la chaîne de blocs. Lancé en 2009, le Bitcoin était la première monnaie numérique à avoir recours à un registre décentralisé. Selon le Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, Bitcoin détient 72 % des parts du marché. Par l’entremise de la chaîne de blocs, Bitcoin parvient ainsi à passer outre les marchés financiers traditionnels.

L’avènement des contrats intelligents Ce qui rend la chaîne de blocs aussi importante au sein du monde juridique est le recours aux contrats intelligents. Voudriez-vous avoir un contrat qui émet des paiements automatiquement? Des contrats intelligents utilisent la chaîne de blocs pour répondre automatiquement à certaines obligations, permettant un meilleur suivi. Par exemple, un contrat pour l’achat d’un produit pourrait identifier électroniquement quand le produit est terminé chez le manufacturier et déclencher le paiement. « Toute transaction complexe qui implique plusieurs parties et qui est répétée fréquemment a un grand potentiel de bénéficier de cette approche », souligne Me Butler. « La technologie continue d’évoluer et il y a plusieurs utilisations qui sont testées chaque mois. Nous devons garder un œil sur cet espace et voir

quelles applications ont du succès, apprendre et voir comment on peut s’adapter pour l’avenir. » Les tests sont en cours. Cette année, JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, Intel, quelques entreprises en démarrage et des organismes sans but lucratif ont lancé l’Enterprise Etherum Alliance (EEA), un consortium qui œuvre à créer des applications pour la chaîne de blocs dans le secteur financier, et les contrats intelligents en font partie. Le consortium R3, fondé en 2015, œuvre aussi auprès d’organisations partenaires pour créer le même genre d’applications. « Ce ne sont pas tous les cas qui deviendront des réussites […], mais plusieurs le seront et nous devons comprendre comment elles fonctionnent si nous voulons donner des conseils à nos clients », insiste Me Butler.

Les préoccupations juridiques majeures portent sur la protection de la vie privée et la sécurité. Par exemple, Bitfinex, une plateforme d’échange de cryptomonnaie à Hong Kong, a été piratée l’an dernier et les voleurs ont subtilisé 68 millions $.

Si votre organisation décide de participer à un projet lié à la chaîne de blocs, examinez les règles et règlements qui s’appliquent au système. Les organisations privées offrent une plus grande sécurité que les banques de données publiques.

Lorsque vous examinez les risques, jetez un coup d’œil plus attentif à la structure de gouvernance. Parce que les transactions ne peuvent être changées une fois publiées, il devrait y avoir des ententes pour gérer la question des erreurs.

Vous devriez maintenant avoir une meilleure idée de ce qu’est la chaîne de blocs, mais si vous êtes toujours perplexe, ne soyez pas découragé. Les vidéos YouTube qui offrent des explications simples abondent. Et tandis que Blockchain est toujours en phase de développement, vous avez le temps de vous rattraper.

Entre-temps, souvenez-vous de ce simple conseil de Jillian Friedman : « Suivez ce qui se passe sur le marché. Lorsque c’est nécessaire, soyez bien au fait des détails ». ❚

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The Future Is

NOW

Innovations in the Legal Industry

By Pablo Fuchs

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As organizations demand more from their legal teams, in-house counsel can look to innovative technologies to help them become more productive. Many of these tools focus on removing menial, time-consuming work so counsel can focus on higher-value judgment tasks and spend resources more effectively.

Here is a closer look at some up-and-coming Canadian companies that offer unique, productivity enhancing tools for in-house counsel.

Codify Legal Publishing

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odify offers two products to lawyers: Codify Updates and codifylegalpublishing.com Codify Automation. The former is a tool that tracks changes to legislation, while the latter is a contract automation tool.

Those who use Codify Updates can create a personal watch list of certain laws, and once there’s a change to a key piece of legislation in any jurisdiction in Canada, the user receives an email explaining the changes. Further, users can log in to a dashboard that shows a side-by-side comparison between the old law and the new law, with details on what has changed.

Codify Automation is different than what competitors offer, according to Paolo Tonelli, Codify Legal Publishing’s CEO and Founder, because the company doesn’t just hand over a tool for clients to program themselves; rather, the firm designs the contract and does the programming. This can range from simple non-disclosure or vendor agreements to more complex contracts with hundreds of variables.

While Codify currently offers the tools as separate products, it does have plans to integrate them.

Both tools rely on automation, a technology Tonelli describes as “tried, tested and true.” Automation involves the standardization of very complex processes and “is a safe and reliable method of handling enormous volumes of data.”

The aim of these tools is to free up lawyers’ time so they can spend it on more meaningful work. As Tonelli explains, “For in-house counsel, it’s a huge win to spend their time analyzing the changes, rather than tracking them.”

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Diligen Software

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iligen has developed machine-learning software for reviewing legal contracts. The user uploads contracts into the software and the algorithm quickly produces insights into those contracts.

Using machine learning compared with some of the older methods means “a big increase in accuracy,” says Laura Van Wyngaarden, Diligen’s COO, because of the machine’s ability to identify certain clauses. “It also gets better and better and smarter and smarter. So, for users, the software produces better contract reviews over time.”

Diligen is constantly working on improving the algorithm and making it more accurate. The standard version of the software looks for and finds the key clauses in the contract, but the firm is also focusing on allowing users to train the algorithm to search for specific clauses outside of standard contract review—which is a huge value-add for in-house legal teams looking for specific elements in the contracts they’re reviewing, she notes.

The software also has a project management component that helps legal teams review documents together. So, if in-house counsel have a high level of contracts and a sizeable legal team, they can assign documents for team members to review, keep track of who has done what and when, and read team members’ comments.

The main benefit of using this software “for corporate counsel is all about knowing what’s in your contracts really, really fast,” Van Wyngaarden says. “The tool expands the team’s contract review capacity, gets deeper insights and identifies the critical elements that are in your contracts, which can be very helpful when dealing with many contracts and/or smaller teams. It also reduces the reliance on outside counsel.”

Blue J Legal

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his company also relies on machine-learning algorithms but leverages this technology to produce high-quality predictions about what courts would say in specific situations.

Its first product, Tax Foresight, has made accurate predictions on tax-related matters more than 90% of the time, says Benjamin Alarie, Blue J Legal’s CEO. What allows the tool to be so accurate is that it collects a rich description of the facts by asking users 20-30 quesbluejlegal.com tions about their particular situations; the algorithms then base the analysis on a sophisticated understanding of those facts and compare them against every single case.

This tool has various benefits for in-house counsel, says Alarie. For example, the software provides an independent, datadriven analysis so they can verify if their perception of a case is accurate. In addition, it provides an explanation why courts would rule a certain way and identifies cases that are similar or that may be obscure but provide similar facts.

For example, Tax Foresight and a new tool that focuses on employment law, Employment Foresight, have a worker classifier component that lets in-house counsel know whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. So, if the Canada Revenue Agency comes asking, counsel doesn’t have to spend the resources to figure this out.

Employment Foresight will be available toward the end of the year. It will predict the amount of reasonable notice a court would give when an employee is being dismissed without cause or whether someone is being wrongfully dismissed.

“We’re now moving into computational world of legal research in which algorithms are helping lawyers figure stuff out.

We see a lot of promise in [this technology],” Alarie says. “There are no limits. Wherever there are contentious legal issues, cor-

dans L’avenir est maintenant: L’innovation l’industrie juridique

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andis que les organisations en demandent davantage de leurs équipes juridiques, les conseillers juridiques internes peuvent se tourner vers des technologies émergentes pour devenir plus productifs. Plusieurs de ces outils visent à éliminer des portions de travail plus longues et routinières, et de permettre aux juristes de se concentrer sur des tâches à valeur ajoutée, et ainsi optimiser l’utilisation de leur temps.

Voici un tour d’horizon de certaines compagnies canadiennes en pleine ascension qui offrent des outils uniques destinés à augmenter la productivité des conseillers juridiques.

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Codify Legal Publishing (www.codifylegalpublishing.com) Codify offre deux produits aux juristes : Codify Updates et Codify Automation. Le premier suit la trace de changements législatifs tandis que le premier est un outil d’automatisation des contrats.

Ceux qui utilisent Codify Updates peuvent créer une veille personnalisée de certaines lois, et lorsque des changements sont apportés dans n’importe quelle juridiction canadienne, l’utilisateur reçoit un courriel qui explique ces changements. Un tableau de bord affiche aussi une comparaison de la nouvelle et de l’ancienne version.

{ Feature } porate counsel will use artificial intelligence (AI) and other related tools to get better predictions.”

BidSettle This start-up’s name comes from its first product, an online negotiation platform through which bids are made to reach a settlement. Citizens or businesses go online, make monetary offers and counteroffers, and when the offers overlap, the website automatically generates a binding out-of-court settlement.

The process is based on blind bidding, although the company is working on the second generation that will allow for visible monetary offers, says Philippe Lacoursière, Lawyer and Co-Founder. Although it’s targeted mostly at citizens who don’t have access to the legal justice system, there are various reasons why in-house counsel should consider this tool.

“Companies typically let go of smaller amounts owed to them because they’re not as important,” he explains. “We provide them a user-friendly platform to go and get that money—whether it’s the online negotiation platform, which has a really user-friendly dashboard with all the information, or custom-made solutions for businesses that white-label our products on their websites.”

The white-label platform allows a company to send out mass claims outstanding, which is much faster than having a person send individual emails. After that, the company just waits. If nothing happens, it doesn’t bidsettle.com cost the company anything, as the model is based on paying BidSettle 2.5% of the final amount of the settlement. The other advantage is that the tool puts emotions aside, Lacoursière adds, which is beneficial for good negotiations. ❚ Pablo Fuchs is a writer based in Toronto.

Codify Automation diffère de ce qu’offrent les concurrents, selon Paolo Tonelli, le PDG et fondateur de Codify Legal Publishing, parce que la compagnie ne fait pas seulement offrir un outil aux clients pour qu’ils le programment eux-mêmes; c’est plutôt elle qui rédige le contrat et se charge de la programmation.

Codify offre actuellement ces deux outils séparément, mais planifie de les intégrer. Leur objectif est d’alléger l’emploi du temps des juristes pour leur permettre de se concentrer sur du travail plus significatif, explique M. Tonelli. « Pour les conseillers juridiques en entreprise, c’est une réelle victoire de passer du temps à analyser des changements, plutôt que de tenter de les retracer », dit-il.

The CBA Legal Futures Initiative’s inaugural event to showcase entrepreneurs in early-stage legal technology start-ups was so successful, it’s making a comeback in 2018.

“The Pitch,” which was held at the CBA’s annual legal conference in Ottawa last year, will be a part of the CCCA National Conference and ICW Summit in Toronto in 2018.

The first event saw five start-ups compete for a twoweek residency with LegalX at MaRS Discovery District in Toronto. In addition, these five finalists, chosen from a group of 35 applicants, were guaranteed an interview with the Chinese Angels Mentor Program. Those selected would receive an equity investment of no less than $200,000 (pending due diligence).

Beagle Inc. was chosen as the first place winner by the judges’ panel, while Loom Analytics won the people’s choice award.

“The feedback we received was very positive,” says Fred Headon, Past President of the CBA and Chair of the Legal Futures Initiative. “For many, it was the first time seeing the power of what technology could do for law. And the entrepreneurs themselves appreciated it because of the exposure they received. The participants have gone on to further refine their products and get more opportunities as more people have become aware of them, and we’re happy to have been a part of that.”

Anyone interested in the 2018 event should keep an eye on the CBA’s website: http://www.cba.org/The-Pitch/ Home. Last time, the prerequisites were firms that were up and coming and had technology related to the legal space, with less than $120,000 in annual revenue. Those parameters will likely be similar for 2018.

Diligen Software (www.diligensoftware.com) Diligen a développé un logiciel d’apprentissage automatique (NDLR : machine learning en anglais) pour réviser des contrats. L’utilisateur télécharge les documents dans le logiciel et l’algorithme émet rapidement une opinion.

L’utilisation de l’apprentissage automatique en comparaison avec des méthodes plus traditionnelles signifie une « grande augmentation en terme d’exactitude », souligne Laura Van Wyngaarden, directrice de l’exploitation. « Ça s’améliore aussi constamment, et devient de

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{ article de fond } plus en plus intelligent. Donc pour l’utilisateur, le logiciel offre de meilleures révisions de contrats avec le temps. » L’entreprise travaille constamment à améliorer son produit et à le rendre plus précis. La version de base du logiciel cherche et examine les clauses centrales du contrat, mais la firme travaille aussi à permettre aux utilisateurs d’entraîner l’algorithme à chercher des clauses spécifiques au-delà du schéma de révision de base – ce qui représente une amélioration importante pour les équipes juridiques internes, note Mme Van Wyngaarden.

L’avantage principal du logiciel « pour les conseillers juridiques internes est de savoir ce qui est dans vos contrats très, très rapidement », dit-elle.

Blue J Legal (www.bluejlegal.com) Cette compagnie fait aussi appel à l’apprentissage automatique, mais l’utilise pour produire des prédictions de haut niveau quant aux décisions des tribunaux dans des situations spécifiques. Son premier produit, Tax Foresight, a amélioré les prédictions dans le secteur fiscal dans plus de 90 % des cas, dit Benjamin Alarie, avocat et PDG de l’entreprise.

Ce qui permet à l’outil d’être aussi précis est qu’il collige une description de faits détaillée en posant aux utilisateurs de 20 à 30 questions sur leur situation; l’algorithme appuie ensuite son analyse sur une compréhension sophistiquée de cette trame factuelle et la compare à chaque dossier préalable.

Le produit offre divers avantages pour les conseillers juridiques d’entreprise, note Me Alarie. Par exemple, le logiciel fournit une analyse indépendante, basée sur les données, donc ils peuvent vérifier si leur propre perception du dossier est exacte. De plus, il offre une explication sur la raison pour laquelle les cours statueraient dans un sens ou dans l’autre, et identifie des dossiers qui sont similaires.

L’événement inaugural du projet de l'ABC Avenirs en droit, destiné à faire connaître des entrepreneurs et leurs technologies émergentes dans le domaine du droit, a connu un tel succès qu’il sera de retour en 2018.

Le Pitch s’est tenu lors de la dernière conférence annuelle de l’ABC à Ottawa l’an dernier et fera partie de la Conférence nationale de l’ACCJE et le Sommet mondial à Toronto en 2018.

Le premier événement a vu cinq entreprises en démarrage tenter de remporter une résidence de deux semaines au sein du groupe LegalX dans le district de découvertes MaRS, à Toronto. De plus, ces cinq finalistes choisis parmi un groupe de 35 candidats se sont vus garantir une entrevue auprès du programme Chinese Angels Mentor. Ceux qui sont choisis dans ce programme pourraient recevoir un investissement d’équité de 200 000 $.

Beagle inc. s’est fait accorder le premier prix par le panel de juges, tandis que Loom Analytics s’est vu décerner le prix du choix du public.

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Par exemple, Tax Foresight et un nouvel outil qui se concentre sur le droit du travail, Employment Foresight, ont une composante de classification qui indique au conseiller juridique si un travailleur est un employé ou un travailleur autonome. Employment Foresight sera disponible vers la fin de l’année. Il calculera la durée d’un avis que les cours ordonneraient lorsqu’un employé est congédié, selon la situation.

BidSettle (www.bidsettle.com) Cette entreprise en démarrage a adopté le nom de son premier produit, une plateforme de négociation pour présenter des offres et tenter de parvenir à un règlement. Des citoyens et entreprises vont sur internet, échangent des offres monétaires et des contre-offres, et lorsque ces offres se rencontrent, le site web génère automatiquement un règlement hors cour exécutoire. « Habituellement, les compagnies laissent tomber les dossiers qui touchent de plus petits montants », explique Philippe Lacoursière, avocat et cofondateur de l’entreprise. « Nous leur fournissons une plateforme facile à utiliser pour récupérer ces sommes – que ce soit la plateforme de négociation en ligne, dotée d’un tableau de bord facile à utiliser avec toute l’information, ou des solutions faites sur mesure pour des entreprises qui placent nos produits sans identification de marque sur leurs propres sites web. » Cette plateforme sans identification de marque permet aux compagnies d’envoyer de nombreuses réclamations pour des créances en souffrance, ce qui est beaucoup plus rapide que d’avoir une personne attitrée à l’envoi de courriels sur une base individuelle. Si l’opération ne produit pas de résultat, la compagnie n’a rien à débourser, puisque le modèle d’affaire de BidSettle repose sur une rémunération qui s’élève à 2,5 % du règlement. L’autre avantage est que l’outil met les émotions de côté, ajoute Me Lacoursière, ce qui est bénéfique pour toute bonne négociation. ❚

« Les commentaires que nous avons reçus étaient très positifs », dit Fred Headon, ancien président de l'ABC qui a aussi présidé l'initiative Avenirs en droit. « Pour plusieurs, c'était la première fois qu'ils voyaient ce que de la technologie peut accomplir en droit. Et les entrepreneurs eux-mêmes ont apprécié l'expérience en raison de la visibilité qu'ils ont reçue. Les participants ont continué à raffiner leurs produits et les opportunités ont augmenté alors qu'ils ont été remarqués par un plus grand nombre de gens, et nous sommes heureux d'y avoir contribué. » Visitez le site web de l'ABC à http://www.cba. org/The-Pitch/Home pour des mises à jour sur le Pitch de 2018, y compris l'appel de soumissions.

{ Spotlight on… }

Modern Slavery:

How Many Slaves Work for You?

By Lynne Yryku

Freedom is one of the fundamental values in Canadian society.

However, almost 50 million people are in some form of modern slavery around the world—including in Canada. As it is often hidden in a vast range of supply chains, a long way from where goods are sold, most of us are unknowingly benefitting from modern slavery in the products we buy, suppliers we hire and companies in which we invest.

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o bring more attention to this evil said to be hiding in plain sight, the International Commission of Jurists Canadian Section hosted the panel, “Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: Trends in Global Corporate Liability and Legislation,” in conjunction with the CCCA. Led by leading global legal experts, the pressing global problem of exploitative labour in supply chains, the role of business in addressing forced labour, and legislative responses to address the problem were discussed.

Panelists included Ruth Dearnley, CEO of Stop the Traffik; Jonathan Drimmer, VP & Deputy GC at Barrick Gold Corp.; Mora Johnson, Barrister & Solicitor and Former Chair of the OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains; Kevin McGurgan, British Consul General and Director-General for UK Trade & Investment in Canada; Peter Talibart, Managing Partner of Seyfarth Shaw LLP (U.K.); Mark Trachuk, Partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.

A Global Crime Modern slavery, also called human trafficking, refers to the recruitment or movement of persons for the purposes of exploitation—situations where one person

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has taken away another person’s freedom to control their body or to choose to refuse certain work or stop working in order to exploit them. They do so through threats, violence, coercion, abuse of power and deception. It affects almost every sector, industry and company.

The Global Slavery Index estimates that 45.8 million people are in some form of modern slavery in 167 countries. It is an extraordinarily profitable crime: the United Nations says modern slavery and trafficking is now the second-largest source of illegal income worldwide, with the International Labour Organization putting annual profits at least US$150 billion. However, due to the hidden and illegal nature of modern slavery, gathering statistics is difficult and these estimates may underrepresent the scale of the problem.

“We know more about the quality of the wood in our chairs than we do about the health and safety and security of the men, women and children who made them,” stated Talibart. “That’s obscene but that is where we are.”

The potential of this heinous crime is huge, explained Dearnley, as the product

is the man, woman or child—which can be moved around for various moneymaking endeavours. It is a seriously organized business, most of which we on the outside do not understand, and the proceeds flow through legitimate operations, making it hard to disrupt and prevent.

She explained that trafficking can only be prevented when we work together. At the community level, people must understand what trafficking is, how it affects them and what they can do about it. At the global level, businesses and consumers must be aware of how trafficking impacts the supply chains of businesses worldwide and be supported in their change efforts.

Her organization gathers information from individuals and stakeholders around the world on how and where trafficking is taking place, and shares this knowledge generously to enable individuals and companies to take action.

Signs of Progress This crime does not just affect thirdworld workers, pointed out McGurgan. For instance, between 10,000 and 13,000 are victims in the U.K., with U.K. nationals being the fifth most common: “Not all victims are trafficked across borders; some are homegrown. But all of them are exploited.”

Building on the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010, the U.K.’s Modern Slavery Act 2015 gives law enforcement tools to combat this crime and victims the protection they need to come forward. For companies, the Act includes a transparency in supply chains provision.

Any business that has a global turnover of US$50 million or more and supplies

{ Spotlight on… }

goods or services in the U.K. has to publish in a “prominent” place on its website every year a slavery and trafficking statement outlining the steps it has taken to ensure there is no slavery in any part of its business, including its supply chains.

Foreign companies and subsidiaries that “carry on a business” in the U.K. will also have to comply with the new legislation.

While progress was made in the first year, with 289 offences prosecuted in 2015 and a 40% increase in the number of victims identified by the State, said McGurgan, there is still a long way to go.

However, the way the law is set up is hopeful, explained Talibart, as the transparency statement is out in the marketplace, making a company accountable to consumers and shareholders. Further, the approvals have to be signed off on by the Board, bringing the issue of modern slavery into the boardroom.

Bringing It Home Whether or not your company is affected by the Act, this is an international issue and international action is required—a fantastic opportunity for Canada to take the lead, according to Talibart.

In 2003, Canada was among the first countries to ratify the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, and in 2012, the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking was established.

As there is no specific legislation pending, Trachuk said this issue may be more effectively addressed within the regimes we already have, such as our securities laws and instruments. For example,

Image credit: Walk Free Foundation

national policies and corporate governance guidelines already require codes of conduct and cover ethical matters like conflicts of interest, proper use of assets, fair dealings with suppliers and reporting of any illegal or unethical behaviour; transparency in supply chains and the assessment of this transparency could also be included.

At the individual organization level, the CBA adopted the Model Business Principles on Forced Labour, Labour Trafficking and Illegal or Harmful Child Labour in 2016. The document offers commentary and guidance on the four model principles, providing a consistent framework for businesses looking to develop and implement a code of conduct to address labour abuses. The principles

are designed to help in-house and external counsel encourage their business clients to guard against such abuses in their operations. See www.cba.org/OurWork/Resolutions/Resolutions/2016/ Model-Business-Principles-on-ForcedLabour,-Labour.

Modern slavery is a serious and pressing issue affecting millions around the world. While efforts to combat it are increasing, the grim reality is that the human trafficking still exists—and is on the rise.

Your organization can move out of the grey area by taking action now, keeping up the momentum to tackle this issue. ❚ Lynne Yryku is the Executive Editor of CCCA Magazine.

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{ PLEINS FEUX SUR… }

Esclavage moderne :

Combien d’esclaves travaillent pour vous?

La liberté est l'une des valeurs fondamentales de la société canadienne. Pourtant, près de 50 millions de personnes subissent une forme d'esclavage moderne dans le monde, y compris au Canada. Parce que l’esclavage moderne est souvent escamoté par de vastes chaînes d'approvisionnement et qu’il se pratique loin des endroits où les marchandises sont consommées, nous en profitons inconsciemment par l’entremise des produits que nous achetons, des fournisseurs que nous embauchons et des entreprises dans lesquelles nous investissons.

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our attirer l'attention sur l’invisibilité de ce fléau, la section canadienne de la Commission internationale de juristes a tenu, en collaboration avec l’ACCJE, un panel sur : « L'esclavage moderne dans les chaînes d'approvisionnement : tendances en matière de responsabilité et de législation commerciale mondiale ». Des experts juridiques mondiaux reconnus sont venus discuter du problème pressant de l’exploitation de la main-d’œuvre dans les chaînes d’approvisionnement, du rôle de l’entreprise face au travail forcé et des réponses législatives à cette problématique.

Les panélistes comprenaient Ruth Dearnley, PDG, Stop the Traffik; Jonathan Drimmer, vice-président et avocat général adjoint chez Barrick Gold Corp.; Mora Johnson, avocate et ancienne présidente du Forum de l'OCDE sur les chaînes d'approvisionnement responsables en minerais; Kevin McGurgan, consul général britannique et directeur général canadien du ministère du Commerce et des Investissements du Royaume-Uni; Peter Talibart, associé principal chez Seyfarth Shaw (Royaume-Uni); et Mark Trachuk, associé chez Osler, Hoskin et Harcourt.

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Un crime partout dans le monde L'esclavage moderne, ou traite des humains, comprend des formes d’assujettissement impliquant qu’un individu en exploite un autre en le privant de sa liberté de contrôler son corps, de refuser certaines tâches ou de cesser de travailler, en recourant à la menace, la violence, la coercition, l’abus de pouvoir et la tromperie. Presque tous les secteurs, toutes les industries et toutes les organisations sont touchées.

D’après le Global Slavery Index, 45,8 millions de personnes subissent une forme d'esclavage moderne dans 167 pays. Ce crime est très payant : d’après l'ONU, l'esclavage et la traite modernes sont la deuxième source de revenus illégaux dans le monde et génèrent, selon l’OIT, des bénéfices de 150 milliards USD. Mais comme l’esclavage moderne est illégal et dissimulé, c’est compliqué de réunir des statistiques sur l’esclavage moderne et l’ampleur du problème pourrait être beaucoup plus grave. « Nous en savons plus sur la qualité du bois de nos chaises que sur la santé et la sécurité des hommes, femmes et enfants qui

les ont fabriquées, a déploré Talibart. C’est indécent, mais c’est la réalité. » Le potentiel de ce crime odieux est énorme, a expliqué Dearnley, car le produit est un homme, une femme ou un enfant qu’on déplace pour faire de l’argent. C’est un commerce très bien organisé, mais difficiles à cerner. Les produits transitent par des exploitations commerciales légitimes, ce qui rend cette criminalité difficile à stopper et à prévenir.

Dearnley affirme que la traite ne sera prévenue qu’en travaillant ensemble. Au niveau communautaire, il faut que les gens comprennent ce qu'est la traite, en quoi cela les concerne et comment la combattre. Au niveau mondial, il faut conscientiser les entreprises et les consommateurs à l’impact de la traite sur les chaînes d'approvisionnement commerciales et soutenir leur volonté de changement. L’organisation de Dearnley récolte des données dans le monde entier pour trouver où et comment la traite se pratique, afin de partager ces informations avec les individus et entreprises intéressés à agir.

Des signes d’amélioration Ce crime n'affecte pas seulement les travailleurs du tiers monde, a souligné McGurgan.

Par exemple, on compte 10 000 à 13 000 victimes au Royaume-Uni, dont le cinquième sont Britanniques : « Les victimes ne viennent pas toutes de l’étranger. Mais elles sont toutes exploitées. » S'appuyant sur la loi de 2010 de la Californie sur les chaînes d'approvisionnement, la loi de 2015 du Royaume-Uni sur l'esclavage moderne prévoit des outils d'application pour lutter contre ce fléau et donne aux victimes la protection dont elles ont besoin pour dénoncer. La transparence des entreprises est exigée. Celles qui ont un chiffre

{ PLEINS FEUX SUR… }

d'affaires mondial de 50 millions USD ou plus et qui vendent des biens ou des services au Royaume-Uni doivent publier chaque année, bien en vue sur leur site Web, une déclaration expliquant les mesures prises pour contrer l’esclavage dans leurs activités, incluant leurs chaînes d’approvisionnement.

Les sociétés étrangères et filiales ayant des activités au Royaume-Uni devront aussi se conformer à la nouvelle législation.

Bien que des progrès aient été constatés la première année, car 289 infractions ont fait l’objet de poursuites en 2015 et le nombre de victimes identifiées par l’État a augmenté de 40 %, il reste beaucoup à faire, souligne McGurgan.

Toutefois, la façon dont la loi est appliquée est porteuse d’espoir, a expliqué Talibart, car la déclaration de transparence fait la différence sur le marché, chaque entreprise étant redevable à ses consommateurs et à ses actionnaires. En outre, les conseils d’administration sont davantage sensibilisés à l’esclavage moderne, car ils doivent entériner les approbations.

Pendant ce temps, chez nous Que votre société soit ou non touchée par cette loi, il s'agit d'un problème international qui requiert une action internationale – c’est pour le Canada une occasion formidable de prendre l'initiative, selon Talibart.

Le Canada a été parmi les premiers pays à ratifier en 2003 le Protocole des Nations Unies visant à prévenir, réprimer et punir la traite des personnes, en particulier des femmes et des enfants, ce qui a donné lieu à la création en 2015 du Plan d'action national de lutte contre la traite de personnes.

Comme il n'y a pas de loi en préparation, Trachuk est d’avis que le problème pour-

Image courtoisie de Walk Free Foundation

rait être combattu avec des outils existants, comme les lois sur les valeurs mobilières et les instruments financiers. Les politiques nationales et les lignes directrices en matière de gouvernance d'entreprise exigent déjà un code de déontologie et couvrent des questions éthiques comme les conflits d'intérêts, l’utilisation appropriée des actifs, l’équité des relations avec les fournisseurs et la dénonciation des comportements illégaux ou contraires à l'éthique. Il suffirait d’ajouter la transparence dans les chaînes d'approvisionnement et l'évaluation de cette transparence.

En tant qu’organisation, l'ABC a adopté en 2016 ses Principes commerciaux de lutte contre le travail forcé, la traite de la main-d’œuvre, le travail illégal des enfants et le travail qui leur est nuisible. Le document

offre des commentaires et une orientation concernant les quatre principes. Il s’agit d’un cadre cohérent qui s’adresse aux entreprises soucieuses de se donner un code de conduite pour contrer l’exploitation, ainsi qu’aux juristes d’entreprise et les avocats externes qui souhaitent encourager leurs clients commerciaux à faire de même.

Voir www.cba.org/Our-Work/Resolutions/ R e s o l u t i o n s / 2 0 16 / M o d e l - B u s i n e s s Principles-on-Forced-Labour,-Labour.

L'esclavage moderne est un problème grave et urgent qui affecte des millions de personnes de par le monde. Même si les efforts pour le combattre se multiplient, la sombre réalité est que la traite des humains perdure – et augmente. Votre organisation peut sortir de cette zone grise en agissant maintenant et en s’attaquant à ce fléau. ❚

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Haussez

Change the game.

Raise your bar.

{ CCCA News }

Ouvrez la voie aux

Change the game.

juristes d’entreprise.

Raise your bar.

Change the game.

Ouvrez la voie aux j

juristes d’entreprise.

Raise your bar.

Change the game.

Ouvrez la voie aux

juristes d’entreprise.

Agents of Change Les agents du changement Content. Connections. Changemakers.

T

hese three components were just a few of the elements that made the 2017 CCCA National Conference an undeniable success! By pairing the theme of innovation with a well-rounded and diverse lineup of speakers, delegates were treated to an engaging three-day event chalk full of fun and valuable takeaways.

To kick off this year’s “Agents of Change” conference, delegates were invited to attend a casually chic welcome reception, complete with a sexy show car as the pièce de résistance. To add to the vibe of the evening, a talented live violinist was on hand to entertain guests with everything from classic Disney to rapper Drake.

The subsequent two days provided more networking, dynamic speakers and engaging professional development sessions. Some sessions were so popular they became standing room only! The conference keynotes and plenary were also a big hit, with topics ranging from effective communications to Canada-U.S. relations, and turning legal trends into innovation.

Contenu. Relations. Agents du changement.

C

e ne sont là que trois des éléments qui ont fait le succès de la Conférence nationale 2017 de l’ACCJE! En associant le thème de l’innovation à une brochette de conférenciers triés sur le volet, les délégués ont pu vivre trois journées d’expériences agréables et hautement enrichissantes.

Pour lancer la conférence de cette année, sous le thème « Les agents du changement », les délégués ont été invités à une réception raffinée où une séduisante voiture d’exposition tenait la vedette.

Pour ajouter aux vibrations de la soirée, un talentueux violoniste a bercé les invités au son d’un vaste répertoire, du Disney classique jusqu’au rappeur Drake.

Les deux jours suivants ont été remplis de réseautage, de conférences dynamiques et de séances de développement professionnel motivantes, certaines si populaires qu’elles ont fait salle comble! Les conférences principales et les séances plénières ont eu beaucoup de succès, avec des sujets allant de l’efficacité des communications jusqu’aux relations entre le Canada et les États-Unis, et la transformation des tendances juridiques en innovation.

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{ Nouvelles de l’ACCJE }

Opening Keynote: Marc-André Blanchard, Canada's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations (centre)

Second Keynote: Mark Weber, Director and Associate Professor, Conrad Centre at the University of Waterloo

Discours d’ouverture : Marc-André Blanchard, ambassadeur et représentant permanent du Canada aux Nations Unies (au centre)

Deuxième conférencier : Mark Weber, directeur et professeur agrégé du Centre Conrad de l’Université de Waterloo

Tuesday Plenary: Canada-U.S. relations

Closing Keynote: Benjamin Alarie, CEO, Blue J Legal

Séance plénière du mardi : Relations entre Canada et les États-Unis

Discours de clôture : Benjamin Alarie, PDG, Blue J Legal

Indeed, a wonderful time was had by all at the 2017 CCCA “Agents of Change” National Conference. Visit the CBA Flickr page at www.flickr.com/photos/cba_abc/ to see more photos from the event, and keep checking www.cccaaccje.org for details on the 2018 CCCA National Conference and ICW Summit!

2016-17 CCCA National Executive Committee Comité exécutif national 2016-17 de l’ACCJE

Bref, la Conférence nationale 2017 de l’ACCJE a plu à tout le monde. Visitez la page Flickr de l’ABC à www.flickr.com/photos/cba_abc/ pour voir d’autres photos de l’événement. Et visitez régulièrement www.ccca-accje.org pour les détails de la Conférence nationale 2018 de l’ACCJE et le Sommet mondial des juristes d’entreprise!

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{ CCCA News }

CCCA Awards A round of applause goes out to this year’s CCCA award winners! During the National Conference, members were recognized for their exceptional contributions to both the CCCA and the wider legal community.

Here’s a peek at the honourees.

Prix de l’ACCJE Les lauréats des Prix de l’ACCJE de cette année se méritent une salve d’applaudissements! La Conférence nationale a rendu hommage à leur contribution exceptionnelle à l’ACCJE et à la communauté juridique.

Nous vous présentons ici les lauréats.

CCCA Community Builder Award Recognizes pro bono, community or corporate social responsibility efforts by CCCA members

L to R: Conference co-chairs with Salvatore Frisina, Senior Vice President at President's Choice Financial De g. à d. : Les coprésidents de la Conférence en compagnie de Salvatore Frisina, vice-président principal chez Services financiers le Choix du Président

L to R: Conference co-chairs with Heather Innes, LLB, CIC.C De g. à d. : Les coprésidents de la conférence en compagnie de Heather Innes, LL.B., JEA.C.

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The in-house teams of George Weston Ltd and Pro Bono Ontario’s ID Clinic for the Homeless shared this year’s Community Builder Award. Through their combined efforts, the legal departments of George Weston Ltd., PC Financial, Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart brought free legal services to underserved families in the Greater Toronto Area. Pro Bono Ontario volunteers from the Weston subsidiaries and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) also launched a new partnership to bring free legal services directly to students and parents across the GTA. This partnership is an important example of how corporate pro bono participation can help build vibrant communities.

The ID Clinic for the Homeless is a joint initiative of Pro Bono Ontario, the CCCA, Blake Cassels and Graydon LLP, and the Lawyers Feed the Hungry program in Toronto. Through the clinic, patrons in need were interviewed, and received help to complete and submit applications to replace missing health cards, birth certificates and other essential documentation.

Clinic volunteers also provided basic legal information and made referrals to legal aid and pro bono resources to help those with unmet legal needs.

Le Prix du bâtisseur communautaire de l’ACCJE Rend hommage aux contributions juridiques bénévoles; aux engagements dans la communauté ou en matière de responsabilité sociale des entreprises Les équipes de juristes d’entreprise de George Weston Ltd. et de l’ID Clinic for the Homeless de Pro Bono Ontario se partagent le Prix du bâtisseur communautaire.

En combinant leurs efforts, les services juridiques de George Weston Ltd., PC Financial, Loblaws et Shoppers Drug Mart ont rendu des services gratuits à des familles pauvres du Grand Toronto. Des bénévoles de Pro Bono Ontario provenant de Weston et du Conseil scolaire du district de Toronto ont lancé un partenariat pour donner à des étudiants et parents du Grand Toronto un accès à des services juridiques gratuits. Voilà un exemple important de ce qu’une œuvre caritative peut apporter à la communauté.

L’ID Clinic for the Homeless est une initiative conjointe de Pro Bono Ontario, de l’ACCJE, du cabinet Blake Cassels Graydon et du programme Lawyers Feed the Hungry de Toronto. Des gens ont été aidés à remplacer une carte d’assurance-maladie, un certificat de naissance ou un autre document essentiel. Des conseils juridiques de base ont été donnés et certains ont été référés à des ressources juridiques gratuites.

{ Nouvelles de l’ACCJE }

CCCA Up & Comer Award Recognizes a CCCA member with less than 15 years called to the Bar who has had strong participation within the profession, especially within the CCCA and the organization they serve This year’s Up & Comer award winner was Karlee Blatz. As Regional Director of Labour Relations and Senior Legal Counsel for Human Resources for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Karlee’s responsibilities and practice extend to all facets of labour relations and human resources law. Karlee is a member of the Manitoba Bar Association and the MBA CCCA Section, immediate Past Chair of the Labour & Employment Law Section, past Chair of MBA Law Day Committee, and previous Chair and past long-term member of the MBA Mid-Winter Conference Organizing Committee.

She also volunteers closely with the Manitoba Children’s Museum, where she has been a Board Member for six years and is currently the Board’s Vice-Chair.

She is a member of the Campaign Leadership Committee for the United Way of Winnipeg, and on the Board of Directors for the Manitoba Law Foundation, a notfor profit foundation that funds law and justice related programs in the province.

Prix de la relève de l’ACCJE Rend hommage à un membre régulier de l’ACCJE comptant moins de 15 ans en tant que juriste d’entreprise et qui participe activement à la vie professionnelle, en particulier au sein de l’ACCJE et de l’organisme qu’il représente Le Prix de la relève de cette année revient à Karlee Blatz. En tant que directrice régionale des relations de travail et conseillère juridique principale des ressources humaines à l’Office régional de la santé de Winnipeg, ses responsabilités et sa pratique s’étendent à toutes les facettes du droit du travail. Karlee est membre de l’Association du Barreau du Manitoba et, au sein de l’ABM, membre de la section ACCJE, présidente sortante du conseil de la section Droit du travail, ex-présidente du Comité de la Journée du droit et ancienne présidente et membre de longue date du comité organisateur de l’Assemblée d’hiver.

Karlee est également une bénévole assidue au Musée des enfants du Manitoba, au conseil duquel elle siège depuis six ans, présentement à titre de vice-présidente.

Elle est membre du comité de campagne de Centraide Winnipeg et siège au conseil d’administration de la Fondation manitobaine du droit, un organisme sans but lucratif qui finance des programmes juridiques dans la province.

L to R: Conference co-chairs with Karlee Blatz, Senior Legal Counsel, Human Resources, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority De g. à d. : Les coprésidents de la Conférence en compagnie de Karlee Blatz, conseillère juridique principale, Ressources humaines, Office régional de la santé de Winnipeg

The overarching messages of each keynote and plenary were captured in beautiful graphic recording storyboards, thanks to one of our sponsors, Simplex Legal.

Les messages livrés par chaque conférence et séance plénière ont été résumés sous la forme de facilitations graphiques réalisés avec beaucoup d’art par un de nos commentaires, Simplex Legal.

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{ CCCA News } CCCA Awards | Prix de l’ACCJE CCCA Innovation Award

L to R: Conference co-chairs with Patricia Skringer, Senior Counsel, Aecon Group De g. à d. : Les coprésidents de la Conférence en compagnie de Patricia Skringer, avocate principale, Groupe Aecon

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Prix pour l’innovation de l’ACCJE

Recognizes an individual or group who is doing new things or doing things differently to create value on behalf of or for the benefit of a law department or organization

Rend hommage à une personne ou à un groupe qui fait les choses différemment afin de créer une valeur au nom ou au profit d’un service juridique ou d’une organisation

The winner of the 2017 Innovation Award was the legal department of Aecon Group Inc. Aecon’s Project Excelsior is a multipronged initiative that brings excellence in risk management to every level of Aecon. It is an innovative, multidisciplinary approach to identifying opportunities and evaluating the inherent risk involved in constructing the largest, most complex projects across Canada.

Excelsior is comprised of four essential components: a Commercial Risk Committee that provides an in-depth risk analysis of major projects prior to submission for approval to Aecon’s most senior executives; a five-module training course on legal and commercial issues, and best practices in commercial risk management; collected lessons learned, referenced in CRC new project evaluations and incorporated into the Excelsior training curriculum; and a Risk Evaluation Committee that monitors projects during execution and ensures high-risk issues are receiving appropriate attention.

Le récipiendaire du Prix pour l’innovation de 2017 est le service juridique du Groupe Aecon. Le Projet Excelsior est une initiative à plusieurs volets qui garantit l’excellence dans la gestion des risques à tous les niveaux d’Aecon. Excelsior adopte une approche multidisciplinaire novatrice dont l’objectif est de cerner et d’évaluer les risques inhérents à la construction des projets les plus complexes partout au Canada.

Excelsior se décline en quatre composantes : un Comité des risques commerciaux qui analyse les risques des projets d’envergure avant leur présentation pour approbation par la haute direction d’Aecon; cinq modules de formation sur les pratiques exemplaires et la gestion des risques commerciaux; un recensement des leçons apprises au regard des évaluations du CRC en vue de leur intégration au programme de formation d’Excelsior; et un Comité d’évaluation des risques qui surveille l’exécution des projets et veille à ce que les facteurs de risques soient pris en considération.

{ Nouvelles de l’ACCJE } CCCA Professional Contribution Award Recognizes an individual or group (including a CCCA Section, Committee or Task Force) who or which raises the profile of the CCCA in the professional community The 2017 Professional Contribution Award went to the Manitoba CCCA Section of CBA. Members host six to seven luncheon events per year and sponsor a session at the Manitoba Mid-Winter conference. They also put on a popular and successful banquet event in March.

Dedicated members of the CCCA Manitoba Section participate in national CCCA initiatives like the Mentoring Program and the Business Leadership Program for In-House Counsel. They are also actively involved in other CBA Sections, and several members maintain a strong presence within the Law Society of Manitoba.

Prix pour la contribution professionnelle de l’ACCJE Rend hommage à une personne ou à un groupe (y compris une section, un comité ou un groupe de travail de l’ACCJE) qui rehausse le profil de l’ACCJE au sein de la communauté professionnelle Le Prix pour la contribution professionnelle de 2017 a été décerné à la section du Manitoba de l’ACCJE qui, chaque année, organise six à sept déjeuners-causeries et commandite une séance de formation continue à l’Assemblée d’hiver de l’ABM, en plus de tenir un banquet populaire et couronné de succès en mars.

Les membres dévoués de cette section sont également des participants actifs du comité de direction national de l’ACCJE, de multiples comités permanents de l’ABC, ainsi que du programme de mentorat et du Programme de leadership en entreprise pour les juristes d’entreprise. Ils sont également impliqués dans d’autres sections de l’ABC et plusieurs assurent une présence sentie à la Société du Barreau du Manitoba.

L to R: Conference co-chairs with Michael Jason, CCCA Manitoba Section Co-chair & Senior Counsel, Richardson International Ltd De g. à d. : Les coprésidents de la Conférence en compagnie de Michael Jason, coprésident de la section Manitoba de l’ACCJE et avocat principal chez Richardson International Ltd

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{ CCCA News } CCCA Awards | Prix de l’ACCJE CCCA RVA Jones Award

2017 RVA Jones award winner, Antoinette Bozac, Vice President of Governance at Meridian and Corporate Secretary of its subsidiaries La lauréate 2017 du Prix Robert V.A. Jones, Antoinette Bozac, vice-présidente, Gouvernance de Meridian et secrétaire corporative de ses filiales.

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Prix Robert V.A. Jones de l’ACCJE

Named after the founding executive director of the CCCA and recognizes excellence in corporate counsel service and is awarded to a regular member of the CCCA whose career exemplifies the highest standards of service, conduct and professionalism for corporate counsel

Nommé en l’honneur du directeur général fondateur de l’ACCJE, ce prix reconnaît l’excellence au sein de la profession des juristes d’entreprise et récompense un membre qui s’est distingué durant sa carrière par la qualité de son service, de sa conduite et de son professionnalisme

This year’s RVA Jones award winner, Antoinette Bozac, has held impressive in-house counsel positions at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canada Lands Company Limited, Unisource Canada Inc., and more. Since 1987, she has had an enviable career as corporate in-house counsel with responsibility for not only Legal & Corporate Affairs but also Human Resources, Pensions & Benefits, Government Relations, and Corporate Communications—in addition to her continuing career in Government & Compliance and as Board Director.

Antoinette's volunteer activities are also incredibly impressive. She currently works with the Alzheimer Society of Canada as CEO of their National Leadership Roundtable. With Concordia University, she is on the Board of Governors, participating on several standing committees including as Chair of Honorary Degree & Convocation. With the Canadian Lung Association, she is Board Director for the Metropolitan Toronto and York Region.

She also serves as Board Director for the Toronto Philharmonic and has volunteered with other organizations like the YMCA, Mackenzie Health and more.

Antoinette has been a key contributor to CCCA and CBA efforts, including acting as President and Past President of the CCCA Ontario Section; Chair of Corporate Counsel in Montreal and a council member for both the CBA and the OBA. For the CCCA, Antoinette has served as a Board Director, Vice Chair, Executive Committee member and Chair of the Mentoring Program. She has contributed to (and been profiled in) countless in-house publications and has served as a panelist at numerous in-house events. ❚

La lauréate du Prix Robert V.A. Jones de cette année, Antoinette Bozac, a pourvu d’importants postes de juriste d’entreprise à la Société canadienne d’hypothèques et de logement, à la Société immobilière du Canada et chez Unisource Canada, entre autres.

Depuis 1987, elle a mené une carrière enviable en s’occupant non seulement d’affaires juridiques et de gestion, mais aussi de ressources humaines, de régimes de retraite et d’avantages sociaux, de relations gouvernementales et de communications intégrées.

Elle poursuit actuellement sa carrière en gouvernance et en conformité en plus de siéger au conseil d’administration.

Les antécédents d’Antoinette en matière de bénévolat sont également impressionnants. Elle assure présentement la présidence du comité de direction national de la Société Alzheimer du Canada. Pour l’Université Concordia, elle siège au conseil d’établissement et participe à divers comités permanents, dont la collation des grades. Pour l’Association pulmonaire du Canada, elle représente au conseil la région métropolitaine de Toronto et York. Elle siège également au conseil de l’Orchestre philharmonique de Toronto et est bénévole auprès d’organisations comme le YMCA, Santé MacKenzie et d’autres.

Antoinette a aussi apporté une contribution essentielle à l’ACCJE et à l’ABC, notamment comme présidente actuelle et sortante de la section Ontario de l’ACCJE, comme présidente du conseil corporatif de Montréal et comme membre du conseil pour l’ABC et l’ABO. À l’ACCJE, Antoinette a été membre du conseil, vice-présidente, membre du comité exécutif et présidente du Programme de mentorat. Elle a contribué à d’innombrables articles (et a fait l’objet de certains) dans des publications spécialisées et a agi comme panéliste à de nombreuses activités des juristes d’entreprises. ❚

{ HR Impact }

Innovation? It’s About Communication

Effectively communicating policies, changes to employees is key to staying ahead of the game

By Liz Bernier

At first blush, staying innovative when it comes to HR law may seem like a challenge—the law is what it is until it evolves, and then you simply must adapt. In fact, it may even seem like employers are constantly one step behind, reacting to legal changes as they come instead of proactively meeting them.

B

ut it doesn’t have to be that way. The practice of HR law can be innovative, proactive, and progressive—taking the long view and planning ahead instead of continually scrambling to catch up to new changes or new obligations.

The secret to innovative HR law? In a word, communication.

There are two parts to communication with a goal of proactive, innovative HR law. The first is communicating with colleagues and leaders in the legal field to keep apprised of what is likely coming down the pipeline in terms of legal shifts.

This is best done on both an informal basis, such as by maintaining relationships with top colleagues and thinkers in your field and reading extensively, and on a formal basis, such as by attending professional development platforms like the HRPA HR Law Conference this October.

David Whitten, Partner at Whitten Lublin in Toronto and Chair of the 2017 HR Law Conference, says innovation is about exchanging those ideas and best practices, and ensuring you are prepared for any legal changes and new obligations well before an issue ever arises.

Once that knowledge and foresight is attained, you can move to the second— and perhaps most important—form of communication essential to innovative HR law: communicating changes and requirements to employees.

This is such a critical piece but it’s one that’s often overlooked, says Whitten.

“I know employers with ‘secret’ employee manuals that no one’s ever seen.

Perhaps they’re under a bunch of paper in the HR manager’s desk, and nobody’s ever signed off on an acknowledgement, nobody’s ever been trained on it, nobody knows it exists,” he says.

You can have the best policies in the world but if nobody knows about them, they have no value. And innovating effective ways to communicate policies, changes and obligations is central.

“In my view, rather than drafting very legalistic employee manuals and policies just to make sure you’ve met the barebones compliance, innovation is to have town hall type meetings to discuss [the issues],” says Whitten.

The innovative, proactive employer holds such meetings to give everyone the opportunity to discuss the employee manual and the types of policies in it, and ask questions. You are looking to employees to find out parts they don’t understand, think should be changed or believe are missing.

“That kind of stuff really creates a higher level of employee engagement. It gives them a sense of ownership over the HR policies that are produced, and it also

“

flushes out concerns that people have that you may not hear about until it’s too late,” says Whitten. “And from a legal perspective, as long as you have an attendance sheet that everybody signs in on, you can easily establish that all of your policies have been disseminated or promulgated. People know about them. So if they don’t follow them, you’re in a better legal position to defend yourself if you’re accused of having allowed discrimination or harassment in the workplace, or if you discipline an employee for not following the policies.”

If we want to go to the next level of innovative communication, some employers are utilizing online modules where people can log in and go through online training on the various aspects of the employee manual, checking boxes to confirm they’ve reviewed and understand it. Requiring this on an annual basis is a best practice, says Whitten.

And in anything you communicate to employees, it’s of critical importance to use plain language, he advises.

“Some of these manuals, you look at them and see it was clearly written by a lawyer. I’m a lawyer and I don’t understand what it means, so how is the average person without a law degree going to understand what they’re not to do and what their obligations are here?” ❚ Liz Bernier is a communications specialist at the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) and the managing editor of HR Professional magazine.

You can have the best policies in the world but if nobody knows about them, they have no value.

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{ Legal Innovation }

Optimizing Efficiency: People before Technology

By Judith McKay with David Cohen and Kathleen Hogan

B

usiness is more dynamic and complex than ever, and yet, legal department budgets are squeezed like never before.

Both in-house departments and law firms are adapting to the same pressures of changing market demands and expectations.

Smart law firms are striving to get ahead of market dynamics by deploying expertise businesses need, such as project management, IT, process improvement and short-term practical fixes. At the same time, firms are guided by a longer term vision to change the way legal services are delivered, enhancing internal operations and the way client needs are met to become more effective.

In-house counsel also see the benefit of getting more organized through project management discipline, process improvement and technology adoption. Our clients cite e-billing, matter management and collaboration as their top pain points, with knowledge management, e-discovery, information governance and contract management close behind. These are the same areas we are grappling with in law firms.

There‘s a lot that we can learn from each other.

People, Process, Culture Based on our experience, to effect real and lasting change, you need an organized and sustained effort with dedicated and integrated project teams. Programs to address pain points often fail because team members cannot carve out time to fix current processes or cultural issues. Often, the program is overambitious and not well planned out or invokes technology as the “magic bullet.”

Without a thoughtful approach that addresses people and processes at the outset, and accounts for the cultural shifts that need to take place, technology is usually ineffective.

On the people side, you must have the right team working together toward a clear vision. The team should develop 42

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a set of common goals designed to meet business objectives—an exceptionally difficult task to do properly. Execution requires a disciplined approach, including a long-term roadmap with projects and milestones. Finally, team members need clear expectations on how to interact and communicate with one another. It’s one thing to envision the future, but it’s quite another to execute against this vision.

On the process side, you need to perform an end-to-end examination of key legal service processes, ideally with the support of a Lean Six Sigma expert. This analysis identifies and eliminates unnecessary steps and finds ways to improve the process under review. The intake process is key: if you can get things right at the beginning, the rest of the process will run better and be easier to fix.

Once people and processes are aligned, focus on company culture. If people are used to operating reactively, it can take many months of reminders, recognition and encouragement to shift behaviours.

The “what’s in it for me?” factor is key. If you can show the changes ultimately make lawyers’ jobs easier and more meaningful, they usually become early adopters. If the changes are seen as an added burden or bureaucracy, the project is likely to fail.

Technology Now it is time to consider technology. First, be clear on your requirements. Also, do not adopt new technology if you or your IT group have doubts about its security, reliability or long-term sustainability. Deploying technology can be time-consuming and often requires significant change management, so you want to get it right.

Consider low-tech approaches, better utilization of existing technology, or leveraging technology used by law firms or other service providers as viable options, at least in the short term. Quick fixes that help lawyers be more organized produce early wins. For example, it is relatively easy

to create customized portals to provide key information at lawyers’ fingertips. Basic project management tools can enable better collaboration. Small tweaks to search functions can make it substantially easier to find things. These small changes can enhance your credibility and garner big improvements in the short term, giving you time to execute on the longer-term plan.

The key to successful implementation is having the right people operating the right processes with the right incentives to shift the culture. You need a thorough requirements assessment to ensure you understand the user and technical needs.

If you buy technology, you must do due diligence and run a pilot before deploying across the organization. Your contract should enable you to pay less (or sometimes nothing) during the pilot phase and abandon the technology if unsuccessful.

Change Management Change management is crucial throughout. Constant communication, feedback gathering and response is required to iterate toward success. Adopting new ways of delivering services is an ongoing process.

Re-define failure as just another step to achieve a workable solution. This ensures the team does not get discouraged, and continues to learn and improve.

Driving efficiency is a journey; our work is never done. Successful execution of service delivery improvement requires disciplined and rigorous processes, and constant communication to monitor usage and make tweaks and corrections along the way.

We welcome the opportunity to share perspectives and learnings with you as we continue to work on adding value to the business. ❚ Judith McKay is the Chief Client & Innovation Officer at McCarthy Tétrault. She wrote this article with David Cohen, Director & Client Service Delivery, and Kathleen Hogan, Director of Knowledge Integration.

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{ Strategic Management }

The Elusive Anti-Bribery Compliance Internal Controls: Part 2

By Isabelle Pierre

This four-part series explores how in-house counsel can design and implement effective internal anti-bribery controls without significantly expanding resources. This second part focuses on the legal framework applicable to such controls that informs their design process.

T

here is a paucity of resources on the legislative requirements for internal anti-bribery controls under Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, the U.K.’s Bribery Act and the U.S.’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

The most explicit requirements are found in the provisions of the FCPA, the oldest of the three anti-bribery laws. The FCPA requires Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) registrants to adopt a system of internal controls that provides reasonable assurances that transactions are executed and company assets are accessed in accordance with management’s specific or general authorization.

Anti-Bribery and Financial Reporting Controls The FCPA internal controls requirements appear to be closely related, if not virtually identical, to the books and records requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), making it tempting for in-house counsel to seek refuge under SOX compliance when assessing their compliance with anti-bribery laws.

Adopted in 2002 in the wake of the Enron scandal, SOX aims at improving the accuracy of financial reporting for public issuers. As such, section 404 requires registrants with the SEC to establish adequate internal controls structure and procedures for financial reporting. The internal controls provisions of the FCPA, on the other hand, support the obligation not to give or promise to give anything of value to a 1 2 3

foreign public official for the purpose of securing an improper advantage.

Because the internal controls provisions of SOX and the FCPA support different goals, they must be interpreted differently. The controls required by the FCPA, unlike SOX, have no materiality or de minimis threshold. Gift, gratuities and hospitality immediately come to mind as the sort of advantage that could violate anti-bribery laws and would not likely meet SOX’s materiality threshold either.

However, access to a company’s assets, when such access falls outside of the company’s core business, is often not recorded or simply not recordable, and as such would fall outside of the requirements of SOX. Similarly, use of company’s assets, such as that of a private aircraft, or offers of employment to a government official or a relative of a government official could violate the FCPA and would not therefore be captured by the company’s books. Finally, in some cases, the FCPA requires that controls be applied to third parties acting on behalf of the company, such as agents and sales representatives, whereas no such requirement exists under SOX. Therefore, while SOX controls are a good foundation upon which to build FCPA controls, the FCPA often requires the implementation of additional controls.

No Set Requirement Determining what internal controls are required to comply with anti-bribery laws is more an art than an exact science due

to the lack of judicial enforcement of internal controls provisions. Guidance on these requirements under U.S. law interpretation can be found in the 1983 U.S. case, SEC v. World-Wide Coins Investments, Ltd.1 and the 2012 FCPA Guide.2 In the former, the court offers as an obiter dictum its view on the internal control provisions of the FCPA in a situation where the defendant had no internal controls at all. The court recognized that the design of internal controls should be risk based, as the cost of internal controls should not exceed the benefits expected to be derived. The court further recognized the lack of specific standards against which to evaluate the sufficiency of an organization’s controls and concluded that any assessment process will inevitably be highly subjective and could lead reasonable individuals to different conclusions.

In the latter, U.S. authorities recognize that determining what internal controls are appropriate remains a case-by-case endeavour.

Thus, meeting the requirements of a provision, which are in themselves somewhat subjective and have no materiality threshold, remains a delicate question for most practitioners.

A Case-by-Case Approach Both U.S. and U.K. enforcement authorities recognize that the design of internal controls should be risk based. However, all internal controls systems should have the following common elements: ■■ They should rest on a robust system of management authorization, or delegation of authority, covering a broad spectrum of the organization’s activities, with a specific focus on activities presenting what enforcement authorities consider relevant risk factors.

SEC v. World-Wide Coin Investments, Ltd., 567 F. Supp. 724 (N.D. Ga. 1983) Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. November 2012.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Good Practice Guidance on Internal Controls, Ethics and Compliance. February 2010.

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{ Strategic Management }

■■

■■

■■

■■

■■

They should include a robust antibribery compliance program.

They should be supported by written policies. Procedures implementing these policies should create measures, such as segregation of duties, to prevent their circumvention.

The authorization process for activities presenting a risk of bribery should be supported by a bribery risk analysis that is based, where appropriate, on a due diligence exercise.

Employees should be trained on the policies and procedures.

The effectiveness of the policies and procedures should be assessed through

Conclusion

periodic reconciliation and vetting.

In its good practice guidance on internal controls,3 the OECD also recommends that internal controls should evolve over time to adapt to a changing organization or to adopt emerging best practices.

In customizing internal controls for their clients, in-house counsel should therefore conduct risk assessments to identify areas needing controls and the strength of the controls required; review the policy frameworks of clients to ensure they adequately address the risks identified; and finally, implement processes that will support and allow the enforcement of these policies.

This overview illustrates the lack of objective standards applicable to the implementation of internal controls but provides general principles supporting their design. The next instalment will offer steps to design internal controls that best meet these elusive standards and are compatible with an organization’s risk profile. ❚

■■

Isabelle Pierre is Deputy General Counsel at General Dynamics Land Systems. She is currently on maternity leave.

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{ Inside Edge }

Lawyers Telling Stories

By Mark Weber

You are always competing for attention when you speak. Whether you are trying to get buy-in for a new legal process, have your say in strategic business decisions or get your child to put on her shoes in the morning, you need the other person to listen—and care about— what you are saying. And the simple truth is that all listeners have a lot of other things on their minds, and many of those things feel more interesting and pressing to them than you.

O

ne of the most effective tools of engagement is one lawyers too seldom employ: good stories. Jonathan Gottschall calls humans the “storytelling animal,” and with good reason. We use story to transmit information in a memorable way and to create social bonds.

The problem? Lawyers do not generally like to think of themselves as storytellers, as if that somehow makes them manipulators or diminishes their importance.

However, think of the most memorable presenters you have seen or the best conversations you have had. Such moments almost invariably involve a story. We are wired to listen to, absorb, and, to at least some degree, retain narrative.

People are far more emotional than they are rational. If you want people to take an interest in what you are saying, you need to engage their emotions as well as their minds.

Stories do just that. They can help your audience make meaningful connections through analogy. Well-crafted and strategically positioned stories also allow listeners to draw their own conclusions, which they are more likely to trust than yours.

How can storytelling work for in-house counsel? Embed your legal expertise in stories that connect with your audience.

They will not remember your charts and citations; they will remember your stories.

Memory, engagement and connection

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will determine your impact, and all three are facilitated by good stories. You have the perfect starting point: case law.

Before you craft your story, you need to be clear on your purpose. What do you hope to accomplish? Complete this sentence: “After this presentation (or story or conversation), my audience will…”

Choose your story and your approach to telling it with this purpose in mind.

Your goal may be to generate action or a decision, communicate your or your department’s role, reinforce organizational values, foster collaboration or simply share knowledge. Be as fastidious in your thinking and planning about how you communicate your ideas in story—or augment them with stories—as you are in constructing your legal arguments.

Psychologists talk about the “curse of knowledge”—the well-documented challenge that once we know or understand something, it is very hard for us to imagine others do not. This is a communication problem to which lawyers and other highly skilled professionals are particularly prone. So be sure to fully explain critical history or concepts to ensure your story and points are understood.

Mastering the art of storytelling takes practice. When you attend events, reflect on what presenters do that works, and what doesn’t. For those looking for

resources, I recommend Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Health, and Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins: How to Use Your Own Stories to Communicate with Power and Impact by Annette Simmons. Also, build your repertoire and database of personal stories. Ask family and friends what they think your most interesting stories are, and seek feedback on how you can improve the telling of them.

And the single most important thing if you want your audience to care? Look and sound like you care. It is that simple.

Some presenters like to blame audiences when things don’t go well, and there are certainly “tough audiences” or audiences that have reason to be hard to reach at a given moment. But, in my experience, the vast majority of the time, whether people pay attention is much more about the presenter than anything else. One of the wonderful things about using stories is that presenters often come alive when telling them, and a presenter who is engaged will engage listeners.

Data, facts and clear argumentation are “necessary but not sufficient” much of the time. If you have a compelling story that sets up or frames the discussion, people are more likely to invest themselves in what you have to say. Lawyers who want to draw people into dialogue, want them to understand what they are saying and want them to care should tell more stories. ❚ Mark Weber is an award-winning teacher, researcher and consultant. He is currently the Eyton Director of the Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre at the University of Waterloo. He is also a professor for the CCCA’s Business Leadership Program for In-House Counsel.

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