Aviva Trial Lawyers is dedicated to Diversity & Inclusion.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is imprinted in our Committee structure.

Our commitment to diversity is encapsulated in the very structure of our organization. Formed in 2020, Aviva Trial Lawyers’ Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee consists of lawyers, clerks, and other legal professionals. In order to provide an equal and inclusive platform to those within our organization, the Committee was designed to have a non-hierarchical structure and our members proudly represent all roles within Aviva Trial Lawyers. As a group, we meet once a month to share and implement ideas on how to foster and promote equality, diversity, and inclusion initiatives within our organization and to the legal profession at large. 

We are committed to being a leader in the legal profession regarding Equality, Diversity and Inclusion objectives.

We have several ongoing objectives which we have implemented or are actively implementing in order to achieve our diversity goals.  They include but are not limited to:

  • Implementation of anonymized hiring policies with respect to hiring of all candidates for legal positions, aimed at reducing and eliminating decisions for hiring based on unconscious bias.
  • Implementation of mandatory Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion training sessions for all employees of Aviva Trial Lawyers via educational seminars, training and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) aimed at educating our workforce regarding topics such as unconscious bias, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, what is an ally, the differences between binary or non-binary, and so forth.   More than just educational sessions, we seek to implement practical workshops aimed at developing practical skills on how to address, educate, lessen and eliminate situations of bias, exclusivity and racism within our organization. 
  • Implementation of Website Improvements to advertise our ongoing commitments to EDI for the entire legal profession, the public at large and the future of our legal profession, being students and prospective new hires.
  • Data collection:  in order to assist in understanding how we are doing in terms of improving with diversity, we encourage the collection of data and statistics regarding members of diverse groups within our organization so that we can actively see areas of improvement and address them.
  • Integration of addressing EDI objectives with our formal Mentoring Program.   At Aviva Trial Lawyers, we have implemented a formalized mentoring program that seeks to create professional relationships that are critical to the development of mentees and mentors as they progress through the organization.   The head of the Mentoring Program sits as a member on our executive EDI Committee.  Mentors are also encouraged to create safe-spaces to speak to their mentees about professional goals and objectives and even EDI concerns where appropriate.
  • Ongoing education regarding availability of work-life balance initiatives, encouragement of maternity and paternity leaves as part of improvement to commitment to support for familial culture and support to employees.
  • Active collaborations with Human Resources department of Aviva Canada Inc. with respect to ongoing improvements regarding diversity to the Respect at Work and Code of Conduct policies within the larger corporate organization so-as to have an even broader influence outside of the legal industry in terms of improving EDI commitments.
  • Creation and maintenance of Executive EDI Committee and subcommittees aimed at fostering an inclusive culture of openness regarding creating a better workplace for all employees of our organization no matter their role.

 

Aviva Trial Lawyers is Diversity.

Aviva Trial Lawyers Values Diversity.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee Members:

Alicia Edwards

Paralegal

Andrew McCutcheon     

National Managing Counsel

Catherine Koch

National Quality Counsel

Dennis Ong

Senior Counsel

Elizabeth S. Liu

Senior Counsel

Hilary Gingerich

Litigation Clerk

Kiran Birdi

Counsel

Lianne Furlong

Vice President, Legal Claims – Aviva Canada Inc. & Chief Litigation Counsel – Aviva Trial Lawyers

Maya Kanani

Counsel

Patty Hails

Clerk

Stephanie Quesnelle

Counsel

Sydney Canuel

Litigation Clerk

Tochi Nwaokocha

Counsel