BLG partner Nadia Effendi and seasoned paralegal Cathy Corsetti were recognized
The Law Society of Ontario has announced the winners of the 2026 William J. Simpson Distinguished Paralegal Award, Lincoln Alexander Award, Laura Legge Award, J. Shirley Denison Award, and the Law Society Medals.
Seasoned paralegal Cathy Corsetti received the William J. Simpson Distinguished Paralegal Award. She has been a paralegal for over 45 years and was in 2010 named among the LSO’s first paralegal benchers.
She was a bencher for three terms until 2023 and served as a Tribunal adjudicator. She presented the new Family Legal Services Provider authorization, which was passed at Convocation.
Robert J. Hooper received the Lincoln Alexander Award for his work with the disadvantaged, especially vulnerable women. He helped launch and maintain Timea’s Cause, a charity that caters to sex trafficking survivors, and Walk With Me Canada Victim Services, Canada’s first mobile crises unit and the first safe house for human trafficking survivors.
He contributed to Live Different’s Freedom Village project in Haiti, which helps young female victims of exploitation. He was vice-chair of the board and foundation of Big Brothers Big Sisters; moreover, he sat on the board of the Hamilton Burlington Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization.
Hooper has helped raise over $500,000 annually for the United Way of Hamilton and Burlington as part of a group of Hamilton lawyers. He was president of the Hamilton Law Association and volunteered at the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association.
He became a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2020.
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP partner Nadia Effendi received the Laura Legge Award in recognition of her leadership as an Ontario-based woman lawyer.
She presided over the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario from 2018 to 2020, helping the organization to renew its alliances with the judiciary, the LSO, law faculties, and community organizations. Under her leadership, the AJEFO intervened in key matters before the courts and parliamentary proceedings.
Effendi is the national disputes commercial and construction business leader at BLG. She also chairs the firm’s appellate and public law groups.
She was involved in the review of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces, the governance review of Hockey Canada and the Future of Sport in Canada Commission as counsel.
Michelle Alton received the J. Shirley Denison Award for her advocacy for access to justice through her public service and volunteer work.
She served as the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal’s general counsel, during which time she spearheaded and supported the implementation of an organizational culture prioritizing access to justice. She conducted a comprehensive review of the WSIAT’s appeal processes to improve the transparency, fairness, proportionality, and user centricity of the tribunal’s adjudication.
Alton aided in launching the WSIAT’s Access to Justice Working Group and chaired the tribunal’s Access to Justice Symposium in December 2021. As part of the Ministry of the Attorney General, she has championed access to justice across various court service areas served by the ministry, such as criminal, civil, Small Claims Court, and family.
She contributed to modernization initiatives, legislative reforms, and procedural enhancements for meaningful participation, and strategic leadership incorporating inclusion, diversity, and client‑centric service in justice system design.
Kevin Gordon Cleghorn, Shalene Curtis-Micallef, Douglas D. Ferguson, Lai-King Hum, Alf Kwinter, Paul J. Pape, and Amy Salyzyn received Law Society Medals.
The in-person awards ceremony will be held on May 27. Treasurer Peter Wardle will host the event.
