WHAT WAS YOUR PATH INTO LAW AND ONTO THE BENCH?

I grew up in a small northern town in the 1970s. My mother asked me when I was 6 what I wanted to do when I grew up and I thought I like to fly so maybe I could be a flight attendant.She said to me that I was smart and I could do anything, I could be a doctor or a lawyer if I wanted.So I said I think I’ll be a lawyer.At that time, no one in my family had ever attended university, I didn’t know anyone who had attended university and I had no idea what a lawyer did or what it involved.To me, it just seemed like the most impossible thing I could dream to be.As I grew up, I gradually learned what being a lawyer involved and I was still interested in pursuing a legal career.

I attended university, got a bachelor’s degree, got married and moved to Germany for three years with my military spouse.After this, we returned to Canada and I attended the University of Calgary.I was certain that I was going to work in oil and gas or natural resources law; I was going to be a solicitor and never going to step foot in a courtroom.

That view changed when I worked for the summer for the Department of Justice Canada in Yellowknife.I thought criminal law was fascinating and thought that this could be an area I could work in.The challenge for me was intense anxiety about public speaking that initially made me think I could not even complete law school.Participating in mandatory moots during law school were the hardest part of law school for me.

I accepted articles with the Alberta Court of Appeal and Court of Queen’s Bench and with DOJ in Yellowknife.Following this, I continued to work with DOJ.My view was that this would be the hardest thing for me personally to do as a lawyer and I would try it for a couple of years so that I could say I had done it.I ended up working as a Crown Prosecutor for 11 years and it became my passion.

My path to the bench started with colleagues suggesting I apply to the bench.I initially did not take these suggestions seriously, it seemed pretty ‘pie in the sky’ to me.However, my view changed when a respected defence lawyer and a couple of judges approached me about applying.I put in my application thinking that I did not have much of a chance but I thought that this might be the next big challenge for me and it has definitely been a challenge.

WHAT EXPERIENCE IN YOUR LEGAL CAREER BEST PREPARED YOU FOR WORK ON THE BENCH?

Working as a Crown Prosecutor taught me that you cannot expect or guarantee a particular outcome, that you must continually assess your case and you may have to adapt quickly as things evolve.It also taught me the importance of acting with integrity, focus on the issues that matter, and be flexible and reasonable at all times.It also taught me sometimes you have to make difficult decisions that will make some people unhappy but that you have to own those decisions.