The CBA is a professional, voluntary organization, formed in 1896, and incorporated by a Special Act of Parliament in 1921 and is the largest pan-Canadian professional association for lawyers in Canada. The CBA represents 36,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers and law students, with over 350 members in Newfoundland and Labrador. The mandate of the Canadian Bar Association is to:
- improve the law
- improve the administration of justice
- improve and promote access to justice
- promote equality in the legal profession and in the justice system
- improve and promote the knowledge, skills, ethical standards and well-being of members of the legal profession
- represent the legal profession nationally and internationally
- promote the interests of the members of The Canadian Bar Association
CBA-NL Sections are practice-focused or interest-focused groups and are designed to meet the educational, advocacy and professional needs of lawyers.
The purpose of CBA Branch Sections is to respond to the needs of members by ensuring they are kept up to date on current developments in the law, submit recommendations and respond to legislation and law reform issues, and to engage Section members in networking and Professional Development activities.
Members can sign up for CBA-NL Sections online.
Branch Section Chairs are elected annually at the Branch Annual General Meeting of Council, in accordance with the Branch Bylaws. If there is no nominee to fill a position, or a vacancy occurs during a term of office, the CBA-NL Executive Committee may appoint the Chair.
While not required, each Section may elect a Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and any other officers that it may Consider appropriate.
All Section Chairs are voting members of CBA-NL Council.
CBA-NL Section Activities
Section committee meetings are scheduled at the will of the Chair.
CBA-NL Branch Section Chairs are required to host one “Lunch and Learns” a year, with presentations by persons of interest to the Section members. Lunch and Learns are to be a minimum of one hour in length and generally begin at 12:30pm.
Lunch and Learns are free to all CBA members and take place in person at a suitable location, and are also live webcast by Zoom or Teams. Section Chairs may also, and are encouraged, to host Lunch and Learns exclusively virtually, by Zoom or Teams. For in person Lunch and Learns, CBA-NL will provide lunch for in person attendees and all audio-visual equipment.
Section Chairs are responsible for booking the Lunch and Learn speaker(s), formalizing the topic and providing the speakers bio and session description to the Branch Executive Director for circulation a month in advance. To ensure compliance with anti-spam legislation, notices and correspondence to members must be sent by the Branch Executive Director. The Executive Director is responsible for receiving RSVPs to Section activities.
Section Chairs are encouraged to seek feedback and suggestions from Section membership on Legislation and Law Reform(“L&LR”) initiatives. The Executive Director can assist with the preparation of a notice to the Section membership.
Suggestions can also be initiated by individual members by contacting the Section Chair, Executive Committee, or the Executive Director and will be filtered to the relevant Section Chair(s).
Once an L&LR initiative has been identified, the Section Chair is required to submit a brief submission proposal to the Branch Executive Committee. The proposal should contain a brief background on the matter and why legislative change is needed. Once reviewed by the Executive Committee, if the submission proposal is approved, the Section Chairs is encouraged to strike a subcommittee of interested members to work on the submission. The Section Chair will act as Chair of the subcommittee or will identify a designate, to be approved by the Executive Committee.
See the CBA-NL Legislation and Law Reform Guide https://www.nl-cba.org/Who-We-Are/Governance for more information.
CBA-NL Policy: Statements, Submissions and Media
All statements and submissions made on behalf of the Branch or any of its Sections or Committees, must have the priorconsent of the Executive Committee or Council. All media inquiries are to be directed to the Branch Executive Director.
CBA National Sections
All Branch Section Chairs will serve as a member of their National Section/Forum Executive as a representative of CBA-NL. All Branch Section Chairs are strongly encouraged to actively participate in their National Section Executive, through conference calls, in-person meetings and sub committees. As a member of the National Section Executive, Branch Chairs will be expected to report on Branch Section activities, legal developments, and other items of interest to the Section happening in their jurisdiction.
National Section Meetings
Most CBA National Sections host one in person meeting per year. The National meeting is organized by the CBA National Office in Ottawa. Please reach out to Robyn at the Branch office to see if any financial assistance may be available.
Branch Chairs are notified of an in person National meeting by the CBA National Office. In the meeting notification you will receive instructions to confirm your attendance and instructions and deadlines to book travel.
Meetings take place in Ottawa unless being held in conjunction with a National Section PD Conference which may be held in another Canadian city. Funding is not provided to attend CBA Conferences held before or after a National Section Meeting.