I was privileged to be elected for my first term as the Regional Bencher (East Region) in 2007. I am grateful to the lawyers from all over Ontario that supported me in the last election. To have had the opportunity to contribute to the governance of the profession is a responsibility I have taken seriously and performed diligently.

I want to continue and complete my work at the Law Society, especially now that I have had a few years to learn the ropes and gain some experience.

I seek your support in this election.

My contribution in my first term, includes:

Chair, Professional Development and Competence Committee
Co-Chair, Retention of Women in Private Practice Working Group
Council Member, Federation of Law Societies of Canada
Vice-Chair, Hearing Panel
Director, LibaryCo.
Member of numerous committees, including:
Professional Regulation Committee
Priorities Planning Committee
Government Relations Committee
Tribunals Committee
Inter-Jurisdictional Mobility Committee

What inspired you to decide to run for bencher this year?:
I was given interesting assignments in my first, which led to new and more challenging assignments, most of which have not yet been completed. I am inspired to complete them.

Which issue facing the law profession are you most concerned about?:
Ensuring high standards of competence and integrity.

What would be your first priority upon getting (re)elected?:
Approximately 250 students a year cannot find articling positions. The numbers are going to increase dramatically as law schools graduate even higher numbers. We must address this challenge in a way that is fair to those who have invested time, effort and money in their training, without compromising ethical and competency standards.

What do you hope to achieve over the next four years as a member of Convocation?:
Advocate for fiscally responsible governance of the Law Society and for a renewed commitment to its core mandate and duties.

Focus the Law Society’s limited resources and energies on maintaining and improving the standards of learning, professional competence and professional conduct of the legal professions.

Represent the Society nationally in the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, and enhance the Society’ s leadership role on issues of national and international consequence for our profession.

Reform our investigation and discipline processes. Our membership has grown to over 42,000 members, yet we rely heavily on benchers to conduct our adjudications. We need to examine whether our current investigation and hearing processes can be made more efficient, more predictable, fairer and less costly to the profession and to those who are subject to investigation and discipline.

Meet the challenges presented by the numbers entering our articling and licensing programs. About 250 students per year cannot find articling positions. The number of law school graduates and foreign-trained lawyers seeking admission to the Society continues to increase dramatically. We must address this challenge in a way that is fair to those who have invested time, effort and money in their training, without compromising ethical and competency standards.

Build on programs and opportunities for the enhancement of professionalism and learning. The introduction of continuing professional development and the rejuvenated relationship between the Law Society and the Academy has created new and exciting opportunities for the advancement of lifelong professional development and learning. We must continue to build on this progress in collaboration with professional associations, the law schools and the profession.

What is the most prominent concern for the profession in your region of the province?:
The East Region generally, and my hometown of Ottawa in particular, has a well-informed and progressive electorate. It is hard to pick "the most prominent concern," but if I must, I think the East Region electorate has two prominent concerns: 1) that Law Society maintain high standards of training, competence and professionalism, and 2) that the Law Society carry out its mandate in the public interest in a prudent and fisc ally responsible manner.