Page 23 - CCCA Magazine Summer 2014

{ FeatUre } under the National Defence Act, as judge advocate general (jag) of the Canadian armed Forces (CaF), i act as legal adviser to the CaF, the governor general, the Minister of national defence and the department of national defence in matters relating to military law. in addition, the jag has a statutory mandate to superintend the administration of military justice in the CaF. he Off ce of the JAG (OJAG) assists me that is sound, timely, operationally focused in the execution of my duties. As JAG, and solution-oriented at all times. tI lead this unique organization, which This can be challenging to say the least. comprises 158 Regular Force legal off cers, However, over the course of my almost 54 Reserve Force off cers and 77 civilian sup- 25 years in the CAF, including my four as port staff at National Defence Headquarters JAG, I have learned some lessons about lead- and in regional off ces across Canada, the ing a legal organization that you may f nd U.S. and Germany. useful in your own practices, as leaders, cor- The OJAG includes military lawyers work- porate off cers and legal professionals. Here ing as prosecutors, defence counsel and ad- is how I do it. visors in the three “pillars” of military law: operations, administrative law and military the lessons justice. Military law is the broad legal disci- pline encompassing all domestic and inter- lesson 1: Find and recruit the right people national law relating to the CAF, including This is the f rst step in building our organi- its governance, administration and activities. zation for tomorrow. We need to treat every As you can see, I command a small group of new hire as if they are one day going to run lawyers who advise a large client organization the organization, so we should do our best to with a huge geographic footprint and a broad hire only those who demonstrate that poten- scope of practice. tial—to be lawyer, manager and leader. In comparing the OJAG to other “in- The f rst challenge is attracting the right house” legal departments, I would say the candidates. The key is being upfront and most signif cant difference is that my legal of- transparent about both the good and the f cers deploy to some of the most dangerous not-so-good realities of the job the organiza- and austere places in the world. There, they tion has to offer. are frequently called upon to give legal advice Once you have attracted the right pool of thumBs doWn to respond and regarding the most serious of fairly and objectively measures the qualities under extreme conditions, with very little time candidates, you need to build a process that issues—sometimes issues of life and death. and values you require. Those I look for in- For instance, they may be halfway around the clude intelligence, ethics, dedication, physi- world, on a warship, in a command post or cal f tness and leadership; however, every in an air operations centre, with only enough organization will vary with respect to the time to give a hand signal—a thumbs up or a qualities and values it needs most. thumbs down—before the commander they advise has to make a decision. lesson 2: Invest in education and training As the leader of the OJAG, I am respon- Once you have the right people, you need sible for ensuring that no matter where they to invest in their professional development. are and in what circumstances, the advice my That investment has to be continuous, co- military lawyers give is correct and consistent herent and tailored to the needs of the or- with the advice that I and my off cers are giv- ganization and the capabilities of the indi- ing at other levels. I must ensure they have viduals. It must also be based upon a proper the skills necessary to provide legal advice foundation. For my off ce, that foundation is Canadian Corporate Counsel assoCiation | CCCa-aCCje.org 23