We need to demand diversity in the legal profession, says general counsel Julia Shin Doi

Race-related discrimination can impact Asian Canadians in all industries, and the legal profession is no exception. In recognition of Asian Heritage Month, Aird & Berlis LLP hosted a webinar to discuss the challenges experienced by the Asian Canadian legal community, and to share ideas for fostering more inclusive workplaces.

Julia Shin Doi, founder of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, and general counsel, secretary of the board of governors & university privacy officer at Toronto Metropolitan University, was joined by Justice Maryka Omatsu, the first female judge of East Asian descent in Canada; and Henry Yu, associate professor of history at the University of British Columbia.

Lawyers are not immune to anti-Asian racism and violence, simply because they are professionals, Shin Doi told the viewers. She described details of a violent attack directed at her on Yonge Street in Toronto in 2018, which resulted in the need for months of physiotherapy. Anti-Asian racism was particularly pervasive during the pandemic, she added.

While racism and aggression in the workplace is less overt, it can still be troublesome and burdensome, Shin Doi said, as she described her own experience with microaggressions in the workplace when she did not conform to the stereotype of passive and docile East Asians. Racialized lawyers face discrimination and microaggression all the time, Shin Doi said, regardless of their title or how long they have been practicing.

“Sometimes we think we are immune to the anti-Asian racism and violence because we’re professionals and we have degrees and fancy titles. We wear the right clothes, we speak English without an accent, and we live in the right neighbourhoods, but we’re not immune to the hate that surrounds us,” said Shin Doi.

In-house counsel have an important role to play in the fight for diversity, equity and inclusion within the legal profession, according to Shin Doi.

“We have to ask for diverse staffing on our files, to support diverse lawyers in the firm,” she said. “We need to ask who is being hired at the law firms, and who is being asked to be part of management.” In her experience, Shin Doi has found law firms to be very responsive to these questions.

Shin Doi advises racialized lawyers to persevere and to surround themselves with supporters.

“Find your champions and mentors, and then practice your voice,” said Shin Doi. “Say one thing at every meeting, and exercise your power and privilege to support diversity.”

Shin Doi is also a founding member of the National GC Network – a group of racialized general counsel with a mandate to bring issues of equity, diversity and inclusion to the forefront of their organizations. Among its many achievements, the National GC Network established a summer law fellowship program for first-year racialized law students, which started with 10 placements and has now expanded to 35 placements with top organizations.

“Racialized and non-racialized general counsel came together to create those opportunities,” says Shin Doi.