A group of us began to discuss this in April and seriously put our collective minds to developing a Table of Contents on May 15, 2022.

Two months later, our full manuscript is ready to submit to our incredibly supportive publisher, LexisNexis.

THE BOOK COVER IS GORGEOUS!!

The content of the book is a surprise as is its target market – all will be revealed soon enough, all in good time.

Suffice it to say the book will fill a gap and meet a pressing need. It is spectacularly creative and smart.

UPDATE – All is NOW REVEALED – as of October 3, 2022, the book is AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER HERE:

PRE-ORDER LAW AND MENTAL HEALTH IN CANADA: CASES AND MATERIALS

Quite apart from the substantive legal content, my Co-Editor and I have given enormous thought to all the other sundries that go along with publishing a textbook. From Dedication, to Preface to a Table of Cases and Statutes, this one will have it all. Forewords by the most distinguished members of our profession are exciting and we are so honoured by them.

The project was an incredible team effort. I am super excited about the final product for a host of reasons, including that despite having published three previous textbooks, this is the first time my name will appear as first author. That’s meaningful for me as progress on the gender front in the law. Boosting all the women co-authors is another opportunity I am grateful to have and to maximize here fully.

All my other books list men as first author on those.

Time to revolutionize legal publishing in this area of law in many ways.

Our author group are nearly all women – Carter Martell is the only man among us!

I have authored or co-authored 13 of the Chapters, and together with Dr. Ruby Dhand, am the General Co-Editor of the volume.

I want to introduce our amazing Author Group here now and look forward to revealing more details soon!

My astounding Co-Author and General Co-Editor on this volume, Dr. Ruby Dhand

You can read Dr. Dhand’s professional Profile as a Professor at TRU in Kamloops here:

https://www.tru.ca/law/faculty-staff/faculty/ruby-dhand.html

Ruby was my first legal intern more than 12 years ago and I’ve known her nearly 15.

In this volume, we co-author I think seven chapters together, and several on our own or with other co-authors. We worked literally day and night editing the work and putting together a stunning product at the end of the day. Ruby is an endlessly positive person, who brings out the best in everyone around her. Couldn’t be more thrilled about my good luck working so intimately with her for so long and look forward to our next adventure!

Here are some fantastic moments of our long term friendship and professional collaboration!

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR SARAH RANKIN – McKey Ferg LLP Calgary, Alberta

Read about her Professional Accomplishments here:

https://mckayferglaw.com/lawyers/sarah-rankin/

Sarah first volunteered with me circa 2012 when I cold called out for help on a lengthy Coroner’s Inquest into three deaths of people shot by police while holding an edged weapon and in crisis (JKE Inquest.) Her work impressed me so much even then, I’ve called on her a dozen times or more since. Sarah has done and continues to do important work for clients with mental health issues and for prisoners in Calgary. One of the smartest lawyers I know, she’s also razor sharp and darkly hilarious. What a pleasure it was to read her Chapter in this book. I am truly blessed to have Sarah in my life.

Photo-Gallery of our decade long friendship and collaboration since Sarah was in law school!

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR CARTER MARTELL

Read about Carter and the work he does in his criminal defence firm here:

https://www.martelldefence.com/

I’ve worked with Carter on three Supreme Court of Canada cases (Sullivan and Chan and Brown) and am looking forward to our work on our next SCC case together.

We work very collaboratively and I am so grateful to Carter for his wisdom, insight and professionalism on every single case. A wicked sharp wit is just an extra bonus. Plus, he both READS and ANSWERS my emails! There’s nothing that makes a co-author a more valuable player on a team than that!

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR JENNIFER CHAMBERS

Jennifer Chambers is the Executive Director of the Empowerment Council, a peer-run not for profit advocacy organization for people with mental health issues and addictions.

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with Jennifer and represent the EC in various forums, including Coroner’s Inquests and on appeals including in the Supreme Court of Canada for more than 20 years.

I am also very lucky to be able to call Jennifer my friend. I admire both her and her work enormously.

I realize a theme is starting to emerge, but like the other contributing authors, friends and colleagues here, Jennifer’s intellect and insight are coupled with a very sophisticated and devastating sense of humour.

Some photos of us over the last few years as we continue our work together in litigation and now publishing!

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR CASSANDRA DeMELO

Cassandra and I have worked together for at least five years co-Chairing LAMDA / CLA Mental Disorder and Law Conferences. She and I have also worked together as Co-Chairs of the Women’s Committee for the CLA and hosted many programs together for that Committee during COVID. Proud to call her “friend.” Grateful to her for her sustained support and proud of her for her fearless advocacy for her clients with serious mental health issues.

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR NAOMI SAYERS

I first met Naomi in person when she joined LAMDA at a CPD event we had on the Forensic Early Identification Program in Toronto jails. We have become cherished colleagues and good friends, but sadly mostly during COVID, so I don’t have any pictures of us together, oddly not even on Zoom. I am so impressed with Naomi’s strident advocacy on behalf of Indigenous and all clients with serious mental health issues. Grateful for her endless support and so thrilled she was able to contribute a chapter now.

Learn about Naomi here on her law firm’s website:

https://www.meetnaomi.com/welcome

Oh, wait, I found a picture of us “together” that a legal paper put side by side, truth be told, when we were both interviewed for an article about Empathy and whether it is a skill needed in the legal profession – spoiler alert: we both said Yes! Even more top secrets revealed early: Empathy gets its own topic heading in our new book!!

Stop the presses – I NOW have an actual picture of me and Naomi taken at my 30th bar call bash

Sept 24 2022!

And since then, another one! – At the Criminal Appellate Mentorship Program in Honour of the Honourable Marc Rosenberg Kick-Off Event on January 12, 2023

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR JACQUELINE PETRIE

No photos of us together, likely again as our professional relationship has solidified largely over the last few years while we battle the pandemic together. Thrilled to see Jacqueline doing amazing work at the Alberta Review Board and developing the jurisprudence on appeals from that tribunal to the Alberta Court of Appeal. I am grateful to her for our discussions about review board law and both personal and professional support and encouragement. It was a pleasure to co-author two chapters with her here.

Read about Jacqueline Petrie and her work at Bottos Law in Edmonton, Alberta here:

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR AMY SHOEMAKER

We are very lucky to have Amy Shoemaker contribute a chapter to this book. Nobody has a greater understanding of the law in this area. Her research and writing skills are unmatched. Amy has supported the private bar in Ontario working on mental health matters with research support for probably 20 years. I respect and admire her dedication to the work and am grateful for the wisdom and expertise she brings to this work now.

Read about Amy’s work as Director of LAO Law – Legal Aid Ontario’s Research facility here:

LAO LAW: “It’s very nerdy. But we embrace that.”

BACK COVER

FULL COVER LMHC: CASES AND MATERIALS