For all our programs and to Become a WiCCD member, check out WiCCD’s Linktree here:

https://linktr.ee/wiccd

This is our Year In Review for 2022!

Women in Canadian Criminal Defence – WiCCD – pronounced Wicked – was founded in December of 2021 with an official launch date of January 4, 2023. This is the Founding Executive pictured here:

President – Sid Freeman

Vice President (Alberta) – Miranda Hlady

Vice President (Ontario) – Amanda Ross

Treasurer – Cassandra DeMelo

Secretary – Anita Szigeti

Assistant Secretary & Education Director – Maya Shukairy

Recorder: Shaunna Kelly

Social Media and Membership Co-ordinators: Hamna Anwar and Maya Kotob

Litigation Committee Director: Maija Martin

During our first year, Maya Kotob and Shaunna Kelly left the practice of criminal defence.

Breana Vandebeek took over as Recorder and Sana Sajid took over as social media and membership Co-ordinator.

We added some amazing admin staff to handle the volume of activity WiCCD started to generate immediately.

Thank you Salematou Camara, Jaime McKibbon, Kat Buchan, Kennedy Jensen Neustaeter and welcome to our newest admins Madeline Arnold and Kimberley Paradis!

It is almost impossible to believe that the idea for WiCCD was born just about one year ago now. Since then a vibrant, dynamic and stunning organization with nearly 400 members, 850 Twitter followers, admirers and supporters has emerged. All gratitude to our fabulous Executive team with many amazing women, mostly young and racialized lawyers, and our members who support us as well.

It speaks volumes about WiCCD’s accomplishments that our first anniversary will be celebrated with a Keynote and fireside chat with Supreme Court of Canada Justice Sheilah Martin. WiCCD has arrived!!

While it is impossible to document each and every achievement of WiCCD even in its first year, we can highlight the values we have embodied and what we have been able to offer our members. WiCCD has focused on ensuring we offer an environment that is truly safe and inclusive of all women and gender diverse lawyers by employing an anti-racist, anti-colonial and intersectional approach to all we do.

Inclusive and Respectful

The google group listserv WiCCD operates has recently been rated by our members as the most respectful, supportive, collegial and inclusive listserv to which they have ever or now belong. It is universally recognized as a safe space for our members.

Our listserv is extremely busy in part because our members are not afraid to post any question or concern and have come to expect helpful, encouraging and supportive responses. We always knew this could be done and now our nearly 400 members have proven that collegiality is alive in well in criminal defence!

Mentoring

In 2022 WiCCD connected 20 senior counsel with 60 junior lawyers and law students for its inaugural mentorship program that proved very successful, with minor hiccoughs that are being ironed out for 2023.

In 2023, we will be connecting 20 mentors with 35 mentees, allowing for longer terms of mentorship for deeper connections.

LawPro has featured our mentorship program on their list as well, giving WiCCD important support.

WiCCD collaborated with the Women’s Legal Mentorship Program (WLMP) to host a speed mentoring event focused on the practice of criminal defence. This intimate, supportive experience was hugely appreciated by all who participated. It is a tradition we hope to continue. Our thanks to our Mentorship Committee led by Hamna Anwar and Sana Sajid for the hard work that went into organizing this one.

In 2022 WiCCD members were offered an opportunity to apply to participate in what is now the Ontario Court of Appeal’s Rosenberg Criminal Appellate Advocacy Development Program. The program links junior counsel with senior mentors and affords an opportunity to participate in a mock appeal and get feedback from Justices, all in a safe environment. WiCCD is a partner organization in this unique, first of its kind initiative.

Continuing Professional Education

WiCCD extends our profound thanks to our Director of Education, Maya Shukairy, and the Education Committee for an outstanding year of CPD. Maya has worked unbelievably hard and delivered big!! Special thanks as well to Jaime, Salematou, Kennedy and Sana for the administration and promotion of these events.

WiCCD collaborated with other organizations to host some evenings focused on particular issues or topics of interest. Joining with the Law and Mental Disorder Association (LAMDA), WiCCD co-hosted events focusing on online harassment of lawyers and Representing Inuit clients. Both were emotional, significant events and original programming never provided anywhere else before.

WiCCD is fortunate to have a wealth of subject matter experts in Criminal Defence. We relied on our senior counsel to run a number of series of CPDs on Managing a Criminal Law File from Start to Finish, on Complex Bails and other practice and ethics sessions. We are grateful to our members for their generosity, giving us their time and effort to educate newer / younger members of the bar. We recorded most sessions and obtained CPD accreditation from the LSO for most. Some were approved for CPD in other provinces as well.

WiCCD partnered with Legal Aid Ontario to co-host several sessions on billing and discretionary increases in accounts rendered to LAO. We are grateful to LAO staff who helped us with these sessions.

WiCCD enlisted experts in pensions to speak with our members about their particular needs and options.

WiCCD hosted then Treasurer of the Law Society, Teresa Donnelly, to discuss issues of importance to and the retention of women in criminal defence.

Collaboration

WiCCD worked closely with other organizations and programs not only in co-hosting joint events but in securing additional perks for our members.

LAMDA offered WiCCD members a free seat at the LAMDA / CLOC / ONCA Bench and Bar event to discuss appellate criminal advocacy in January of 2022 and will do so again in 2023.

The Solo Queens kindly offered WiCCD members free seats to their year-end AMA.

Other organizations offered WiCCD the opportunity to participate in events for free or at a reduced cost throughout the year.

Members offered special discounts or other perks to members of WiCCD on various things at their disposal throughout the year.

Special shout-out as well to Lady Justice Apparel (LJA), who generously supported WiCCD’s Exec and Admin volunteers with substantial discounts and courtesy shipping to outfit us in style while supporting women lawyers with wonderful feminist messaging and legal clinics through some of the proceeds, in the process.

In 2022 WiCCD became a member organization of the Roundtable of Diversity Associations (RODA.)

WiCCD intends to continue to collaborate with LJA, WLMP, RODA, LAMDA, the LSO, LAO and ONCA with ongoing projects and mutual concerns of interest to our members.

WiCCD remains open to and hopes to collaborate with other organizations with shared interests.

Taking a Stand

WiCCD showed courage and independence in releasing Statements on issues of the day that impacted our members or broader concerns regarding the administration of justice or human rights.

WiCCD issued statements on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on the removal of the right to abortion in the U.S., on Alberta’s defence counsel’s job action demanding reasonable legal aid rates and access, and on Ontario’s use of the Notwithstanding Clause, among other things.

Thanks to our President Sid Freeman for drafting and approving these strongly worded statements of solidarity with our local and broader global communities.

Recognizing Accomplished WiCCD Members and Exceptional Allies

In 2022 WiCCD awarded the inaugural WiCCD Woman award to founding member Roots Gadhia.

We also awarded John Struthers the WiCCD Ally Award.

Celebrating the Accomplishments of Women and Gender Diverse Lawyers

WiCCD launched the incredibly successful Find Your Niche (FYN) series in 2022 to feature accomplished women and gender diverse lawyers who practise criminal defence across Canada.

These YouTube videos featuring 10 prominent women in defence have been viewed more than 700 times to date. There are several others already in production waiting to be released in 2023.

WiCCD believes it is very important to celebrate the accomplishments of our women and gender diverse colleagues to highlight the important, exceptional work being done daily in the trenches by our members.

FYN is another brain-child of the extraordinary Maya Shukairy, who has hosted all episodes to date.

Social Connections and Networking Opportunities

WiCCD started out our year with a virtual Garden Party that was a lovely meet and greet for our first members.

Every new member who joins is encouraged to introduce themselves on our listserv. We have learned so much about our members, their practices and pets! this way.

While we hope to gather in person in future, perhaps for a retreat somewhere exciting, in the meanwhile we have managed to foster connections among our members across Canada even operating entirely virtually.

WiCCD members who met through our new association have been including members as panelists at conferences of other organizations and vice versa.

Increasing and enhancing the profile of our members is a purposeful goal of WiCCD and we have made tremendous inroads on this score.

Getting the Word Out

WiCCD’s membership and Social Media co-ordinators have outdone themselves in our first year growing our membership to more than triple our original numbers.

Our thanks to Salematou Camara and Kat Buchan for managing membership issues and to Sana Sajid for spearheading much of our social media roll-out.

Our social media presence now includes Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tik-Tok, FaceBook and LinkedIn.

We also have an amazing Linkree that directs everyone to all our socials.

All our info is conveniently available in our email signature line.

All of this is just by way of summary – earlier blog entries detail developments in real time.

To learn about WiCCD’s progression through 2022, here are some blog entries leading you to the Linktree and socials for our beautiful, collaborative, supportive, inclusive and diverse advocacy association of women and gender diverse lawyers. Thank you WiCCD for giving new hope to so many!