Welcome back to season 2 of our podcast, where we feature Aaron Bains for this month's episode. Hailing from Surrey, BC, Aaron currently works at Aird & Berlis LLP and is a member of the firm's diversity and inclusion committee. He dedicates his time to various boards, most recently as president of the South Asian Bar Association of Toronto as well as the St. George's Society. Like our former guest Nerissa Yan, Aaron was named as Canada's Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in 2020 by Canadian Lawyer magazine in the Young Influencer category. He was also recognized as a 2020 Precedent Setter by Precedent Magazine, which recognizes six outstanding young Toronto lawyers who have shown excellence and leadership in their practice and their community.

In this episode, we sit down to discuss Aaron's journey as an award-winning Bay Street partner and his commitment to diversity and inclusion outside of work. We also talk about the importance of fostering strong relationships, surrounding ourselves with pleasant colleagues, and genuinely enjoying one's practice.

This episode is a discussion with Jaskaran Sandhu, lawyer and senior consultant at Crestview Strategy and the founder of Baaz media, on the way in which ethnic communities are portrayed in the media, the historical issues that continue today with minority media representation and the importance of having independent community based media outlets. Jaskaran also sheds light on the ongoing Indian farmer's protest and the role of the media in one of the largest movements in the world.

Prior to joining Crestview Strategy, Jaskaran was the Executive Director of the World Sikh Organization of Canada and also previously served as the Senior Advisor to Brampton’s Office of the Mayor. He also serves on the board of the World Sikh Organization of Canada, is a current CivicAction DiverseCity Fellow, and was recognized by Brampton’s Board of Trade as one of Brampton’s top 40 under 40 in 2017.

FACL Guest hosts: Rasmeet Mohar and Hasan Alam

This episode discusses pay equity, corporate governance, and the pressing need for increasing gender and racialized representation in boards, the legal profession, and legal academia. In this episode, we have the pleasure of chatting with Dr. Carol Liao, Associate Professor at the Allard School of Law and the UBC Sauder Distinguished Scholar of the Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics at the UBC Sauder School of Business. She recently received the 2021 Influential Women in Business Award, an award that recognizes leaders in their respective field for contributing their time and expertise to the broader BC business community as board members, advisors, donors and mentors.

Prior to joining Allard, Dr. Liao taught at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law, practiced law in New York at Shearman & Sterling LLP, served as a legal researcher for the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda, and clerked at the BC Court of Appeal.

This episode discusses several statistics, all of which can be found here: https://bit.ly/3cIURsp

In this episode, we welcome Isaac Won, a lawyer in the Community Law Program with the Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS). Isaac discusses access to justice reform initiatives, public interest work, and his current advocacy work at CLAS.

During law school, Isaac volunteered extensively with the Law Students Legal Advice Program, providing legal representation and advice to low income and vulnerable individuals. Isaac completed his articles with CLAS in May 2018 and worked with the Mental Health Law Program and the Human Rights Clinic before joining the Community Law Program in 2020.

We discuss a number of initiatives, legal terms, and external resources in this episode, all of which can be found in this document: https://bit.ly/3344CvY

Five years ago, Albert Klein was contemplating leaving law.  He is now a partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, running a successful disability law practice across Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta.  He joins guest host (and younger brother) James Hsu, co-chair of FACL BC's membership committee, to discuss what changed, the importance of identifying your "non-negotiables'' and what it takes to run a multi-jurisdictional practice.

Be sure to learn more about us at faclbc.ca

This month we are pleased to have Chilwin Cheng return as guest host, where he interviews Lisa Fong, QC. In this episode, Chilwin and Lisa discuss her upbringing with immigrant parents, Asian representation in the legal profession, the lack of judicial diversity on the Bench, her appointment as Queen’s Counsel, and the contested topic of whether potstickers or steamed soup dumplings are better. Queen’s Counsel is an honorary title to recognize a lawyer’s exceptional merit and contribution to the legal profession.

Some statistics on judicial appointments:

Statement:

https://carl-acaadr.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/EN-Letter-to-the-Min-of-Justice-1.pdf

Sources:

Chilwin Cheng, Principal at Ascendion Law, is the host of FACL BC's February special 3-part interview series.

This week's guest is Miranda Lam. Miranda resolves complex disputes and is a highly regarded trusted business advisor to private and public enterprises. A partner in McCarthy Tetrault’s Litigation Group, she is also the Retail Sector Lead in the firm’s national Retail and Consumer Markets Group, and a core member of the Mining and Technology Groups. A skilled litigator, she is recognized for her strategic thinking and business-oriented problem-solving approach to all disputes. Miranda is also the chair of McCarthy’s National Gender Equality Action Group, as part of their Inclusion Now priority.

Miranda returns for a second episode on FACL BC's podcast in season two, Episode 21 (May 2022).

Chilwin Cheng, Principal at Ascendion Law, is the host of FACL BC's February special 3-part interview series.

This week's guest is Miranda Lam. Miranda resolves complex disputes and is a highly regarded trusted business advisor to private and public enterprises. A partner in McCarthy Tetrault’s Litigation Group, she is also the Retail Sector Lead in the firm’s national Retail and Consumer Markets Group, and a core member of the Mining and Technology Groups. A skilled litigator, she is recognized for her strategic thinking and business-oriented problem-solving approach to all disputes. Miranda is also the chair of McCarthy’s National Gender Equality Action Group, as part of their Inclusion Now priority.

Chilwin Cheng, Principal at Ascendion Law, is the host of FACL BC's February special 3-part interview series. This week's guest is Brian Cheng, who is a shareholder at Owen Bird with a focus on commercial litigation and insurance defence. Brian has appeared in the Provincial Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Appeal. He is also licensed to practice in Washington where he has appeared before the District Court, Superior Court, and the Court of Appeals.

In addition to his practice, Brian volunteers as a supervising lawyer through UBC’s Law Students’ Legal Advice Program and as a clinician lawyer with Access Pro Bono. He is a member of the boards of the Lawyers Inn Society (the Law Courts Inn) and the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers of BC.

Chilwin Cheng, Principal of Ascendion Law, takes over FACL BC's podcast for a special February 3-part series of interviews.

His first guest is Kevin Loo. He is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer and is a partner of Nathanson Schachter & Thompson LLP. Kevin regularly appears as counsel in the B.C. Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, the Federal Court, and various administrative tribunals. Kevin clerked at the Court of Appeal. He is a Litigation Star, Benchmark Canada, and a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.