Call for Topic/Paper Proposals – CALE/ACEJ 2026 Conference: Guidance and Accountability Towards a More Just Society

The Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University is pleased to host the next annual CALE/ACEJ conference in 2026. We look forward to welcoming you in person on October 22-24, 2026, in Toronto, Ontario.

We invite presentation proposals on topics or papers related to: 1) research and scholarship about legal ethics and professionalism, which includes professional and judicial regulation; and 2) teaching legal ethics and professionalism.

We welcome proposals from junior scholars (including graduate students) and from those working on legal ethics outside the academy. The final presentation format will likely be 15-20 minutes plus a Q&A. You are welcome to present a work in progress.

The TMU Law Review is also hoping to publish a special issue of papers presented at this conference. If you think you might be interested and will have a draft paper ready in advance of the conference, please let us know. Revised papers would then be due 2.5-3 months after the conference.

We look forward to receiving your proposal by June 30, 2026, via e-mail.

For research-related proposals and questions, please email both:

For teaching-related proposals and questions, please e-mail:

Please include in your submission:

  • your name (and the names of your co-presenters, if applicable)
  • your bio(s) (100 words max / each)
  • presentation title
  • an abstract (200 words max)
  • whether you are interested in submitting your paper for peer-review and publication by the TMU Law Review.

Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows are also encouraged to apply for the CALE/ACEJ Travel Grant to attend the conference. More information about the Travel Grant program can be found at https://ethicsincanada.com/?p=2862.

Conference Recap 2025

The annual conference was held on October 23-25, 2025 at the Fort Garry Hotel, organized by the Faculty of Law of the University of Manitoba. Gillian MacNeil was the conference coordinator. She and her colleagues did a terrific job and made all attendees very welcome.

The conference was generously supported by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, the Manitoba Law Foundation, the Marcel A. Desautels Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law, the Law Society of Manitoba and the University of Manitoba.

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2025 Conference Registration Open

Thanks to conference coordinator Gillian MacNeil and her team, you can now register for the upcoming CALE/ACEJ conference to be hosted by the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg on October 23-25, 2025.

Register here.

The conference will take place at the Fort Garry Hotel in downtown Winnipeg. At the bottom of the conference page, you will find a link to the hotel website that will allow you to book one of the rooms in our block (conference room rate is $209 per night). Book by September 22, 2025 to obtain the conference rate.

As usual, there will be an informal dinner on Thursday, October 23, 2025 so do plan to arrive so as to be able to attend. The conference program will be shared in advance of the start of the conference. The conference typically concludes in the early afternoon on the Saturday.

Call for Presentation Proposals: Annual Conference 2025 in Winnipeg

The next annual CALE/ACEJ Conference will be held October 23-25, 2025, hosted by the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. It will take place in person.

Proposals are now invited for presentations on either teaching legal ethics or research and scholarship about legal ethics and professionalism. The latter includes research relating to the regulation of the profession.

We invite anyone interested in presenting on a topic to submit a proposal. We welcome proposals from junior scholars and from those working on legal ethics outside the academy. The eventual format of the presentations will depend on, among other things, the number of proposals we accept, but we expect that each presenter would have about 15-20 minutes plus time for questions. There is no need to have a formal paper accompanying your presentation: slides or oral remarks alone are fine. You need not have a finished product: works in progress are welcome.

One of the reasons for asking for proposals at this early stage is that we understand that for some applicants it can be easier to obtain funding to attend the CALE/ACEJ conference once you have been accepted as a speaker. We therefore aim to communicate acceptances as soon as we can so that you can leverage that acceptance to obtain funds.

Submit your proposal by e-mail. The deadline for submissions is June 27, 2025. To submit a teaching proposal, e-mail both Amy Salyzyn (amy.salyzyn@uottawa.ca) and Gillian MacNeil (gillian.macneil@umanitoba.ca). To submit a research proposal, e-mail both Andrew Martin (andrew.martin@dal.ca) and Brandon Trask (brandon.trask@umanitoba.ca).

Ethics Forum 2025

Registration is now open for the 2025 Ethics Forum, which is presented in partnership between the CBA, FLSC and CALE. It will be held on Friday, March 28, 2025 at the CBA conference centre in downtown Toronto. For more information, including a detailed agenda with topics and speakers, see this web page.

This year’s four panel sessions are entitled “Harassment, Bullying and Discrimination within the Profession”, “The Limits on Resolute Advocacy”, “Professional Ethics and Client Selection” and “Judicial Ethics Update”. Attendees can attend in person or virtually.

The Ethics Forum has been a popular event in previous years and so early registration is encouraged.

Conference Recap 2024

The annual conference was held on October 24-26, 2024 at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University. Richard Devlin, founding President of CALE/ACEJ, was the conference coordinator. He was assisted by Rebecca Parker. They did a terrific job and made all attendees very welcome.

The conference was generously supported by the law school, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, the Law Foundation of Nova Scotia, Cox & Palmer and McInnes Cooper.

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Annual Conference: Register Now

Thanks to conference coordinator Richard Devlin and his team, details of the upcoming (October 24-26, 2024) CALE/ACEJ conference at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University are now available and registration is open.

All the information you need is below this post: the registration form, the schedule, and details of the sessions.

To register, you must e-mail the completed registration form to the organizers, as indicated on the form.

We very much look forward to seeing you in Halifax, Nova Scotia this fall.

Travel Grants for Annual Conference

As a result of funds generated from production and sales of Woolley, Devlin & Cotter, Lawyers’ Ethics and Professional Regulation, 4th ed (2021), CALE/ACEJ is able to continue its conference travel grant program (created in 2023). Thanks are due to all involved in the preparation of this casebook.

Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in the field of legal ethics and professionalism are eligible to apply for a travel grant towards the cost of attending the annual CALE/ACEJ conference (October 24-26, 2024 at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University). To qualify they must either be (i) enrolled or based at a Canadian university or (ii) a Canadian enrolled or based at a foreign university.

Applications are due to the Vice-President by July 15, 2024. Applicants must provide sufficient information to establish their eligibility and explain their financial need for the travel grant. Applications will be assessed by the Vice-President and the Treasurer by July 30, 2024.

No more than $2000 is to be awarded in this year. No applicant is to receive more than $500 in a single year. The travel grant will be paid after the annual conference. To receive their grant, each recipient must submit receipts for travel or accommodation expenses to the Treasurer totaling at least the amount awarded.

2024 Conference: Call for Presentation Proposals

The next annual CALE/ACEJ Conference will be held October 24-26, 2024, hosted by the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia. It will take place in person.

Proposals are now invited for presentations on either teaching legal ethics or research and scholarship about legal ethics and professionalism. The latter includes research relating to the regulation of the profession.

We invite anyone interested in presenting on a topic to submit a proposal. We welcome proposals from junior scholars and from those working on legal ethics outside the academy. The eventual format of the presentations will depend on, among other things, the number of proposals we accept, but we expect that each presenter would have about 15-20 minutes plus time for questions. There is no need to have a formal paper accompanying your presentation: slides or oral remarks alone are fine. You need not have a finished product: works in progress are welcome.

One of the reasons for asking for proposals at this early stage is that we understand that for some applicants it can be easier to obtain funding to attend the CALE/ACEJ conference once you have been accepted as a speaker. We therefore aim to communicate acceptances as soon as we can so that you can leverage that acceptance to obtain funds.

Submit your proposal by e-mail to Rebecca Parker at RLParker@dal.ca. Indicate whether it is for the teaching sessions or the research and scholarship sessions. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2024. The proposals will be assessed by conference coordinator Richard Devlin, Gillian MacNeil and Amy Salyzyn.

Travel Grants for ILEC 2024

In 2024, the International Legal Ethics Conference is July 17-19 at the University of Amsterdam. To support the attendance of graduate students and post-doctoral scholars CALE/ACEJ has created a travel grant program, similar to its program for the annual conference, for ILEC 2024.

Graduate students and post-doctoral scholars in the field of legal ethics and professionalism are eligible to apply for a travel grant towards the cost of attending ILEC. To qualify they must either be (i) enrolled or based at a Canadian university or (ii) a Canadian enrolled or based at a foreign university. They must also have been accepted by ILEC as a presenter for the conference.

Applications are due to Vice-President Pooja Parmar by May 15, 2024. Applicants must provide sufficient information to establish their eligibility and explain their financial need for the travel grant. Applications are assessed by the Vice-President and the Treasurer by May 30.

No more than $3000 is to be awarded in total. No applicant is to receive more than $1000. The travel grant will be paid after the conference. To receive their grant, each recipient must submit receipts for travel or accommodation expenses to the Treasurer totalling at least the amount awarded.