On this episode of Friends Who Argue, we’re sharing Part 2 of our behind-the-scenes look at the work of The Advocates’ Society’s Modern Advocacy Task Force and its final report, the Right to be Heard: The Future of Advocacy in Canada. Task Force member Alex Shelley interviews Advocates' Society president Deborah Palter and Advocates' Society Director Peter Osborne (who chaired the Task Force) about the findings of the report. We encourage you to listen to Part 1 first, for a discussion about how the report was conceived, researched and drafted.

Download a copy of the Task Force’s final report here: digital version / print-friendly version.

Alexandra Shelley is a senior associate at Torys LLP. Her practice focuses on litigation and dispute resolution in a variety of areas, including corporate/commercial litigation, securities, construction and real estate.

Deborah E. Palter is a partner at Thornton Grout Finnigan LLP and President of The Advocates' Society. She is recognized as a leading advocate with a broad commercial litigation practice.  She regularly acts for individuals, corporations and financial institutions providing creative advice and strategies for litigating and resolving complicated business disputes.

Peter Osborne is a partner at Lenczner Slaght LLP and sits on the TAS Board of Directors. He is one of Canada’s leading trial and appellate counsel and a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. His advocacy practice includes securities matters, commercial disputes, insolvency and restructuring cases, class actions, governance issues and advice. Peter is a regular instructor for CLE programs of The Advocates' Society.

Land Acknowledgement
The Advocates’ Society acknowledges that our offices, located in Toronto, are on the customary and traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinabek, the Huron-Wendat and now home to many First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples.  We acknowledge current treaty holders, the Mississaugas of the Credit and honour their long history of welcoming many nations to this territory.
 
While The Advocates’ Society is based in Toronto, we are a national organization with Directors and members located across Canada in the treaty and traditional territories of many Indigenous Peoples. We encourage our members to reflect upon their relationships with the Indigenous Peoples in these territories, and the history of the land on which they live and work.
 
We acknowledge the devastating impacts of colonization, including the history of residential schools, for many Indigenous peoples, families, and communities and commit to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in an informed legal profession in Canada and within The Advocates’ Society.