| THE ONTARIO LAWYERS’ ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Where Do I Go For Help? Marg was overwhelmed. Hired as an associate with a small law firm to practice family law, she quickly discovered that her two male associates had restricted practices in commercial law, which left criminal and civil litigation to be covered. She could not juggle all these balls. So, Marg referred many people to the Law Society's Lawyer Referral Service and to Legal Aid to give them access to justice. On top of her busy caseload, Marg overheard her associates laugh about her one night when she was working late. They made fun of her accent, and were quite specific about their sexual thoughts and desires for her. One of them had recently approached her when she was working late and made a specific sexual advance. On occasions after that, he accidentally “bumped” into her but did not pull away immediately. Marg did not know what to do. Too ashamed to talk to anyone, feeling isolated and too busy to look for another job, she was desperate for help. She saw an ad in the Ontario Reports for the Ontario Lawyers' Assistance Program (OLAP) and remembered reading short vignettes in the Ontario Lawyers Gazette. She called OBAP and was met by an understanding, non-judgmental volunteer. She had kept meticulous notes of each incident, a discipline of her legal training. The OLAP volunteer acting as a sounding board and support to her referred her to the Law Society's Discrimination and Harassment Counsel for action. While all is not yet calm for Marg, things are being done. BACK TO MAIN STARZYNSKI ARTICLES PAGE CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE (MS WORD)
Legal Profession Assistance Conference (LPAC) |Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP) | Lawyers Assistance Program of British Columbia (BCLAP) | Nova Scotia Lawyers Assistance Program (NSLAP) | Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) | The Lawyers Assistance Program (LINK) | The Alberta Lawyers Assistance Program | Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (Saskatchewan) | The Lawyers Professional Indemnity Company (LawPRO) | Law Practice Consulting |
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