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CCCA_V7No1_Spotlight-FIN_CCCA_V6No4 2/12/13 6:24 PM Page 50 Spotlight on… The CCCA story Mark Van de Veen, general counsel and careers...it’s kind of like reading a leader- Conference in Montreal as seminal, espe- corporate secretary at Sproule Manage- ship book in reverse.” cially for the timeliness and practicality of ment Ltd. in Calgary, was the first Alberta its professional development content. director when CCCA was formed in A finger on the pulse “The conference addressed the impact 1988.He has seen a trend toward in-house CCCA has been adept in identifying on me, as in-house legal counsel, of the counsel “doing” a much greater propor- trends that will affect the in-house new Civil Code of Quebec that came into tion of the legal work in-house, as community, says Swanson. Early on, it force as of January 1, 1994,” says Bozac, opposed to “managing” legal now based in Toronto. “The work that was often sent out new Code effected a major to external counsel. In-house reform of the principles and counsel are also holding mul- rules governing civil matters tiple portfolios, assuming roles and commercial transaction in government relations,com- intra- and extra-provincially.” munications, or health and The new skill sets gained at safety which leads to higher that conference also provided visibility in their organizations. recognized “the growing phenomena of a lot of value, she adds. “The conference All of this increased responsibility, often only legal officers (OLO) developed provided me with practical tips that I still at a much earlier career stage, demands the programs to meet their needs. draw on. From delivering best value to my efficient use of tools for research and net- When Charles Perez, director of legal company, to integrating into the business- working, says Swanson. “Looking at the affairs at Ocean Nutrition Canada in es of the company, dealing with new pri- kind of professional development CCCA is Halifax attended his first CCCA vacy compliance issues, and to drafting currently providing, it’s definitely designed Conference in 2011, “it immediately contracts in plain language for the compa- for in-house counsel who have a lot of struck me there were a whole lot of in- ny, all of this is still very relevant to me in responsibility in their positions,” she says. house counsel who were in the exact same my practice today.” position as I was.” As an OLO in his National mentoring organization, he found that “all of my An exciting evolution In 2008, CCCA initiated “Counsel trepidations, fears and concerns were Sandy Jakab, director, capital markets reg- Guiding Counsel: The Path to Excel- shared almost universally with every OLO ulation, BC Securities Commission in lence.” Launched as a pilot project, I spoke with during the conference. I Vancouver, is enthusiastic about how the CCCA’s mentoring program has grown found it a tremendous relief to know that in-house counsel role is currently per- into a Canada-wide initiative benefiting my concerns were validated.” ceived.“In-house counsel,and in particu- both new and seasoned in-house coun- But having your concerns validated lar, general counsel, are held in much sel.There is even mentoring available for doesn’t have much practical use “unless higher esteem today by their organiza- members whose roles take them offshore. you also acquire tools to deal with those tions than I think was the case when I first Patricia Bood, senior vice-president, issues,”he says.So it was equally a relief to started practising law in 1986,” she says. legal services and general counsel, discover that the conference gave him A former member of the CCCA exec- Brookfield Renewable Energy Group in tools to deal with some of his concerns utive committee, Jakab attended the Ottawa, has acted twice as a CCCA men- and do a better job overall for his organi- CCCA annual conference in 2002 in tor,and recently signed up for third round. zation. “Each subsequent CCCA confer- Calgary and “was so taken by the contents “Mentoring always stretches your own ence I attend provides more tools and cre- of the programing that I wanted to get skills,” says Bood, who also mentors with- ates more value for me,” he adds. involved with CCCA right away.” She co- in her organization. “The mentees ask Antoinette Bozac,current CCCA vice- chaired CCCA’s 2005 annual conference questions that force you to really think chair, and a member of the Board of inVancouver. about why you’ve done certain things, Governors of Concordia University, was a In addition,“another change in the pro- how you have moved forward, how peo- member of the founding executive of fession that I love to see is that in-house ple have helped you in your career and CCCA’s Montreal chapter. She remem- counsel are finding that the position, par- how you can help others in their bers CCCA’s 1994 National Spring ticularly the chief legal officer position, 50 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association SPRING 2013