Thursday, March 17, 2022

Black Future Lawyers conference

 

The University of Toronto Faculty of Law hosted the Black Future Lawyers conference, March 11-13, 2022.

The annual event takes BFL undergraduates through a fun and interactive program focused on law school admissions while exposing students to different legal careers and networking opportunities with lawyers and law students. More 108 participants took part over the three days, virtually.

Read U of T's Black Future Lawyers program set to expand with $1.75 million in support

The goals of the conference include:

  • Deepen participants understanding about the law and legal issues;
  • Build skills that are relevant to practicing law and being a successful law student;
  • Learn about the legal profession and law careers;
  • Hear directly from Black lawyers, judges, law professors and law students;
  • Create connections with other Black students who are interested in law school;
  • Create space for and amplify the voices of BFL participants and chapter leaders.

Conference highlights included:

Keynote: Charlene Theodore, Chief Inclusion Officer at McCarthy Tétrault LLP

With multiple accomplishments and leadership in the legal industry and her advocacy and advancement of diversity and inclusion practices in the legal profession, BFL was pleased to welcome Charlene Theodore, Chief Inclusion Officer at McCarthy Tétrault LLP as this year's keynote speaker. 

Legal Content – Sarah Riley Case, SJD candidate

A long-time supporter of BFL, Professor Sarah Riley Case’s work weaves together law, history, conceptions of justice, and the arts. She introduced participants to Critical Race Theory (CRT) in a Canadian context, delving further into what it is and why it is important.

Riley Case is incoming Professor and current Boulton Junior Fellow at the McGill Faculty of Law, she has a BA from McGill University and Sorbonne Université, a JD from Osgoode Hall Law School, an LLM from the McGill Faculty of Law. She is completing her doctorate at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

Skills for Lawyering – Negotiation

During this lawyering skills sessions, participants learned the fundamentals of negotiation, including an exploration of the different forms of negotiation within a legal context, the skills required for effective negotiations and heard more from the facilitators' lived experiences.

Legal Profession – Race & the Legal Profession by Atrisha Lewis (JD 2012)

Faculty of Law graduate Atrisha Lewis discussed the experiences of racialized lawyers, how far they’ve come and the work that still needs to be done to make the profession more inclusive and accessible to Black Future Lawyers. Atrisha is a litigator at McCarthy's and a diversity and equity champion. She has been volunteer with BFL since its founding and has also participated as a mentor.

Skills for Success – Black Law Students' Association (BLSA) Panel

The BLSA Q&A Panel, facilitated by Jerome Poon-ting, Senior Recruitment, Admissions and Diversity Outreach Officer at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, featured diverse Black Law students from different institutions and provided conference attendees with an opportunity to ask current Black law students about their experiences in law school.

Closing Reflection 

U of T Law graduate Josh Lokko (JD 2020), one of BFL's co-founders, hosted the conference's closing reflection. Lokko spoke about the creation of BFL and its importance in connecting with amazing ambitious, like-minded students from across the country. He also shared his personal journey from law school to joining the profession. 

The conference organizers thank all the guest speakers, volunteers and BFL supporters. 

Learn more about the Black Future Lawyers program