Class of 1975
I graduated in 1975 and my first job was as one of the first 'permanent' Duty Counsel in Old City Hall. I wanted to do criminal law and this provided an excellent opportunity to learn. After about a year I joined the defence Bar and practised for about eight years. At that point I became interested in youth justice issues and wrote a number of books, including a legal text, on the subject. I joined the Crown Attorney's office in Toronto to prosecute young offender matters in the central youth court on Jarvis Street. The privacy provisions of the legislation were quite interesting and progressive and when an opportunity came to work on the province's new Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I accepted. I worked as a lawyer within Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General, concentrating on access and privacy matters, for many years until 2006 when I left the government and joined Heenan Blaikie LLP.
My work continues to be in the areas of privacy and access to information. Along the way the area has expanded to include private sector and international privacy issues. Access to information laws are now seen as essential to the democratic process. I have written and spoken widely in these areas. The impact of technology has been enormous over the years that I have practised. Instead of writing books on paper, I am now producing an electronic text on access and privacy law, as part of Heenan Blaikie's AccessPrivacy.ca website. While being a woman lawyer was not particularly common in my day, I didn't let issues about my gender get in the way of my doing what I wanted to do. I encourage other women grads to define themselves. You never know where your legal career will take you.
