Everyone in Ontario has the legal right to be free from discrimination and harassment from lawyers and paralegals.

Discrimination and harassment are demeaning practices that attack the dignity and self-respect of the victim. Discrimination and harassment based on the grounds prohibited by the Ontario Human Rights Code are also prohibited by the Rules of Professional Conduct and the Paralegal Rules of Conduct that govern lawyers and paralegals.

Stopping discrimination and harassment in the legal profession
The Discrimination and Harassment Counsel (DHC) Program is a leading-edge provincial program to help stop human rights based discrimination and harassment by lawyers and paralegals. The Program's services are available free-of-charge to the general public, including legal firm staff, students, paralegals and lawyers.

Contacting the Program
Although the DHC program is funded by the Law Society, the Counsel works independently from the Law Society in a separate office in which all information received is kept in strict confidence.

Anyone who has experienced discrimination or harassment by a paralegal or lawyer within a law or paralegal firm or legal clinic, can contact the DHC for information and advice. The DHC can outline options for recourse and if both parties agree, attempt to resolve the complaint through mediation.

Background
In 1997 the Law Society of Upper Canada celebrated its Bicentennial and the 100th anniversary of women in the profession. To mark this occasion the Law Society embarked on an historical review of its work to date on equity issues and developed a number of recommendations to guide its future work in this area. These recommendations were published in the Bicentennial Report.

One of the recommendations of the Bicentennial Report was that the Law Society establish a "Safe Counsel Program" for the victims of harassment and discrimination by lawyers or other individuals within law firms. It was envisioned that such a program would provide complainants with access to assistance independent from the Law Society.

Results of Law Society Reports
The "Safe Counsel" recommendation was based in part on the alarming results of the Transitions (1991) and Barriers and Opportunities (1996) Reports:

• 70% of the women lawyers who responded to the survey stated that they had been sexually harassed and/or discriminated against by a member of the profession.
• 10% of respondents reported having personally experienced racial or ethnic discrimination in the course of their work as lawyers.
• 17% of respondents reported occurrences of racial or ethnic discrimination against others.

Other studies revealed similar trends:

• In 1994 many lawyers who responded to a consultation on Rule 28 (now Rule 5.04) indicated that they were not knowledgeable about human rights law, and in some cases asserted the right to follow practices that violate the Human Rights Code.
• In 1994 and 1995 the Law Society Placement Office surveys of incoming bar admission course students revealed that aboriginal and visible minority students were over-represented among students who were without articling placements as of September of the year in which they would be expected to commence articles.
• A 1992 survey of black law students, articling students and recently called lawyers sponsored by the Law Society found that 50% of respondents thought they were channeled into particular areas of practice or types of law. (Survey of Black Law Students, Articling Students and Lawyers)
• 59% of respondents to the same survey stated that certain areas of practice, such as corporate/commercial, securities, and tax law, are effectively closed to black lawyers.

Discrimination & Harassment Counsel Program
As a result of the Bicentennial Report's recommendations, in June 1999 the Law Society of Upper Canada established the Discrimination & Harassment Counsel Program as a part-time pilot-project to help stop discrimination and harassment by lawyers and other individuals within law firms. The Program became permanent in June 2001.

This ombuds-style Program is funded by the Law Society and is available to anyone who may have experienced discrimination or harassment by a lawyer or paralegal. The DHC’s confidential services are offered free-of-charge to the Ontario public, including law and paralegal firm staff, students, paralegals and lawyers. The Program operates independently and at arm's length from the Law Society.