Navigating conflict.
Building capacity.
Leading change.
Improving Workplace & Organizational Culture through Accountability, Fairness, and Respect
Southern Law is your neutral resource for addressing organizational issues and conflicts. We use creative, customized tools grounded in fairness and respect to help you build and maintain an exceptional organization.
Areas of Practice
Southern Law’s lawyers guide workplaces and organizations experiencing conflict, or wanting to proactively avoid it, to find the solutions that enhance their commitment to building a positive culture. We offer this guidance from a position of neutrality, confidentiality, fairness, and respect.
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Southern Law conducts workplace investigations on a variety of issues including discrimination, workplace bullying and harassment, misconduct, and privacy breaches.
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Not every investigation needs an external investigator. We support workplaces and organizations conducting this important work internally, at a high level of excellence.
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Southern Law’s reputation is nationwide, as federally regulated employers from coast to coast, including those from the territories, rely on Southern Law to assist with their most complex workplace issues.
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At Southern Law, we are passionate about alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and mediation as great options for resolving many workplace and organizational disputes.
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Southern Law’s Arbitration Practice Group is composed of recognized leaders in the fields of labour, employment, and human rights law, who are experienced in conducting fair hearings and writing clear, persuasive decisions.
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Whether there are a multitude of grievances in a department, retention issues, or the gossip and negative rumblings that can be part of an organization’s informal communication system, there is an opportunity to find out what is happening before it reaches the claim, complaint, or resignation stage.
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Southern Law works with leadership in organizations to ensure governance practices and processes represent best practice and legal compliance. We work with private and public boards and elected officials to support good governance, which includes the creation and application of codes of conduct.
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Southern Law designs experiential and useful training plans and individual sessions, giving the participants tools, techniques, and most importantly, new ways of thinking about the topic at hand.
Organizational Growth through a Rebuild
In response to a resolving conflict, the long-term solution lies in a thoughtful ‘Rebuild’. A Rebuild can combine any of our services to help organizations heal divisions, restore trust, improve policies and procedures, and move forward with positive momentum. A Rebuild is an opportunity to translate problems resolved into learnings for broader organizational growth and positive cultural change. Training, post-mortem review, mediations, assessments, and ‘what did we learn today’ analysis, conducted in a manner that respects privacy and allows for learnings beyond the immediate complaint or concern, support sustainable organizational transformation.
All Types of Conflict, All Sectors, All Employee Levels
We understand that simple disputes can create as much turmoil as complex ones. That said, we truly shine when helping you navigate legal issues critical to your organization’s success. We have worked with hundreds of organizations from across Canada and across all sectors, including government, industry, and not for profit, to support positive organizational cultures. We have worked with a full range of complainants and respondents from senior to entry-level employees, from those working out in the field to those in headquarters, elected officials, athletes and coaches, and students.
Community & News
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Carly Chunick
In February, we will welcome Carly Chunick to Southern Law. Carly is a BC–based lawyer and senior management professional with a distinguished career spanning administrative law, policing oversight, human rights, Indigenous rights, and complex regulatory and workplace investigations. Called to the Bar in 2009, Carly is widely respected for her principled decision-making; her rigorous legal analysis; and her leadership across government, non-profit, and private-sector environments. Read more about Carly.
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Pam Costanzo
In January, we welcomed Pam Costanzo as the Director of Legal Services. Pam is a highly respected member of the labour and employment bar, called to the British Columbia Bar in 2007. She will support knowledge management, mentorship, professional development and innovation initiatives. Read more about Pam.
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Lynsey Jones
In January, we welcomed Lynsey Jones to Southern Law. Lynsey is an internationally experienced employment lawyer and workplace investigations specialist with nearly two decades of experience advising global organizations across multiple jurisdictions. Read more about Lynsey.
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Richard Haisinger
In January, we welcomed Richard Haisinger as our Chief Information Officer. Richard has been part of the firm since its inception and has been a driving force behind the firm’s technology strategy and implementation. In his role as CIO, Richard joins the firm’s leadership team and provides strategic and operational oversight of the firm’s technology and information security functions. Read more about Richard.