Lexpert Magazine

42 LEXPERT MAGAZINE | JUNE 2016 mittee of the Canadian Bar Association. In 2007, she led the creation of the Qué- bec Branch of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conference, which she co-chaired until 2015. With Qué- bec CBA's Legislation and Law Reform Committee, she held an advisory role in the adoption of Québec legislation re- garding transgender people. She is also a founding member of the Québec Branch Forum des femmes juristes, promoting the rights of women lawyers. Legal Leaders for Diversity Legal Leaders for Diversity (LLD) was launched in May 2011, with more than 30 general counsel as founding members, to promote a more inclusive legal profession in Canada. By early 2016, it had grown to more than 100 Canadian general counsel at leading Canadian corporations. LLD's mission statement declares its resolve to value the range of perspectives, ideas and experiences inherent in diversity of gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, cultural background, religion and age. Recent ini- tiatives include: annual LLD Trust Fund scholarships to support disabled youth studying law across Canada; inviting se- nior gay and lesbian law partners to discuss barriers and identify solutions, followed by circulation of findings to member firms; and a mentorship program matching 22 minority-group associate lawyers from the Law Firm Diversity and Inclusion Net- work with senior LLD members. David Lepofsky TORONTO David Lepofsky holds law degrees from the firms supporting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. Sixteen founding firms signed a statement of principles in May 2013. To promote diversity and inclusion, members agreed to share ideas, work with other groups in the legal profession, sup- port outreach to law schools and commu- nities and promote thought leadership on diversity. ere are now 33 member firms across Canada, including Canada's 20 larg- est national law firms. Members share best practices, education and awareness efforts, working with Legal Leaders for Diversity, the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion and others. LFDIN meetings consider such issues as diversity surveys, LSUC's report on racialized licensees, un- conscious bias in recruiting and retention, and accreditation of Trinity Western Uni- versity Law School. Marie Laure Leclercq DE GRANDPRÉ CHAIT LLP > MONTRÉAL Marie Laure Leclercq was a leading or- ganizer of the first World OutGames, which were held in Montréal in 2006 for LGBT athletes. Marie Laure acted as Director of the Montréal OutGames Corporation and as a member of the In- ternational Scientific Committee for the Conference on LGBT Human Rights, held in conjunction with the games. She is also a leader with the Québec Gay Chamber of Commerce (QGCC) and served as President of the Equality Com- University of Toronto and Harvard Law School. He practises constitutional, civil, administrative and criminal law in the Ontario Public Service and serves as a part- time member of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. roughout his career he has advocated for the rights of persons with disabilities and appeared before the Joint Committee of the Senate and the House of Commons on the Constitution of Canada, achieving an amendment to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ensuring equality rights for the disabled. He also worked with the disability coalition that secured protection against discrimination in Ontario's Human Rights Code and led the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Com- mittee from 1994 to 2005. He has been in- ducted into the Order of Canada, Order of Ontario and Terry Fox Hall of Fame. Christien Levien LEGALSWIPE > OTTAWA Christien Levien created the Legalswipe smartphone application that advises the public on their legal rights when ques- tioned or detained by police, an offering that proved so popular it crashed the Apple App Store server. A Canadian of Carib- bean descent, Christien recounts being subjected to unprovoked assault by police as an undergraduate and was inspired by that experience to become a lawyer. As a law student doing legal rights workshops in communities affected by the issue of police violence, he gained an understanding of the needs of those communities and designed his app around those needs. Legalswipe draws from the Know Your Rights booklet of the Canadian Civil Liberties Associa- tion to advise detainees on specific wording of responses to police questions, as well as providing video recording of incidents and an emergency-message function. | ZENITH AWARDS |

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