The Evolution of Legal Associations

I do not recall when I first heard, “work smarter, not harder”. It was certainly many years ago. Now, it seems quaint. In my practice, I feel inundated with a firehose of information. Listservs, databases, notifications, groups from various sites. Time seems to be the most valuable resource and every decision to join a group or an association is a sacrifice of a certain amount of this nonrenewable resource. (Thank you in advance for giving your time to read this post!) It is hard to overstate the importance of the decision of which group to join. By accessing the “right” source of information, a practitioner may have reliable access to up-to-date policies and programs that may include the key information to help a client. By failing to access the potential source, the representative may fail to provide sound counsel.

I believe the above statement applies to lawyers and representatives from disparate areas of practice. My expertise is immigration law; therefore, my focus here will be resources for representatives who help with applications to Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), Federal Court or deal with the Visa Applications Centres (VAC) around the world. I have previously published my concerns with practitioners who try to work in this area of practice while trying to maintain competency in other areas. With respect, I have not met a lawyer who has been able to juggle different areas of law while providing good quality services. This does not include lawyers who focus on “crimmigration”, a combination of criminal and immigration, or practice areas with natural overlap.

Typically, immigration lawyers first join the Canada Bar Association (CBA) and the immigration section. This gives access to the listserv which is replete with prolific contributors. On any given day, lawyers from across Canada may share 20 to 100 emails with queries, replies, helpful commentary or hidden gems. When I speak with law students with any interest in immigration law, one of my first pieces of advice is to join the CBA immigration section and try to follow the conversation. At the very least, they will be exposed to some of the acronyms bandied about (eg. PRRA, LMIA, OIC, IRPR, etc). I have been told that the immigration section is the most active section at the CBA. My current law student has opted instead to join two Facebook groups which, she claims, are just as good.

During the pandemic, a group of immigration lawyers has founded another group, the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association (CILA). This legal association is independent and entirely focused on navigating the ever-changing immigration landscape. For example, CILA has been able to mobilize quickly during the recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine to provide a list of lawyers who can help. CILA also includes a listserv for members, webinars for Continuing Professional Development (CDP) credits and a growing library of resources. To prepare for this article, I spoke with my former colleague and one of the founders of CILA, Ravi Jain. For many years, Ravi has been influential in shaping Canadian immigration laws and policy. On behalf of CILA, Ravi has given testimony to the Senate on immigration issues. In his words, Ravi points out that CILA provides a strong value proposition for potential members. In other words, you get a lot of bang for your buck.

Increasingly, lawyers are becoming siloed in smaller and smaller groups. Immigration lawyers who focus on refugee law may not find value in either the CBA or CILA. Instead, they may opt to join the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR), the Refugee Lawyer’s Association (RLA) or the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL). Each of these groups has its own resources and organizes presentations for CPD credit. Cross-border lawyers may find value in the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

There are days when I miss simpler times. The era before the internet, when we did not have access to every document created at the tip of our fingertips. Conversely, our modern technology, and if CILA is the evolution of immigration legal associations, allows IRCC to implement emergency programs to help, Ukrainians for example, and for lawyers to quickly mobilize to save those in need.

It is trite to say that knowledge is power. The real question is which legal association(s)/ group(s) will provide the relevant (or necessary) knowledge to ensure you can stay up to date while, at the same time, providing the information in the most efficient manner, thus saving your most precious resource …. time.