In September 2021, I said that after my presidential year, “If I manage to give a little something back to an association that has given so much to me, I’ll happy.” When that time came, as fate would have it, I was asked to give a little something extra: six more months. With firsthand experience of the many ways OBA members step up to serve the greater good, I readily followed their example of sacrifice and community service.

There is plenty out there in the world to discourage us and drag us down – the OBA is where we come to be buoyed and built up by those who empathize and understand. To all dedicated members of this demanding and rewarding calling, I offer this plea: Let’s not be our own worst critics.

Learning as you teach, engaging with your community, improving access to legal info, and raising the profile of your practice are just a few of the reasons that make participation in OBA Speakers Bureau public seminars during November – and beyond – so worthwhile.

As I launch into the final six months of my extended presidential term – a term that presented twists and turns even before it began when our incoming president was appointed to the bench – I find myself embracing the opportunity to advance my OBA Link mandate even further and to “lean in” to the opportunity for reinvention.

With two new positions on each of our 40 section executives, the OBA is making new strides in advancing diversity and inclusion across the association.

Recent weeks have been replete with recognition and celebratory events, demonstrating just how far we have come not only in our capacity to connect with others when circumstances combined to keep us apart, but in our willingness and ability to do so creatively, constructively and inclusively.

The legal community came together on June 9 to celebrate outstanding members of the profession who have made exceptional contributions to the practice of law in Ontario and to the Ontario Bar Association. This was the first OBA Awards Gala in three years, after the popular event was sidelined due to public health measures brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The OBA’s Supreme Evening brought together admiring members of the bench and bar to pay tribute to The Honourable Rosalie Abella and The Honourable Mahmud Jamal and celebrate “a passing of a precious baton from safe, strong hands to safe, strong hands.” The gala’s highlight were the remarks from the guests of honour, whose praise for each other conveyed respect, kinship, humour, and genuine affection – excerpts from which they have kindly shared.

At the OBA, the pursuit of concrete info and expert insight that will equip lawyers to improve their practices and perform at their very best is endless and all-encompassing – and the fruits of this labour are yours for the taking.

Since unrolling my OBA Lawyers Link mandate in September – designed to build upon the connection our members across the province have with each other and with the tools they need to thrive, wherever they are situated, within a rapidly modernizing world of law – I have witnessed some impressive examples of cross-region solution-sharing, collaboration, community-building and support.