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CCCA_V6No2_Q&A_Bouchard-FIN_CCCA_V6No1_CrisisCommunication 5/24/12 12:24 AM Page 39 The former Premier of Quebec sat down Feature with senior editor, Yves Faguy, during the CCCA World Summit in Montreal to talk about the state of the legal profession and current affairs. A conversation with Lucien Bouchard Q You have had a long law career,both before and after politics.In your view,how has the profession changed? A For the better and for the not-so-better, I would say.There is great support for professional devel- opment, which is much improved compared to the past, in my view.Today, when young lawyers join our firms, they are better prepared than we generally were.They have received a broader education. So I think their education covers more ground — not to speak ill of our own educators — but there has been some advancement.What’s more,I find that junior lawyers are now given larger responsibilities much sooner than we were.On the other hand,the profession has become more commercial.And I understand that this is prob- ably an unavoidable imperative in an increasingly sophisticated society, where regulations keep proliferating, Photography by Pierre Charbonneau ÉTÉ 2012 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association 39