class members

Me Jeff Orenstein, Candidate for Director Position (Montreal)

Apr 19, 2021

Candidate Me Jeff Orenstein is asking for your support for the Director Position at Le Barreau du Québec.

Why vote for Me Jeff Orenstein?








Vote now for Jeff Orenstein
https://elections.barreau.qc.ca/


Presentation


I am the principal of the boutique law firm Consumer Law Group, which I founded 10 years ago. I received a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of Montreal (2000) and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from New York University (2001). I was called to the bar in 2002 (Québec) and in 2011 (Ontario). My practice is devoted primarily to plaintiff's class action work (consumer protection, antitrust, public interest, drug and product liability). I am lead counsel in multiple national and provincial class actions. I have appeared numerous times before the Courts in both Quebec and Ontario.


I am a frequent speaker at conferences given by the Barreau du Québec, Osgoode Hall Professional Development, and elsewhere in Canada. I am the attorney of record in over 200 reported cases. I am regularly interviewed by media outlets in Canada, the U.S. and internationally about my cases, as well as other legal matters of interest to the public.


I have been recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a Litigation Star in Quebec, by Lexpert as a Leading Practitioner in Class Actions in Montreal, and by Who's Who Legal as Recommended for Litigation in Canada.


Visit my Website for more details and follow me on LinkedIn.


Experiences


Since 2016, I have been a member of the Barreau du Québec's Consumer Protection Committee. This committee has been very active in reviewing draft federal and provincial legislation that affects consumer rights in Quebec. The committee has made several recommendations, many of which have impacted the legislature's decisions. This experience has enabled me to see first-hand how the Barreau du Québec can be instrumental in affecting change and how it can help protect, and even shape, society's legal rights. 


I find it important to give back to the legal community and to help educate the public about legal matters. I feel that we are very fortunate to be able to effect positive change through our practice of law. To this end, I have been a Governor of the Fondation du Barreau du Québec since 2018.


Since 2017, I have been a member the County of Carleton Law Association's (CCLA) Membership Committee in Ottawa, which is the second largest law association in Ontario. In this role, I have helped to brainstorm and implement novel ways of bringing new lawyers into the Ottawa legal community as well as retaining current members. From this experience, I have absorbed the importance of encouraging and fostering a sense of community and comradery between lawyers in general, no matter what specific field they practice in.


For many years, I have been a member of the Board of Directors of Mount Sinai Hospital in Montreal, where we were tasked with making strategic and operational decisions related to the treatment and care of patients. I believe that providing proper care for the vulnerable and disadvantaged, whether from a health, economic, or legal perspective is of utmost importance and a barometer for the overall health of our society.


Objectives


Making the Barreau a more welcoming resource for lawyers



- As a governing body, it should encourage and make it easy for members to provide their input; that way, we can ensure that the Barreau best reflects the interests of its members and its policies best reflect members' concerns.

- To this end, I would advocate for more flexible approaches and guidelines to allow for actions to be catered to the needs of particular situations.


Fostering a more collegiate atmosphere



- I believe that it is important to create more opportunities, incentives, and programs to foster diversity and minority involvement in the community, both in terms of professional involvement as well as social.

- Our fellow practitioners, from all walks of life have much to offer; through encouraging involvement we can gain better insight into the needs of our members.


Reducing costs from within, while raising revenues from outside



- As lawyers, we incur the costs of our yearly bar dues as well as the costs of adhering to the continuing legal education requirements to remain in good standing with the Barreau. I believe that we can lower our financial contributions by raising revenue through alternative sources (other than just from our own membership). One idea would be to offer more education programs free-of-charge for members of the Barreau and make them available at a cost to those who are not members. Another idea is to publish resources that the public at large could benefit from. To this end, we should encourage participation of the community of lawyers to come up with creative and interesting topics to appeal to both lawyers and non-lawyers.

- I would like to advocate for the removal of certain unnecessary procedural red tape and for the relaxation of certain overly burdensome formalities in order to save the costs associated therewith. One area that I would like to see improvements in is the notification of certain documents and proceedings by bailiff on the parties directly, in favor of alternative means.

- I believe that more government funding should go to economically-disadvantaged persons to enable greater access to justice.


Technological Advancements



- There should be a publicly-accessible computerized system for filing, entering and retrieving court documents at a cost. From an environmental perspective, this should help to reduce the number of documents that must be printed.

- There should be a greater use of technology in the courtroom to allow for remote appearances of clients and witnesses.


Fostering Quebec's national image/reputation



- I believe that Quebec should have a larger role within the Canadian legal landscape. One way to achieve this would be to make our case law more national/international in scope court decisions, where possible, should be rendered bilingually, if this is to be achieved.

- I would like to see more skill-based certificate programs offered to help new lawyers gain more hands-on experience in the field.


No one individual has a monopoly on good ideas. I am therefore always open to all constructive suggestions and input. With your support, if elected, I will be available to follow up with any member who is willing to work to improve our profession.


I look forward to your support and the opportunity to work for the benefit of us all.


Thank you for considering my candidacy.