Omar Ha-Redeye spoke at the 2013 Black Law Students Association of Canada (BLSAC) conference in Ottawa on February 21-24, 2013 on a panel about “Intellectual Property, Entertainment and Technology Law.”

Omar Ha-Redeye was a judge in the 2013 Julius Alexander Isaac Diversity Moot.

The competition was held at the Lord Elgin Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario on Feb. 22-23, 2013 at the BLSAC Conference, and is hosted by Koskie Minsky LLP.

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Omar Ha-Redeye spoke on a panel about Law and Cyberspace at the 21st Annual Conference of the Black Law Students Association of Canada (BLSAC) in Windsor, Ontario, from February 16-19, 2012.

Finalists (From Left): Cristina Internicola, Teanna Bailey, Jonathan Hendricks, and Sara Nagalingam

Omar Ha-Redeye was a judge in the preliminary rounds of the 4th Annual Diversity Moot, held at the 2011 Black Law Students Association of Canada (BLSAC) Conference. Omar Ha-Redeye was the winner of the national competition in 2009.

The competition is sponsored Koskie Minsky LLP.

The Black Law Students Association of Canada (BLSAC) held its 20th Annual National Conference in Toronto, on February 24-27.

Read about some of the hurdles and obstacles of law school in Completing the Circle of Blood for Future Law Students, in the 6th annual Black Law Students Association of Canada (BLSAC) magazine.  A text version is also available on Slaw.

Speakers included:

• Honorable Daniel Dortèlus, Judge to the Court of Quebec
• Flora Terah, Kenyan Community Advocate, Kenyan Parliamentary Candidate – 2007 and Founder of “Terah Against Terror”
• Phil Carpenter, Photojournalist, Montreal Gazette, Reports on Haiti and Rwanda
• Honourable Dr. Pemba Braveboy, Senator of Grenada
• Professor Emeritus Peter W. Hogg, Scholar in Residence, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
• Honourable Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré, First Appointed Black Judge, Court of Quebec, District of Montreal
• Honourable Mr. Justice Adrian Dudley Saunders, Caribbean Court of Justice
• Honourable Guylène Beaugé, Judge of the Superior Court, Province of Quebec, District of Montreal.
• Sean Robichaud, Toronto Criminal Defence Lawyer
• Frank Walwyn, Partner, WeirFoulds L.L.P
• Mr Will Prosper, Activist, Montreal-Nord Republik,
• Daniel Albahary, Producer, Why Copyright? Canadian Voices on Copyright Law
• Éloge Butera, Quebec Government “young volunteer of the year” and Claude-Masson Award Recipient
• Kent D. Lollis, Executive Director for Diversity Initiatives, Law School Admission Council
• Dr. Dorothy Williams, Historian & Author
• And much more!

From the Windsor Law website:

Second-year law student Omar Haredeye claimed the top oralist prize in the annual Koskie Minsky Moot Competition, heard by members of the judiciary, Justice Valerie Miller (Tax Court of Canada), Justice Corrine Sparks (Family Court of Nova Scotia) and Justice Jean Whalen (Provincial and Family Court of Nova Scotia).

Three Nova Scotia judges—Justice Valerie Miller (left), Justice Corrine Sparks (centre), and Justice Jean Whalen (right)—greet Windsor law students Qadira Jackson and Lily Tekle at the BLSAC national convention in Halifax.

Omar Ha-Redeye at 17th BLSAC Conference

The 17th Annual BLSAC National Conference was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from February 22-23, 2008.

The theme this year was Looking Forward, Looking Back: Black Canadian Achievements in Law.  The conference brought together students, academics, and legal professionals of diverse backgrounds to recognize past achievements and address present concerns of Black Canadians.

Peter W. Hogg spoke at the Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP luncheon on the Charter dialogue.  As of 2003, Peter Hogg was cited by the Supreme Court of Canada 166 times.

Hogg is frequently quoted in defence of the Charter which does not, as some detractors concerned about judicial activism charge, leave judges with the final say on legal issues.

He also responded to critics who have commented on his Charter dialogue theory.

This year featured the inaugural event of the Koskie Minsky LLP Diversity Moot. Another major firm, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, hosted a reception at their Vancouver office for the law students that arrived from across the country.  Finally, a gala reception closed off the event, hosted by Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP.

The welcome address was presented by Raphael Tachie (2007/2008 President, Black Law Students’ Association of Canada), followed by an Aboriginal welcome and an opening address by The Honorable Steven L. Point – Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.

Arleen Huggins of Koskie Minsky LLP, spoke on “A Business Case for diversity.”  She said that successful firms are recognizing that their clients are increasingly diverse, and have expectations for firms to reflect the diversity of Canada.  It also provides fresh bases for client development.

Omar Ha-Redeye added that diversity also brings a competitive edge to firms adventurous enough to incorporate diversity because it avoids group think and fosters creativity.

Gail Robinson and Kathleen Dechant said in The Academy of Management Executive,

A phenomenal surge in the growth of emerging markets, extensive use of cross-functional, heterogeneous teams to produce creative solutions to business problems, an increased reliance on non-traditional workforce talent – the realities of today’s workplace clearly demonstrate that diversity management has become a critical aspect of operating a business.

A lunch panel discussed whether having minority judges on the bench make a difference.  Speakers included Justice Selwyn Romilly of the Supreme Court of British Columbia,  Justice Michael H. Tulloch of the Superior Court of Justice (Brampton), and  Justice Castor Williams of the Provincial Court (Nova Scotia).

The panel relied heavily on the late Bertha Wilson‘s material on a similar subject regarding women.

The intersecting barriers of race and gender were then discussed.  Often overlooked, even at this conference, is that minority males are typically more disadvantaged than minority females in the workplace.

A number of concurrent sessions also provided resources for law students searching for summer and articling positions, insights for high school students about what legal life was like, and advice for undergrads on how to enter law.

The conference ended on a positive note with the election of a new executive for the upcoming year.