A long-time legal advocate for public education will be honored for his work for teachers and the teaching profession. The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) has selected Jim Casey, K.C., who acted as the ATA’s legal counsel with Field Law for two decades, to be the recipient of the 2025 Honorary Membership Award.
“Jim is an incredibly approachable person who can really grasp the underlying issues facing both the Association and the profession,” said Tim Jeffares, ATA Associate Coordinator of Regulatory Affairs. “He has an uncanny ability to see what our needs are and what paths we might have to pursue in the legal arena.”
Casey has a decades-long relationship with the ATA, providing legal advice at many discipline hearings. He also played a pivotal role in resolving the province’s unfunded pension liability issue — securing a $25 million education funding award through arbitration — and more recently worked on the legal challenge arising from the transfer of pension funds to AIMCO. His work culminated in helping the ATA navigate the legislation that transitioned teacher discipline to the Alberta Teaching Profession Commission.
“When you have that sort of wisdom on your side, coupled with his appreciation for public education and teachers in Alberta, he was the perfect guy to help us transition from investigating and prosecuting our members to ultimately representing them,” said Jeffares.
Casey’s legal journey began in 1987 when he graduated with distinction from the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Law. He articled at Field Law and remained with the firm throughout his career, building a reputation as a leading expert in labour law and professional regulation. He was instrumental in founding Field Law’s Professional Regulatory Group, which has grown into one of Canada’s largest legal teams representing professional regulators.
Over his career, Casey’s work evolved from representing employers, unions and employees to becoming one of Canada’s foremost adjudicators and mediators. He served for 14 years as a part-time vice-chair of the Alberta Labour Relations Board and has been active in arbitration and mediation for more than 25 years. In addition to practicing law, he has taught labour law as a sessional lecturer at the University of Alberta and has spoken at numerous legal conferences, including co-chairing the Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference hosted by Lancaster House Publishing.
Throughout the years, the ATA has benefitted greatly from Casey’s extensive experience in professional regulation.
“He put on professional development seminars for our staff to bring us all up to speed on what the new commission is, how it’s supposed to operate, and where the soft spots were that we needed to push back on,” said Jeffares.
Beyond law, Casey has contributed to his community through board service with such organizations as the Edmonton Food Bank, MS Society of Canada, Citadel Theatre and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. In 2023, he served on the Law Society of Alberta’s Strategic Planning Task Force.
Retiring from Field Law at the end of 2023, Casey launched a new independent practice focused exclusively on labour arbitration and mediation.
Casey will be presented the Honorary Membership Award at this year’s Annual Representative Assembly, to be held in Edmonton on May 17–19. ❚
| The Annual Representative Assembly is the ATA’s annual general meeting, where over 500 teacher delegates gather to discuss, debate and vote on the policies and direction of the ATA. It’s held on the May long weekend and alternates yearly between Calgary and Edmonton. |
