Late last month, the full CBA/CBF Task Force on the Sustainable Practice of Law & Innovation reconvened for the first time since the Task Force launched in October 2019. The group came together this time to learn from the efforts of our Canadian colleagues, to hear updates from all five committees, and to discuss and help develop a new and more practical definition for the practice of law.
Fred Headon, Assistant General Counsel at Air Canada and former Canadian Bar Association President kicked the meeting off by discussing the efforts of the Canadian Bar’s Legal Futures Initiative. As chair of that initiative, Fred had lots of good insight to share with Task Force members on the topic, and we are fortunate that he continues to lend his wisdom as a member of the Task Force’s National Advisory Council.
After updates on the good work each of the Task Force committees has accomplished in recent months, members finished the meeting with a hearty discussion on developing a new definition for the practice of law. The current definition in Illinois is nebulous and impractical in today’s world, and the Task Force intends to suggest a new definition as part of our overall recommendations for changes to Rules of Professional Conduct to the Illinois Supreme Court in fall of 2020.