WHAT WAS YOUR PATH INTO LAW AND ONTO THE BENCH?

My path into law was as a result of having some incredible role models in the profession early in life. One of my aunts was a lawyer, Provincial Court Judge, and currently a Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench. Following her career when I was a teenager and then a university student inspired me to pursue the same career. I was always interested in research, writing and philosophy generally as a student, so law was a natural progression in terms of my personal interests and academics as well.

My path onto the bench was similar. I was a Crown Attorney for most of my career and though I enjoyed the litigation aspects of my job, I much preferred writing, research and analysis. I believe those skills lend themselves well to judges.

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

As a prosecutor, I had the good fortune to be involved in some complex long term police project prosecutions. Organizing not only the physical file, but the various issues to be litigated in different proceedings made me adept in compartmentalizing analyses and navigating back and forth between them with relative ease. That translated well into judicial work where you have many decisions on reserve that you may have to work on simultaneously while still presiding over unrelated matters and making quick decisions with respect to those.

I also had conduct of several appeal files over the course of my career. The senior appellate counsel I worked with had very high expectations for written product and having this person review my writing improved my skills tremendously. While judicial writing is different than appellate or persuasive writing, I continue to hold myself to the high standards in terms of product and am not intimidated by the prospect of multiple drafts or scrapping the whole thing and starting over.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR COUNSEL WHO APPEAR BEFORE YOU?

Preparation is the key to good advocacy. Judges will have questions about the facts, the law and the application of the law to the facts. Judges were lawyers with niche areas of practice and will not be fully versed in some aspects of the law. Counsel who are able to efficiently educate judges through their presentations of fact and law are invaluable to the court and quickly build a reputation for being trustworthy and competent. If you have the answers the judge is looking for without fumbling, stalling or dodging, the quality of your advocacy will increase tremendously. Counsel that are unprepared do not inspire confidence and distract the judge with that lack of preparation. As a result, a good argument can become diluted and ineffective.

Courtesy and professionalism are extremely important. The golden rule extends to the courtroom. Treat other counsel the way you would want to be treated.  Despite the adversarial nature of the justice system, it is important for counsel to treat each other with respect and that a level of professionalism be apparent to members of the public who may be watching.

WHAT DO YOU WISH THE PUBLIC KNEW ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM?

I wish members of the public knew that the justice system is there to serve them and as such, they are welcome to come into the courthouses and observe cases. Unfortunately, movies and television have miseducated some members of the public and they have a distorted or inaccurate understanding of the system. I would invite people to take even if just one day a year to come to the courthouse and take in a trial or a couple of hours in a bail or sentencing courtroom. I am sure it would change their perception and understanding of the justice system.