Lawyer releases report on systemic discrimination in N.S. legal system

After more than three years, a Nova Scotia lawyer has made 21 recommendations to combat systemic discrimination within the legal profession.

Douglas Ruck released “Systemic Discrimination in Nova Scotia’s Legal Community” on Tuesday. The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society retained Ruck in May 2021 to conduct an external review of their regulatory policies to identify any areas of systemic discrimination.

In a news release, the Society noted it released a statement against anti-Black racism following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, which “drew negative reactions from equity deserving communities” across the province.

“It became clear that the Society needed to go much further to address the real, centuries-long, and still prevalent racism faced by African Nova Scotians,” the release says. “By doing that, the legal community can address the wider issue of systemic discrimination in the practice of law and access to justice.”

After he was retained, Ruck said he aimed to finish the review in eight-to-10 months. Ruck also served as chair of a task force that looked into systemic anti-Black discrimination at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia.

“When considering my operational and regulatory review in light of the feedback from the 200+ individuals I interviewed, it became clear that the operational and regulatory aspects played a minor role in perpetuating systemic discrimination within the Society,” Ruck said in the report. “The real areas of concern were the attitudes, behaviours, and conduct that, at times, were unintended and unconscious, but at other times were clearly intended and accepted as part of the operational and structural aspects of the Society.”

The report said Ruck interviewed 220 people and found common themes such as white lawyers and white clients receiving better outcomes in court, lawyers leaving workplaces due to racist behaviours, and careers adversely impacted by racism.

“When behaviours are accepted within their respective institutions, they can become part of the structure,” the report says. “Since there have not been proper measures in place to address such behaviours, we continue to see abuses both within and outside the profession.

“Ongoing training, education and upgrading in these areas cannot be just a one off. Lawyers need to remain current, not only with the law, but also with all matters of diversity, equity and inclusion.”

The 21 recommendations are:

• appoint independent implementation lead
• require mandatory training and resources on systemic discrimination
• review and modernize anti-discrimination policies and regulations
• establish reporting and investigation system including whistleblower safeguards and representation from equity-deserving communities
• collect, analyze and share discrimination-related data
• implement access accommodation policy
• strengthen disciplinary aspects of harassment and discrimination policies
• revise code of professional conduct
• establish diversity recruitment and mentorship programs
• ensure diverse representation in leadership
• provide resources for victims of discrimination
• require collaboration with equity-deserving groups
• revise council succession plan to ensure diversity
• safeguard and support equity-deserving members of council
• ensure religion and spirituality accommodations
• conduct periodic 360-degree council reviews
• require accountability for firms supporting discriminatory practices
• foster a cultural shift in practice expectations
• bring substantive change to society governance and regulations
• conduct legislative review to address systemic barriers to progress
• ensure ongoing evaluation and improvement

The Society’s governing council voted to fully accept the recommendations.

“This is just the beginning,” Ruck said in the report. “The legacy of this report will be realized through a concerted effort towards regaining trust—through sustained relationship building and succession planning—by everyone involved.

“This report must have a lasting, permanent impact. It must change the way the legal community works and interacts, in every way, every day.”

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