- When did you first get involved with the OBA?
I got involved with the OBA not long after I was called to the Bar in 1999.
- What is your role on the OBA Business Law Section?
I was previously a Newsletter Editor for the OBA Business Law Section. I became a Vice Chair and then was a Chair of the section. At present, I am a Member-at-Large and sit on several committees.
- What is/are your specific area(s) of practice?
I am a solicitor. My primary area of practice is wills and estates law. I also practice corporate law and real estate law.
- How long have you been practicing?
I have been in private practice working as a sole practitioner for the better part of 26 years. I have some experience working in a larger firm and in a small firm as well during that time.
- What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
The most challenging aspect of my job is prioritizing the many competing demands of my work and personal life. Sometimes, clients have to wait longer than they would like while clients with actual pressing needs take priority. Sometimes, my personal life and family have to take priority. Volunteering is rewarding but it too sometimes gets put on the back burner. The administrative work of practicing is also a lot and has not been made easier with the addition of fraud protection and anti-money laundering requirements. Remembering to feel good about what I can do and what is getting done while not being hard on myself for what must wait is not always easy.
- What is the most interesting or fulfilling aspect of your job?
Working with people and assisting them with things that they need help with; hearing their stories and building relationships is a very fulfilling aspect of my job. Being tasked with multi-layered and often complex work and figuring out effective ways of addressing the challenges in the simplest and most straightforward way possible is a very interesting and also rewarding part of my job.
- If you were not practicing in your current area of law, what other area(s) of law could you see yourself in and why?
The only other area I could really see myself in would be taking on the role of a judge or teaching as a professor in a law school.
- What are you excited for as an executive member of the OBA Business Law Section?
I enjoy being part of this group of engaged and caring professionals; being aware of the latest developments in the law; sharing and receiving practice tips within the executive and with our section members; and contributing to the development of the profession.
- What is the one thing you would like to see the OBA Business Law Section do this year?
We are doing a lot. There is really not just one thing. I always have a preference for practical programming.
- Can you mention one exciting thing you have worked on recently?
I have helped put together what I think will be an excellent program on Corporate Re-organizations and Family Trusts as succession planning tools.
- Where did you go to law school?
I went to Queen’s University.
- What was the most helpful thing you learned in law school?
I learned a lot of helpful things in law school. One of them was the importance of persistence.
- What is the one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you were still a student?
I was given a lot of good advice when I was a student. I cannot think of anything that I was not told that I wish I were told. One piece of advice I was given that stayed with me was to be quiet and listen. That, I think, is still a good piece of advice. We know a lot as lawyers. It is still important to listen and observe the world around us to be able to make the best use of that learning and knowledge.
- What is your go-to mental health wellness activity?
I bring my dog to work. We take him for walks sometimes at lunch. I also go for long walks in the park which is along the river and through a trail in the forest nearby.
- What is your go-to coffee order?
I almost never order coffee out, but, if I do, my favourite is a latte with oat milk.
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