Dealing with Conflict in Legal Practice: A Communications Framework for Challenging Interactions
2026-04-30 12:00 - 13:15 (America/St_Johns) | Online
Seminar Overview:
Conflict is an inherent feature of legal practice. Lawyers routinely engage with individuals who are experiencing stress, uncertainty, and, at times, significant personal crisis. These realities can give rise to challenging interactions – whether with anxious clients, opposing parties, or others involved in the legal process.
This seminar provides a practical, structured framework for navigating difficult conversations while maintaining professionalism and effectiveness. It will explore why emotions often run high in legal contexts and how lawyers can respond in a way that de-escalates tension rather than exacerbates it.
Participants will be introduced to communication strategies for working with a range of challenging behaviours and circumstances, including highly reactive personalities, cultural and language differences, and clients dealing with mental health concerns or trauma. The session will also address common scenarios such as managing oversharing, setting appropriate boundaries, and responding to incivility or aggression.
In addition, the seminar will focus on the lawyer’s own role in these interactions. Participants will learn practical techniques for maintaining composure in the moment, as well as strategies for managing the cumulative impact of difficult interactions over time.
This session is designed to equip lawyers with tools they can immediately apply in practice to foster more effective communication, reduce conflict, and support both professional well-being and client service.
Seminar Presenter:
Maggie O’Connell, Advocacy & Communications Specialist, Energy NL
Maggie is communications professional from St. John’s, NL. In her current role, she promotes local sustainable development in the province’s evolving energy sector. With a background in corporate communications, writing, and event coordination, Maggie brings a thoughtful, community-focused approach to her work. She designs and facilitates workshops that strengthen communication strategies and digital literacy. Passionate about diversity, collaboration, and creative storytelling, she holds a Master of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University and a BA in Communication Studies from Memorial University.
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/maggie-o-connell-02184b159
Registration Fee: $28.75 ($25.00 + HST) HST # R108086463
To register for this seminar, please click here.
CPD Credit: 1.25 hours

Free Webinar - Rules, Standards, and Strategy: Using AI to Map the Evolution of Judicial Reasoning, with Professor Norman Siebrasse
2026-05-20 12:00 - 13:15 | Online
Seminar Overview:
Professor Norman Siebrasse – a name certainly familiar to any UNB Law graduate – will lead this seminar examining the judicial reasoning style of the Supreme Court of Canada. He led one of the first large-scale, AI-assisted empirical studies of Supreme Court jurisprudence in Canada, systematically mapping how the Court’s reasoning style has shifted over time, with particular focus on the distinction between rules and standards – and why that distinction matters for practising lawyers.
The session will explore how judicial reasoning style affects predictability, litigation risk, evidentiary burdens, and appellate strategy. Using a structured and validated rubric, Professor Siebrasse and his team analyzed decades of Supreme Court decisions across subject areas, identifying measurable trends in doctrinal reasoning over time.
Participants will gain insight into the project’s methodology, including how AI can be deployed to analyze qualitative legal concepts and the strengths and limitations of that approach. The seminar will also consider how similar structured methodologies may be adapted by practitioners, academics, and regulators in their own contexts.
Looking forward, the session will address the future of empirical legal analysis in Canada and the responsible integration of AI into professional legal work.
Professor Siebrasse will also provide an overview of a separate AI drafting and editing tool he is developing – designed to assist lawyers in refining written work while preserving their individual voice.
Seminar Presenter:
Professor Norman Siebrasse, University of New Brunswick, Faculty of Law
Professor Siebrasse joined UNB Law in 1993, after receiving an LLM from the University of Chicago and clerking at the Supreme Court of Canada for the Honourable Madam Justice McLachlin during the 1991-1992 term. His research and writing focuses on patent law, particularly pharmaceutical patent law, patent remedies and the intersection of intellectual property law and commercial law.
To register for this seminar, please click here.
CPD Credit: 1.25 hours

Disciplinary Hearing: Susan LeDrew, KC
2026-06-15 - 2026-06-16 | 3rd Floor, Law Society Building, 196-198 Water Street, St. John’s, Canada
NOTICE OF A HEARING

Respondent:
Susan LeDrew, KC

Date:
April 30, 2026
May 1, 2026
June 15, 2026
June 16, 2026

Time:
9:30 a.m.

Location:
Offices of the Law Society 196-198 Water Street

In accordance with s. 45(3) of the Law Society Act, 1999, (the “Act”) the Complaints Authorization Committee (the “Committee”) has determined that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Susan LeDrew, KC (the “Respondent”) has engaged in conduct deserving of sanction and, in accordance with s. 45(3)(b) of the Act, the Committee has instructed the Vice-President to file the within Complaint against the Respondent on the basis that the Respondent is guilty of conduct deserving of sanction in that she:
2023-024:
Breached the following sections of the Code of Professional Conduct:

Section 2.1 of the Code of Professional Conduct and related commentaries thereto;
Section 7.1-1 of the Code of Professional Conduct; and
Section 7.2-1 of the Code of Professional Conduct and related commentaries thereto.

Breached the following Law Society Rules:

Rule 5.03;
Rule 5.04;
Rule 5.05;
Rule 5.10; and
Rule 5.15.

The factual particulars of the Complaint are as follows:
That the Respondent:
i. Failed to comply with the Law Society Rules respecting deposits and withdrawals from the trust account, in that money deposited into and withdrawn from her trust account was not directly related to legal services that she was providing;
ii. Failed to address the issue of inactive client trust ledgers arising from her audit, in a timely manner;
iii. Misled the Law Society with respect to the status of inactive client trust ledgers;
iv. Failed to promptly meet financial obligations in relation to her practice;
v. Failed to produce information that was requested as part of the ongoing trust audit; and
vi. Failed to respond promptly and completely to communications from the Law Society.
2024-021
Breached the following sections of the Code of Professional Conduct:

Section 2.1 of the Code of Professional Conduct and related commentaries thereto; and
Section 7.1-1 of the Code of Professional Conduct.

Breached the following Law Society Rules:

Rule 9.04; and
Rule 9.07.

The factual particulars of the Complaint are as follows:
That the Respondent:
i. Failed to respond to inquires of the Complaints Authorization Committee by the date set.

An Afternoon with The Right Honourable Richard Wagner, P.C., Chief Justice of Canada
2026-09-22 14:30 - 16:00 | 3rd Floor, Law Society Building, 196-198 Water Street, St. John’s, Canada
Location: Law Society Building, 196 Water Street, St. John’s – Virtual Attendance Available via Zoom
Overview:
Courts across the country are facing significant pressures as they endeavour to fulfil their essential role in society. In Newfoundland and Labrador, these pressures are reflected in growing case backlogs and were brought into sharper focus when the Provincial Court was required to indefinitely adjourn certain civil hearings, traffic matters, and Contraventions Act cases. Circuit court sittings have also been reduced indefinitely in some regions. These developments highlight broader challenges facing the justice system and the impacts that delay and limited court capacity can have on litigants, lawyers, and the public.
Against this backdrop, the Law Society is pleased to host the Chief Justice of Canada for a special event featuring remarks on the challenges currently facing Canada’s courts. Drawing on his national perspective, the Chief Justice will situate these developments within broader trends affecting courts across the country. The discussion will consider issues such as delay, accessibility, modernization of court processes, and maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice.
The session will also explore the respective roles of courts, governments, and the legal profession in responding to these challenges and strengthening the justice system.
Following his remarks, the Chief Justice will engage in a moderated discussion and respond to questions from attendees.
The Right Honourable Richard Wagner, P.C., Chief Justice of Canada
The Right Honourable Richard Wagner is the 18th Chief Justice of Canada. In this role, he presides over the Canadian Judicial Council, National Judicial Institute and chairs the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada. Chief Justice Wagner was president of the Association des Cours Constitutionelles Francophones from 2019 to 2022. The Chief Justice also fulfilled his duty to serve as administrator of the Government of Canada from January 23 to July 26, 2021.
Born and raised in Montreal, Chief Justice Wagner earned his Bachelor of Social Science and Licentiate in Laws at the University of Ottawa. He returned to his home town to practice law from 1980 to 2004. His areas of specialization included professional liability, commercial litigation and class action lawsuits. As a litigator the Chief Justice argued cases before every level of court in Quebec, quasi-judicial tribunals, as well as the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of Canada. Throughout his legal career, Chief Justice Wagner led initiatives to help lawyers constantly upgrade their skills and knowledge, such as the creation of the Centre d’accès à l’information juridique in 2002, for which he was awarded the Mérite du Barreau du Québec in 2005. In 2022, in recognition of his longstanding contribution to the advancement of the law, the Bar of Montreal awarded him its highest distinction, the Medal of the Bar of Montreal. In addition, for his outstanding contribution to upholding and promoting the rule of law, the World Jurist Association presented him with its Medal of Honor at a ceremony at the United Nations in New York in 2023. Most recently, in 2024, France awarded him with the insignia of Commander of the Legion of Honour, the country’s highest decoration, for his exemplary services to the cause of justice.
Chief Justice Wagner was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec in 2004 and was named to the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2011. On October 5, 2012, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. He was sworn in as Chief Justice of Canada on December 18, 2017. At his Supreme Court welcoming ceremony, Chief Justice Wagner spoke of the need for more transparency in the justice system, “Judges and courts must adjust and must explain who they are, what they do and how they do it.”
In that regard, the Chief Justice works very closely with the Supreme Court Registrar. The Court has introduced plain language summaries of decisions called Case in Brief and produces an annual report called the Year in Review. The Chief Justice now holds an annual news conference and has directed the Supreme Court, for the first time in its history, to hear cases outside Ottawa. In 2019, it traveled to Winnipeg where it heard two cases and judges conducted activities in the community. The Court conducted a similar trip to Quebec City in 2022.
Chief Justice Wagner is a steadfast advocate for better access to justice for all Canadians. He encourages better funding for legal aid, urges lawyers to do more pro bono work and supports structural reforms to further modernize the justice system.
As a litigator and a judge, the Chief Justice has championed civility in and outside the courtroom, “Even if people reading our decisions don’t agree with an outcome, we have to ensure they respect them. If we let emotion get the best of us, our decisions become suspect, and so do we.” Civility and collegiality were the focus of his speech at the 2019 Cambridge Lectures.
A passionate defender of the principle of judicial independence, the Chief Justice and Minister of Justice David Lametti signed an Accord in 2019 to formally recognize the Supreme Court’s full independence from the federal Department of Justice. “A judiciary that is independent – and seen to be independent – benefits all Canadians,” said the Chief Justice.
Registration Fee: $115.00 ($100.00 + HST)
HST # R108086463
Space is limited. To register for this event, please click here.
CPD Credit: 1.5 hours
