Mid-February, I attended the Black Law Students' Association of Canada Conference as a panellist. It was an excellent, well-attended conference - I am consistently blown away by what the students create in their spare time, no less!
The Conference brought together Black students from across the country for education and community. The students really showed themselves to be our future leaders - they were engaged, asked curious and critical questions, and spoke honestly about their experiences and hopes. The panels were a mix of in-person and hybrid, with some presenters and attendees from across the country dialling in remotely. My fellow panellists were fantastic – insightful, candid and encouraging. I am so grateful I attended in person because my favourite part was actually meeting my colleagues and future colleagues at the bar. Many were people that I had spoken to several times, but never in person. I also enjoyed the intimate, fireside chat with UBC’s new—and first Black—Dean of Law, Ngai Pindell. The Gala also featured an encouraging speech from Attorney General David Eby, a motivating keynote speech from Raphael Tachie (a partner at Gowlings law firm in Toronto), and a moving and powerful speech by the inimitable Justice Romilly, not to mention dancers, singers and poets from the BLSA community. I only wish I had attended as a student!
Related to this type of educational conference, I am very pleased to see The Peter Allard Law school at UBC is presenting another Black pre-law student conference to encourage not-yet law students who are thinking about a career in law. The conference will be held on March 12, 2022, virtually, from 10 am to 3:15 pm. Students can read about the details of the event here and register here.