University of Victoria | Dispute Resolution Policy and Initiatives in the Justice System: Culture shift and “The New Lawyer” | Panel, November 25, 2009 – 4-6 pm
Panel: Dispute Resolution Policy and Initiatives in the Justice System: Culture shift and “The New Lawyer”
November 25: 4 to 6 pm, room 152, Fraser Building, University of Victoria
This panel will address current policy and initiatives in Canada regarding mediation and collaborative law in the context of the phenomenon of “The New Lawyer,” a term being used to describe some noticeable shifts in legal culture.
The panel:
- M. Jerry McHale, Acting Deputy Attorney General, Province of British Columbia
- David Merner, Director, Dispute Resolution Office, Province of BC
- Mary Mouat, collaborative lawyer and mediator, former member BC Justice Reform Task Force and current Chair of the Law Foundation of BC
This panel discussion is open to interested students and faculty members as well as interested mediators, collaborative lawyers and litigators.
M. Jerry McHale, QC, Acting Deputy Attorney General for the Province of British Columbia. He is the Assistant Deputy Minister, Justice Services Branch in the British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General. Mr. McHale served six years as Director of the Dispute Resolution Office in the Ministry. For over a decade, he practiced as a barrister and solicitor, and mediator in family and commercial law. As the Director of the Dispute Resolution Office, he was responsible for initiatives such as the Notice to Mediate and the Child Protection Mediation Program. Jerry has taught alternate dispute resolution at the University of Victoria and for the Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C.
David R. Merner, Director, Dispute Resolution Office, Ministry of the Attorney General of BC, Victoria, BC. Mr. Merner completed degrees at Harvard University, the University of Alberta, Oxford University, and the University of Toronto prior to his call to the BC bar in 1990. He has practised in various areas, including constitutional law, employment law, tax litigation and dispute resolution.
Mary Mouat, collaborative lawyer and mediator, Quadra Legal Centre, Victoria, BC. . A qualified mediator since 1996, Ms. Mouat is also an active member of the Victoria Collaborative Law Group and the past Chair of the Victoria Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. She has been active in a variety of professional organizations, such as the Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Branch, and the Victoria Bar Association and a variety of community Boards, including the Victoria Women’s Sexual Assault Centre and the South Vancouver Island Family Planning Society. Ms. Mouat was a member of the Family Justice Review Working Group. She is the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Law Foundation of British Columbia.
Moderator: Catherine Morris, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law and Faculty of Human and Social Development, Associate of the Institute for Dispute Resolution at the University of Victoria, and Director of Peacemakers Trust.
Participants include students of the course in Dispute Resolution Theory and Practice at the Faculty of Law, University of Victoria. This panel discussion is open to other interested students and faculty members at the University of Victoria as well as interested mediators, collaborative lawyers and litigators.
