Commitment to Diversity and Inclusiveness
Lawson Lundell continues to make strides in increasing diversity within the Firm as an integral part of its culture founded on trust and respect. The firm's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee oversees the planning and implementation of concrete measures to further advance equity, diversity and inclusion. The team consists of six lawyers: Julia Winters (Chair and Chief Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Officer), Katy Allen, Shailaz Dhalla, Paul Kressock, Will Roberts, and Mona Yousif.
Graphic representations of gender diversity* in the Firm and each of our offices are set out below.
Firm Wide
Vancouver
Calgary
Yellowknife
Kelowna
*as of March 2023
Vision for the Future
We understand that we must do more than recognize the importance of diversity and inclusiveness —we must also create tangible and concrete changes at the policy level and to our firm composition. To that end, our Chief Inclusiveness Officer and Diversity and Inclusiveness Committee monitor our progress and implement programs to improve understanding amongst our diverse workforce and clients. Their work includes initiating training for our lawyers and staff, participating in provincial and national diversity and inclusiveness groups within the legal community, and monitoring and encouraging firm progress towards a more diverse and inclusive environment. We also recognize that we will not achieve our goals without dedicating the appropriate resources and spending the time to foster a diverse and inclusive workforce. Described below are some of our efforts. We are proud of our achievements to date but are committed and determined to do more.
Our Initiatives
Justicia
As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusiveness, Lawson Lundell participates in the Justicia Project, a voluntary initiative facilitated by various Law societies including the Law Society of British Columbia and the Law Society of Alberta that is designed to support the retention and advancement of women lawyers in private practice.
Diversity by the Numbers
Lawson Lundell participated in Diversity by the Numbers, an initiative led by the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) in partnership with the CBA that seeks to better understand the demographic makeup of the Legal Profession in Canada.
Diversity 50
Partners Tamela Coates, KC, FCIArb. and Valerie Mann are on the Diversity 50 list, which solicits applications from the business community who seek directorships on Canadian boards, and from these applications each year creates a database of 50 highly qualified, non-traditional candidates for such positions.
Support in our communities
- We have been official sponsors of Vancouver Pride, Calgary Pride, NWT Pride, Kelowna Pride, Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation and Start Proud.
- We are a partner of Pride at Work Canada which empowers employers to foster workplace cultures that recognize LGBTQ2S+ employees as an important part of a diverse and effective workforce.
- We are actively involved in a number of community organizations, including the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (FACL), South Asian Bar Association of British Columbia, and the North American South Asian Bar Association (NASABA).
- We support a variety of charitable and community organizations focused on improving our local communities through our LawsonGives initiative.
- Lawson Lundell lawyers separately give of their time within and outside of the firm to mentor, advise and assist women in the practice of law and in business, more generally. For example, we have been involved with the Women Lawyers Forum, Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, Women in Tech, Women in Private Equity, Business in Vancouver's Women in Business event and other Women-focused panels.
