The Right to Disconnect - Part 1 with The Honourable George R. Strathy

Friends Who Argue

This is the first of three podcast segments in a limited series on ongoing practice and procedural issues affecting young lawyers inspired by the Right to Disconnect policy incorporated into the Employment Standards Act, 2000 on December 2, 2021, and on how lawyers can proactively balance their professional and ethical obligations through the right to disconnect. In this first segment, Young Advocates Standing Committee Member Teodora Obradovic moderates a discussion with Mr. Strathy about mental health in the profession and issues faced by both lawyers and the judiciary with respect to disconnecting.
The Honourable George R. Strathy served as the Chief Justice of Ontario for eight years and as a trial and appellate judge for nearly fifteen years. He was appointed Chief Justice of Ontario in 2014, after sitting as a judge of the Ontario Court of Appeal beginning in 2013 and a judge of the Toronto Superior Court of Justice beginning in 2007. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Strathy practiced civil litigation for three decades and specialized in maritime and transportation law. In recent years, Mr. Strathy has advocated for the importance of addressing mental health issues in the legal profession. In the post-pandemic world, Mr. Strathy has sparked a national conversation about legal professionals and their mental health.
Teodora Obradovic (Prpa) is a member of TAS’ Young Advocates Standing Committee, and an Associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group at Fogler, Rubinoff LLP in Toronto. Her passions and experience reach a range of practice areas, including debtor and creditor disputes, shareholder and corporate disputes, bankruptcy and insolvency issues, and privacy matters. Teodora has appeared as counsel before all levels of court in Ontario. Teodora volunteers her time with Pro Bono Ontario providing legal advice on civil litigation to low-income Ontarians, and supervises students at the Toronto Metropolitan University's Law and Business Clinic who provide pro bono business law services to entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Land Acknowledgement
The Advocates’ Society acknowledges that our offices, located in Toronto, are on the customary and traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinabek, the Huron-Wendat and now home to many First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples. We acknowledge current treaty holders, the Mississaugas of the Credit and honour their long history of welcoming many nations to this territory.
While The Advocates’ Society is based in Toronto, we are a national organization with Directors and members located across Canada in the treaty and traditional territories of many Indigenous Peoples. We encourage our members to reflect upon their relationships with the Indigenous Peoples in these territories, and the history of the land on which they live and work.
We acknowledge the devastating impacts of colonization, including the history of residential schools, for many Indigenous peoples, families, and communities and commit to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in an informed legal profession in Canada and within The Advocates’ Society.