EDI within the Current Climate of the Legal Profession: A Roundtable Discussion – Part 2 of 2

This roundtable discussion, moderated by Liz Smith and Asha Walker, features a distinguished, multidisciplinary panel of legal experts that includes paralegals, academics, investigators, executives and regulatory leaders, each bringing firsthand experience from different corners of Ontario’s justice system. The participants are Nana Adjei-Poku (Owner and Licensed Paralegal, Infordus Legal Services), Ada Maxwell-Alleyne (Assistant Dean of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, University of Toronto Faculty of Law), Leon Presner (Owner and President, Defend-it Legal Services; paralegal, private investigator and CCRTIS fingerprinting and background-screening officer), Nicole Robinson (Senior Paralegal and Notary Public, EmploymentParalegal.ca), Pako Tshiamala (Founder and CEO, Blink Equity) and Shalini Konanur (Executive Director and lawyer, South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario; Bencher, Law Society of Ontario). 

In part 2 the moderators pose four probing questions that shape the conversation: how legal professionals can recognize and be sensitive to clients’ special circumstances, what mentorship opportunities the panel received and how those differ for BIPOC colleagues, what actionable steps allies have taken to create safe spaces, and what advice they would give to newcomers concerned about inequality in the justice system. The ensuing dialogue shows practitioners assessing clients’ financial, cultural and trauma-related needs while stressing cultural competence and self-care, exposing mentorship gaps and the value of informal sponsor networks for racialized professionals, describing ally initiatives such as equity-focused hiring, Truth and Reconciliation programming and rigorous data collection, and offering resilient guidance that urges aspiring lawyers and paralegals to enter the field, leverage their strengths and drive systemic change. 

A dynamic, solution-focused roundtable that translates real-world challenges into concrete reforms advancing equity, diversity and inclusion across Ontario’s legal landscape.