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CCCA_V6No4_Spotlight-FIN_CCCA_V6No4 11/26/12 5:32 PM Page 48 Spotlight on… The CCCA story and gas sector. (ACGA), founded in 1986. “Our first office was one room in the His career path led to his appointments Many in-house counsel inAlberta recog- CBA-Ontario offices on Adelaide Street in as general counsel with Asamera Inc. and nized the need for a national voice, nation- Toronto,” recalls Jones. “I can’t even begin then BowValley Energy Ltd.In the 1980s, al networking opportunities, and access to to describe how much wonderful assis- he says, 85-90 per cent of the work in his local securities expertise.“A lot of us in the tance we received from CBAO executive legal departments was done in-house. “If west joined both the AGCA and then the director, Linda Adlam Manning. Linda’s the work related to the specialized area of CCCA, which came into existence a cou- help and guidance was absolutely instru- oil and gas, it was never sent to external ple of years later,” recalls Cummings. mental in making CCCA work as an effec- law firms.” tive association.” Cummings was a member of a group of In-house excellence In 1988, in conjunction with the CBA corporate counsel, mainly in the oil and Founded in 1988 as a conference of the annual meeting, CCCA held its first official gas sector, who met monthly in the mid- CBA, Robert Jones, who had recently conference with a most appropriate theme: 1980s for breakfast at the Petroleum Club retired as general counsel of Eaton’s, “Corporate Counsel: A Growing Phenom- in Calgary.“We shared information about came onboard as the CCCA’s first exec- enon.” The choice of theme underscores the working in-house and talked about the utive director. Derek Hayes became association’s essential role — then and today common issues we were all facing, such as CCCA’s first chair. With financial sup- — as CCCA celebrates 25 years of in-house the National Energy Program.The group port from the CBA, a membership drive excellence as the national forum and voice who met at the Petroleum Club, he says, was undertaken, along with the creation for in-house counsel in Canada. was the nucleus for the formation of the of a network of chapters across Canada to Association of General Counsel of Alberta deliver regional services. Bev Cline is a freelance writer based in Toronto. Celebrating 25 25 ans d’excellence Years of In-House en matière de Excellence! conseils juridiques d’entreprise CCCA National Spring Conference Conférence nationale du April 14-16 2013, printemps de l’ACCJE Toronto Du 14 au 16 avril 2013, Toronto Register today and learn more at www.ccca-accje.org. Inscrivez-vous et apprenez-en davantage : www.ccca-accje.org. 48 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association WINTER 2012