Message from the members of the LSO Equity Grant subcommittee – participants and remuneration

As previously communicated, the CLA Women’s and Diversity Committees jointly applied and were awarded one of seven LSO equity grants. The final report will be presented in the fall of 2025 at the LSO Equity Summit, where the CLA Women’s and Diversity Committees will have a unique opportunity to present our findings and propose actionable strategies to address barriers to retention and advancement that women and BIPOC lawyers in the Ontario criminal bar face.

While there will be a less time-consuming survey distributed later for willing participants to fill out, the impact the report can make at the Summit depends on receiving a wide range of stories shared during confidential interviews, which will be gathered from willing participants in a 1-on-1 format or potentially focus groups.

We therefore urge all members who identify as women or BIPOC lawyers to email mpsutka@fentonlaw.ca to express their respective interest in participating in a survey, interview, or focus group. Someone from the independent research company Blink Equity, that we retained with the grant, will reach out to you with more information about the process. For information about this research company, please see their website, and a related report prepared: The Blink Score: A Racial Diversity Audit & Ranking of Ontario Law Firms.

The CLA appreciates the importance of this study, the need for as many participants as possible to enhance the credibility of our findings, and that most participants who agree to donate time are doing this above and beyond the rest of their pro bono work. As a result, the CLA is offering remuneration for those that take part in interviews or focus groups to contribute to the research. Remuneration will be in the form of a $100 bursary that can be used toward: (1) the 2025 CLA Fall Conference for yourself, (2) the 2025 CLA Fall Conference for an active CLA member of your choice, or (3) contributing to a bursary dedicated to retaining and advancing women and BIPOC criminal lawyers (details to follow). The various options are designed to ensure anonymity in the participant’s choice of remuneration.

We are nearing the end of our call for participants. If interested, please let us know as soon as possible if you or someone you know may be interested, by reaching out to mpsutka@fentonlaw.ca. All names will be kept confidential.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Michelle Psutka (mpsutka@fentonlaw.ca) or Laura Metcalfe (lmetcalfe@addario.ca), members of the LSO Equity Grant subcommittee.

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