This seminar has been planned with the solicitor in mind, which will include scenarios and real-life examples that will inform a solicitor of common dilemma's seen in practice!
Synopsis
Have you ever encountered a “gray area” in your practice? Or an ethical dilemma that challenges your professional responsibility?
Join the CBABC and Vancouver Bar Association as we discuss the important subject of ethics in an engaging way, Steven McKoen, QC, CBABC President Ken Armstrong, and Carolyn MacDonald will involve audience members in the discussion of ethical scenarios involving real-life examples, case studies and relevant ethical codes of conduct.
You will work with your peers in an open environment to examine emerging ethical problems that could impact your practice and beyond. This course will encourage you to think critically about ethical issues where the right path to take is not always clear. It will help you consider which decision-making criteria will fulfill the obligations you have to your clients, the courts, our profession and the public.
About Steven McKoen, QC
Steven McKoen, QC is a partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, practising in the areas of securities, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance.
Elected a Bencher for 2016, Steven is currently Chair of the Governance Committee and Law Firm Regulation Task Force, Vice-Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, and a member of the Executive Committee and Ethics Committee.
Steven is active in the community. He is a director of the Pacific Legal Education and Outreach Society and since 2006 has provided legal advice to artists and not-for-profits through its monthly pro bono clinic. Steven has been an adjunct professor in the faculties of law at both UBC and UVic, serves on the UBC Dean’s Advisory Committee for the Centre for Business Law and is a past chair of the Securities Law Section of the CBABC. Steven grew up in Port Alberni and Nanaimo, attended law school at UVic and was called to the bar in BC in 1998 and New York in 2002. He is married and is the proud father of two daughters.
Steven is recognized as a leading lawyer by the following publications: The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2016, The 2016 Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada, and The Best Lawyers in Canada 2017. In 2014, Steven was a recipient of a national Lexpert Zenith Award, which recognized those lawyers and judges, called between 1986-2000, who each demonstrated excellence and thought leadership in their areas of practice.
About Kenneth Armstrong
Ken Armstrong is the President of the CBA BC Branch for the 2019-20 term. He is a 25-year member of the Canadian Bar Association, with many years volunteering on CBA national and branch committees, focused on legal aid and government relations. He also served over 20 years on CBABC Provincial Council.
Ken is originally from New Westminster, and still lives there today. In 2004-2005, he served as President of the New Westminster Bar Association. Ken was called to the bar in BC in 1996. The year after that, he started practicing motor vehicle accident litigation - his area of practice is personal injury defense.
He has developed his expertise spending hundreds of hours in trial work. In 2008, Ken joined Stewart & Company – now known as Armstrong Naish Trial Lawyers. He became a partner in 2014 and, since 2016, he is the Managing Partner.
In addition to his professional work, Ken is a long-time volunteer in youth sports! He has over two decades as a soccer and Little League baseball coach. He is also an accomplished umpire with two World Series appearances: Little League Softball in 2015, and Senior League Baseball in 2016.
On his path to the CBABC presidency, in 2004, he received the BC Branch President’s Medal.
About Carolyn MacDonald
Carolyn is a partner with the Vancouver office of KPMG Law LLP and KPMG in Canada. Prior to joining KPMG, Carolyn practiced tax law at a major Canadian law firm. With over ten years of experience practicing law in British Columbia, she uses her unique perspective and experiences as a lawyer in order to provide innovative solutions to complex-cross border tax issues for her clients. Carolyn advises Canadian and foreign companies on a wide range of matters such as corporate reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, cross-border financings and Canadian and international transactions. She also advises on inbound and outbound cross-border investments, due diligence, acquisitions and divestitures. Her clients include both public and private companies across a wide-range of industries.
Carolyn has served as a member of the board of the Vancouver Bar Association since 2011 and was elected as secretary-treasurer in 2013. She is also a past member of several CBA BC committees, including the WLF Mentoring Committee, and is a regular speaker and author on taxation topics. Carolyn attended law school at the University of British Columbia and was called to the British Columbia bar in 2008.
